A powerful memoir and historical exposé, “Gorilla in the Closet – a memoir and historical account of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, why it is becoming obsolete, and its future after Trump,” brings readers inside the creation, evolution, and unraveling of one of America’s most influential federal agencies. Written by environmental engineer and former Senate-confirmed EPA Presidential Appointee Frederic A. (Eric) Eidsness, Jr., the book traces 55 years of environmental policymaking from EPA’s founding in 1970 to the sweeping changes now poised to redefine its very existence.

Eidsness who was present in the room when the EPA was formed by Executive Order on December 2, 1970, offers a rare insider’s view of how the agency’s original mission of federal–state collaboration was gradually overtaken by a rigid, top-down regulatory system influenced by political interests and the environmental lobby. His firsthand accounts reveal how the command-and-control permitting and enforcement structure, once designed to battle pollution from millions of sources, eventually distanced the agency from the states, local governments, and citizens it was meant to serve.

The book highlights major turning points in U.S. environmental policy, including the Obama/Biden-era Clean Power Plan, an aggressive effort to restructure the nation’s energy system using a single clause of the Clean Air Act. Eidsness describes the plan as a “poster child of federal overreach,” ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court and now overshadowed by the Trump 47 administration’s sweeping effort to redefine what constitutes a human health threat under environmental law.

But Gorilla in the Closet is far more than a critique, it is a roadmap for the future. Eidsness introduces New Environmental Federalism, a transformational bottom-up model designed to prepare America for the realities of climate change, which he argues can no longer be prevented. Instead, he calls for a nationally supported but locally driven approach that empowers general-purpose local governments to develop their own climate adaptation plans, maintain accurate greenhouse gas inventories, and lead community-specific strategies for resilience.

His proposed reforms include:

Re-creating the EPA as an independent commission led by professionals with 10-year terms.

Flattening the federal bureaucracy and deploying 50 state-embedded environmental ombudsmen to coordinate national and local implementation.

Consolidating scientific and technological resources across agencies to support evidence-based rulemaking.

Equipping local governments with the authority, tools, and accountability systems needed to respond to climate-driven crises.

Eidsness’s professional journey gives the book unmatched credibility. The son of a pioneering WWII-era environmental engineer, he began his own career in the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration before it became part of the newly formed EPA. He authored the agency’s first Environmental Impact Statement for a regional wastewater system and authored a policy paper for EPA’s Administrator concerning the applicability of transportation control plans devised by local government (such as eliminating downtown parking in Phoenix or Denver) under the 1970 Clean Air Act. After leaving the EPA in 1983, disillusioned by growing mismanagement, he led major environmental planning programs, advised state governments and governors, and guided corporations such as DuPont and Chevron through federal regulatory hurdles, all experiences that shaped the foundation for his new federalist model.

He wrote the book partly in response to long-standing misconceptions surrounding the “Sewergate” controversy, an orchestrated political effort that targeted EPA appointees during the early 1980s. More importantly, he wrote it to serve as a textbook and reality-check for students, environmental professionals, and policymakers seeking clarity on how environmental policy actually functions behind the scenes.

The central message of Gorilla in the Closet is clear:

Climate change cannot be stopped but America can still prepare.

Eidsness argues that only a locally driven, bottom-up system, with strong state and federal support and can equip communities to face the rising threats of fires, droughts, floods, water conflicts, mass migration, and economic disruption.

“Gorilla in the Closet” is available for purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The e-version is priced at under $10 and features a built-in search engine, making it easy to navigate the book’s extensive 800 pages. For more information, interviews, or speaking inquiries, visit gorillainthecloset.com.

Global Book Network - Frederic A. Eidsness Jr., author of Gorilla in the Closet

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