Cass R. Sunstein, Columnist

Five Ways the EPA Can Get Its Spirit Back

After the Trump administration’s rollbacks, a demoralized agency needs to set concrete goals and move fast.

January 4, 2021 at 1:30 PM UTC

Cass R. Sunstein is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is the author of “The Cost-Benefit Revolution” and a co-author of “Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness.”

Bad for your health, bad for the climate.
Photographer: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

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President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Michael Regan, secretary of North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality, as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. If confirmed, Regan will have a distinctly challenging assignment.

The reasons are threefold. The Donald Trump administration has scaled back so many environmental regulations; the agency has been demoralized; and Biden has an exceedingly ambitious environmental agenda. Regan will need to establish priorities for his first months.