Tag: greenhouse gas emissions

10 Terrible Environmental Choices Of 2017

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10 Terrible Environmental Choices Of 2017

D. S. Mitchell

Greenpeace took a look at the actions of the Trump Administration in 2017 and listed the following as just plain terrible.

1.)Canceled rule to protect whales from fishing nets.
2.)Ordered review of National Monuments. *The recommendations from Ryan Zinke are hair-raising and I will discuss them in another post.*
3.)Revoked rule preventing coal mining companies from dumping in local streams.
4.)Rejected ban on potentially harmful insecticide which has been linked to lower IQ’s in children and colony collapse in bees.
5.)Overturned ban on hunting predators in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge, allowing road building and the Tax bill opens 1.5 million acres to oil drilling.
6.)Withdrew guidance for federal agencies to include greenhouse gas emissions in environmental reviews.
7.)Ordered review and “elimination” of rule protecting tributaries and wetlands under the Clean Water Act.
8.)Rolled back limits on toxic discharge from power plants into public waterways.
9.)Roll back provisions of the Clean Power Plan with goal to repeal the Obama-era regulations many of which have been slashed by Trump agency heads.
10.)Delayed rule aiming to increase safety at facilities that use hazardous chemicals.

Regulations serve an important purpose, they save lives, they save wildlife, they save the water we drink, they save the air we breath. The damage that the Trump Administration is doing cannot be emphasized enough. The risks to our environment are terrifying. Keep your eyes open, they have a lot more damage and chaos on their agenda.

Calamity Politics is an on-line political news magazine with a Progressive Agenda. Join the Resistance.

Dar

More Of Trump’s Plan To Eviscerate The EPA

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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.

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