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A dozen environmental groups issued a sharp rebuke Friday of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr<\/strong>., an environmental lawyer who led the green group Waterkeeper Alliance until 2020 and has promised<\/a> to be the \u201cbest environment president in American history.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennedy \u201cis not an environmentalist,\u201d reads the letter, whose signees included the Sierra Club, 350 Action, and the Sunrise Movement. \u201cHe is a dangerous conspiracy theorist and science denier whose agenda would be a disaster for our communities and the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n Calling on voters \u201cto reject RFK Jr. and the toxic beliefs he promotes before it\u2019s too late,\u201d the letter describes Kennedy\u2019s climate policies as an affront to \u201cobjective reality\u201d and \u201cno different\u201d from those likely to be pursued in a Trump administration.<\/p>\n At the same time, dozens of Kennedy\u2019s former colleagues at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), where he worked for nearly three decades, are planning<\/a> to put out advertisements in six swing states on Sunday\u2014the day before Earth Day\u2014calling on him to \u201chonor our planet\u201d by dropping out of the race.<\/p>\n \u201cIn nothing more than a vanity candidacy, RFK Jr. has chosen to play the role of election spoiler to the benefit of Donald Trump \u2013 the single worst environmental president our country has ever had,\u201d the ad reads<\/a>.<\/p>\n Both groups argue that Kennedy\u2019s candidacy threatens the goals of the U.S. environmental movement not just because of the possibility that he could play spoiler and pave the way for a second Trump term, but also because of his own statements. Kennedy claimed<\/a> last year that \u201cclimate change is being used to control us through fear\u201d and argued, contrary to the beliefs of many environmentalists, that \u201cfreedom and free markets are a much better way to stop pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview with The New York Times,<\/em> Kennedy skirted directly engaging with the criticisms of his erstwhile colleagues, only saying that he and his onetime mentor, NRDC co-founder John Hamilton Adams<\/strong>, \u201cdisagree with each other on politics.\u201d Kennedy also aimed at President Joe Biden<\/strong>, saying he \u201cdoes not need my help to lose to Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to the three states in which RFK Jr. has already officially qualified to appear on the ballot in November, his campaign claims it has enough signatures to pass the threshold in North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Nebraska, Idaho and Iowa, CNN reported<\/a> Saturday.<\/p>\n The two disavowals from environmentalists come as Kennedy is also facing opposition from his own family. At a campaign rally in Philadelphia on Thursday, six of RFK\u2019s siblings threw their support<\/a> behind Biden. \u201cThe Kennedy family endorses Joe Biden for president,\u201d RFK Jr.\u2019s sister, Kerry Kennedy<\/strong>, told the crowd. \u201cWe are here because we feel obliged to do all we can in this election.\u201d<\/p>\n