Alaskans will feel unkind cuts to EPA

Environmental health is human health. Alaska Natives across the state, especially those in rural Alaska, are facing a huge battle for basic human rights. President Donald Trump has recently proposed a 31 percent budget cut to the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA. This will naturally cause a huge disadvantage to Alaska, affecting drinking water programs, air quality monitoring and sewage treatment.

I am a second-year college student from Elim. I am passionate about preservation of our unique environment and protecting the health of Alaska Native people. In the past I have done research projects through STEP-UP, an internship funded by the National Institutes of Health. This opportunity allowed me to work with the Alaska Community Action on Toxics on projects focusing on a few of the environmental injustices that affect Alaska Natives. For example, contaminated subsistence foods and exposure to bad air quality during developmental years places Alaska Natives at an unfair disadvantage in quality of life.

[Here's what Alaska stands to lose with cuts to EPA in Trump's budget]

The huge budget cut that Trump is proposing has serious consequences for staffing, research programs, and the American people that these agencies aim to protect. This will have devastating effects on the lives of the most vulnerable people in Alaska. Fairbanks has the worst spikes in fine particulate matter air pollution in the nation. Young children, the elderly, as well as those with chronic heart and lung conditions will lose important air quality monitoring and the standard code-red alert system. Rural villages across Alaska, much like the place that I call home, will battle for funding of water systems that improve personal hygiene, education and most importantly, the overall quality of life.

It's expensive to maintain each of these systems, but the lives at stake are worth so much more and must be protected. Alaska Native culture is rich and has such a strong connection to the land that in turn provides basic life needs. We will not be silent about losses that we face. The American people should not have to fight for something as essential and simple as clean water to drink, unpolluted food to eat and clear air to breathe. These are our basic human rights.

Jasmine Jemewouk was raised in Elim, on Alaska's Norton Bay, and is a second-year student at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She is pursuing  a degree in the biological sciences and is a member of the board of Alaska Community Action on Toxics.