Robert F. Kennedy: Environmental Protection Agency Head?

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -- reportedly under consideration by Barack Obama to head the Environmental Protection Agency -- said that if asked, he would serve.

Expressing deep satisfaction -- almost relief -- with the election of Barack Obama yesterday, Robert Kennedy Jr., the longtime environmental activist and member of the Democratic Party's most cherished family, said he would serve the next president if asked.

"You know what, I would be of service in any way that the administration asked me to be," Kennedy told the Huffington Post. "But I am also very happy and I believe I am being effective doing the stuff I am doing currently."

More from Politico:

President-elect Barack Obama is strongly considering Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Environmental Protection Agency, a Cabinet post, Democratic officials told Politico.

...

The selection of Kennedy would be a shrewd early move for the new presidential team. Obama advisers said the nomination would please both Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.).

It also would raise the profile of the EPA, which would help endear Obama to liberals who may be disappointed on other issues important to the Democratic left because of budget restrictions.

The EPA enforces clean air and clear water laws. Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and son of the late senator and attorney general Robert F. Kennedy, has long championed a cleaner water supply for New York City.

As an officer and attorney for the environmental watch group Riverkeeper, Kennedy has taken on governments and companies for polluting the Hudson River and Long Island Sound.

Read posts by Robert Kennedy Jr. at The Huffington Post.

Comments

[BobbysGirl]

08:19 PM on 11/11/2008

Excellent choice! RFK, Jr. knows where the problems lie and is not afraid to say what needs to be done and then get to it! What's not to admire about this choice? He has been passionate about the environment his entire life, not just because it became a cause. I say YES re Bobby Kennedy!

[linaya]

02:50 AM on 11/09/2008

RFK Jr. would be a great choice to head the EPA. I don't understand the resistance to this idea that I've seen online lately. It seems to have something to do with his position on autism and mercury, two things that are related and have been shown to be related over and over again. (The most recent "scientific" proclamation that there is no connection has already been overturned, btw) In that respect, and in many others, RFK Jr. would be a fantastic head of the EPA and I hope he is chosen. If someone knows of petitions we can sign to get our voices heard on this, let us know. I have the highest respect for this guy and he would be a wise choice for this job.

[ruthhmiller]

02:12 PM on 11/10/2008

The scientific research is against the connection between Mercury and Autism. RFK jr. has taken the autism/mercury issue to an emotional pitch which is inappropriate for positions requiring sound judgement and an understanding of scientific principles. Haven't we had enough of the refusal to understand scientific methods and results in the awful Bush administration. And also the politicization of such matters is unacceptable among reasonable people which I assume the Democrats to be.

[Happiness4All]

04:12 PM on 11/07/2008

He may be good at preaching to the converted. To get things done he needs to do more than that.
Dear HuffPosters, just step outside your moderator protected bubble and find out how much this man is loathed. In the scientific community his popularity is on a par with Sarah Palin's and these are people who have supported Obama in droves. The reason why he is so despised is the same why Sarah Palin has triggered so much disgust under people who cherish reason: in pursuing his causes he suspends reality at will. After 8 years of Bush America desperately needs people who can deal with the truth and reality. Unfortunately RFK jr is not one of those.
http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2008/11/say_it_aint_so_barack_say_you_aint_serio.php

[JodyMcg]

12:41 PM on 11/07/2008

Robert Kennedy, Jr. would be an outstanding choice for the head of the EPA. He has the litigation experience and knows where the loopholes are. He already knows who the biggest polluters are and he will work tirelessly to protect the environment and make water safter to drink, air safer to breathe, our lakes cleaner to fish and swim in and as a volunteer if he gets chosen I will do everything I can in my own state and town to assist.

[BartB]

02:15 AM on 11/07/2008

Just imagine a lover of nature being the head of the EPA. What a concept. But I'd feel sorry for Bobby having to undo the destruction of the past 8+ years. If he can handle it, we'd love him (even more) for it.

[HilaryLambert]

09:02 PM on 11/06/2008

RFK Jr was in Kentucky a few years back to view mountain-top removal coal mining , and flew over these devastated wastelands (there is no such thing as 'clean coal'). In a speech afterwards he said: "Everything I saw today was illegal!"

THAT is the unequivocal voice I want as head of EPA, to begin to enforce the environmental laws that have been abandoned and degraded beyond recognition during the Bush years. Over the past several years, effective enforcement of the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act have ground to a halt; the Endangered Species Act is teetering on the verge of extinction.

RFK Jr has appeared on huffingtonpost in his guise as a genial enviro-guy, but in fact is a tough no-holds-barred bad-ass attorney like his dad. He has the personal strength, grassroots support and network of powerful allies to get environmental law enforcement back on track.

[koufax]

07:42 PM on 11/06/2008

there's a lot of buzz in washington circles about Judge Nelson A. Diaz, who was President Clinton's General Counsel for HUD taking the reins of that agency. Apparently the Brookings Institute is publishing a book on Housing and it cites the Diaz Opinion as the cause for the success of the HOPE IV (hope 6) program to Judge Diaz opinion that allowed leveraging of public and private financing and partnerships with private sector by the Public Housing Authorities never done before. He's also responsible for the opinions and court settlements for the elimination of high risers throughout the country .

[maggie lou]

05:35 PM on 11/06/2008

A Kennedy in his administration, WOO HOO, Good choice. RFK jr is perfect, he's no nonsense and will keep a good eye on the corporate polluters who have been getting away with murder under Duhbya.

[DianeTreehugger]

02:18 PM on 11/06/2008

Who is going to be Interior Secretary? That one is close to my heart.

[johnny thunder]

01:09 PM on 11/06/2008

I have to question the logic behind RFK, Jr. as a possible choice for heading up the EPA. On the surface he is a noted environmentalist and I understand his name brings notoriety to the cause, but there are many in the environmental community who feel he is nothing but an opportunist and charlatan. There is a reason the NRDC kicked him out of their organization. There is a reason why many people left the Hudson Riverkeeper when he hired a scientist and convicted felon who peddled in endangered species. Look closely at his record - his actions are based more on the opportunity to raise money and make a name for himself than on sound science or environmental policy.

[RocketSurgery]

12:49 AM on 11/06/2008

Horrible choice. The EPA needs a scientist not an activist. Enough of this partisan leadership in these important positions.

[suec03]

06:44 AM on 11/06/2008

Environmental lawyers work with scientific experts to prove their cases. A good plaintiff's environmental lawyer will believe in science. It was the polluter's lobbyists in the Bush EPA who rejected science. The EPA is about regulation. It is good to have an EPA administrator who is familiar with the purview and regulatory scheme that has been used at EPA over time, and can bring back good practices from the past as well as devise new ways to bring polluters into compliance.

[Giovanni da Procida]

04:51 PM on 11/06/2008

The problem with Kennedy is that he doesn't always trust scientific results. I'm not saying he would be as bad as the Bush administration has been, but there are plenty of jobs for lawyers in the administration. Some agencies, like EPA, need a technical person to run them.

[fcsakes]

01:18 PM on 11/06/2008

This man is a long-time brilliant and tireless defender of the environment - he will have many scientists as advisors, but in my opinion, there is no better choice than Robert Kennedy for this position.

[totalliberal]

10:48 PM on 11/05/2008

Absolutely!

[bluevalentine]

10:38 PM on 11/05/2008

Yes, yes, let this be!

[AndSoItGoes]

10:14 PM on 11/05/2008

Absolutely, ... a great choice.

[Sailor0501]

09:56 PM on 11/05/2008

Besides being a politically savy move, naming Kennedy as Administrator for USEPA would give environmental and natural resource issues a stature unseen in this nation years, if ever. I believe that naming Kennedy as Administrator would also represent a strong commitment by the Obama administration to quickly and meaningfully address global warming. The Bush Administration has willfully ignored this issue for the past 8 years at a time when the rest of the planet has been looking to this country for leadership.

I would also expect a Kennedy-led USEPA to once again allow the Agency's mission to be guided and developed by career professionals and civil servants, not industry hacks and hit men.