EPA

On Day 1, the new President should create a Department of the Environment. Most advanced nations have a ministry or department of the environment. We have the only the EPA, and many environmental issues are split between various program areas in different departments: Interior, Agriculture, Energy, etc. With a fully functional Department of the Environment, we can streamline environmental decision-making and demonstrate to the world that it is an issue we deem worthy of a cabinet-level position.

The current administration has greatly undermined scientists, at both the EPA and across the federal government, so it is very important for the next administration to restore the role and independence of science in decision-making.

The next administration should reverse the EPA's rejection of California's request to mandate selling cleaner cars. The new president should also press the EPA to begin regulating carbon, as per its authority under the current Clean Air Act.