More On Trump’s Plan To Eviscerate The Epa
D. S. Mitchell
Trump promised during the campaign there would only be “little tidbits” left of the EPA when he was done with the agency. He has, now as president used every device available to make that campaign promise a reality. Among some of his actions has been to take steps to revoke the Clean Power Plan and delay implementation of mercury and air toxics standards. Additionally, there is the 2018 budget. Trump’s proposed budget slashes EPA funding by 31%, effectively crippling the department.
1.) CLIMATE RESEARCH: EPA’s Science Advisory Board budget would be slashed by 84%, due to sweeping cuts to scientific programs. People will be more vulnerable to, and less ready for extreme weather events. Lack of data will hinder the ability of other agencies to monitor Green House Gas emissions and forecast floods and hurricanes.
2.) STATE AIR QUALITY PROGRAMS: Significant funding for local monitoring comes from the EPA. It allows health officials to warn of “Code Red” days when the air is dangerous for people with asthma. Trump budget would cut funding by one-third. An estimated 125 million Americans live in communities with unhealthy levels of air pollution. Local governments will be charged with maintaining air quality but may lack the money to do it.
3.) CRIMINAL AND CIVIL ENFORCEMENT: Trump argues that states should oversee their own state’s environmental laws. The president wants to cut EPA’s enforcement office by 40%. Trump’s budget would cut the grants that allow states to conduct that enforcement by 45%. Fees, fines and penalties will no longer be assessed or collected.
4.) SUPERFUND CLEANUP: There are more than 1300 toxic Superfund waste sites and 450,000 brownfield hazardous sites across the United States. President Trump’s budget cuts would reduce the Superfund cleanup program by nearly $200,000,000. Towns like Amesbury, MA that depend on federal funding to keep their citizens safe from groundwater contamination that will suffer from projected cutbacks. De-funding the EPA also threatens redevelopment and restoration in many communities across the country.
5.) REGIONAL WATER QUALITY: Trump’s projected cuts would eliminate $400,000,000 for programs to clean up America’s greatest yet most threatened bodies of water–the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound. It is expected that critical estuaries and the fishing industry that depends on them–like Chesapeake Bay crabs and oysters will be seriously harmed.
6.) PROTECTIONS FOR TRIBUTARIES AND WETLANDS: Trump has ordered review and “elimination” of the rule that protects tributaries and wetlands under the Clean Water Act. Ducks Unlimited is raising an urgent cry against the de-funding proposal. De-funding of the wetland tributaries provision could lead to pollution of the Prairie Pothole Region in the Upper Midwest. Ducks Unlimited call the Prairie Pothole Regions “the most important and threatened waterfowl habitat(s) in North America.”
U.S. business is becoming a vocal ally on climate issues. Many leading companies are beginning to speak up, loudly. On Marc 28, 2017 President Trump signed an executive order to roll back climate protections put in place by Obama. The following day, Mars, Inc, the maker of M&M’s and Snickers issued the following statement, “We believe the science is clear and unambiguous climate change is real and human activity is a factor. We are disappointed.”
Mars, Inc, for example sees climate change as a threat to raw materials. As companies assess the risks climate change poses, they are demanding clean energy from utilities and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
More than 1,000 companies and organizations signed a statement urging the new administration to address climate change and remain committed to the Paris Climate Agreement. By June, Trump announced that the U.S. was pulling out of the Paris Agreement arousing anger and push-back from many business organizations and environmentalists.
While Trump is slashing regulations and denying climate change; many U.S. companies, cities and states are stepping up to fill the gap. Walmart has set a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by a billion tons from 2030. That is equivalent to removing the annual admissions of Germany from the atmosphere.
The largest pork producer, Smithfield Foods, has committed to cutting emissions by 25% by 2025. U.S. companies are concerned. China is planning on investing $360 billion dollars on “renewable energies.” America’s business leaders know that we cannot just move backward on the environment or the economy while other countries capitalize on the move to green energy sources.
Not only is climate change in the path of the Trump wrecking machine, but members of Congress have introduced dozens of bills since January to weaken the Endangered Species Act. This past spring hundreds of thousands of Americans joined in marches around the country in support of climate action and sound science. It is essential that people continue to stand up and make their voices heard.
Tell your elected officials that you want them to protect Americans, not polluters. Support the EPA. edf.org/StopWrecking.
Tell your member of Congress not to cripple the Endangered Species Act!
**Thank you Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) for all the great information that was essential in compiling this article.
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