Earthjustice President Describes a “Fundamentally Different” Era of Hostility Toward Environmentalists

Abigail Dillen is president of Earthjustice , the country’s biggest public interest environmental firm.

Dillen: The treatment of people who fight pollution in the U.S. has palpably changed in recent months .

She says environmental groups are facing attacks from the Trump administration, subpoenas from criminal investigations, online harassment and lawsuits.

Environmental groups are more hesitant to speak out against the new administration, says Earthjustice lawyer.

Earthjustice is fighting efforts to stay life-saving regulations in federal court, he says.

He says the administration is using federal power and the Justice Department in ways that make it increasingly frightening for anyone to speak.

And one part of justifying this approach publicly is to silence groups who are effectively lifting up the reality of climate change and the urgent need to address it. Do you fear that this country is becoming a dangerous place for people who do environmental work? I hope with every fiber of my being that we are not becoming one of those countries. But do I see it as possible? Absolutely..