Laurie Roberts

opinion columnist

Let the inquisition begin.

I, for one, am fed up with all of this clean air I am forced daily to breathe.

I long for the hazy days of old, when you couldn’t see the mountains, when we were oozing with ozone and good old-fashioned carcinogens.

And so I hail President-Elect Donald Trump's appointment this week of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

Who better to be on the front lines of protecting the environment than a climate change skeptic who supports ramping up carbon emissions?

Science, schmience, I say.

And I say Bravo to the Trump transition team over at the Department of Energy – the guys who are asking for the identities of those within the agency who have been working to cut the nation’s carbon output.

According to Bloomberg News, Team Trump is asking the agency to provide a list of employees and contractors who have taken part in international climate talks. It also wants to know “which programs within DOE are essential to meeting the goals of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan.”

The agency has played a major role advancing clean-energy technology and requiring more energy-efficient appliances.

Meanwhile, Trump has vowed to get rid of "job-killing" regulations and cancel the landmark Paris climate accord – the one that aims to slash greenhouse gas emissions and halt the effects of climate change.

Which explains why he appointed Tom Pyle, the president of the oil industry-funded American Energy Alliance, to head his Energy Department landing team.

To those are alarmed about Trump's environmental picks, I say just this: Breathe.

No really, do it now, while you still can.