By Tony Hagen • editor@newjersey.sierraclub.org
Amid the new administration’s assault on millions of federal workers and vital federal institutions, its attack on the environment, although major, could easily become lost to view. Below is a short overview of the Trump administration’s executive orders and memoranda that undermine pro-environmental policy.
An “Energy Emergency”
Although there were no signs the nation’s energy grid was seriously undersupplied, the Trump administration declared a national emergency that it claims entitles it to unleash massive gas, oil, uranium, and coal development by expediting permits and federal reviews.
There is no provision for green energy in this order, and it threatens to remove protections for endangered species.
“People Over Fish”
Maintaining that California’s water shortage during the Los Angeles fires was its own doing, the Trump administration ordered the release of water from the Tulare County reservoirs to supply southern parts of the state. Tulare rivers flow into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, well north of Los Angeles.
California’s water experts contended there was no existing waterway to transport this water to Los Angeles and the release would be counterproductive. The Los Angeles reservoirs were full at the time of the fires. Further, droughts have challenged Central California also, and siphoning water during the winter months creates a new set of problems.
Under Trump’s order, the Army Corps of Engineers released 2.2 billion gallons from Tulare County on January 31. Not only did this water flow mostly out to sea, but also less water will be available to farmers during the hot season, and consequent low water levels will endanger species including salmon, trout, delta smelt, and sturgeon.
“Unleashing America’s Energy”
This complex order revoked many Biden-era initiatives and stabbed at the heart of electric vehicle (EV) incentives that have played a huge role in creating a market for EVs. Trump intends to erase tax credits for EV purchases, federal grants for battery chargers, and funds to support automakers that produce EVs and batteries.
This order also promotes oil and gas exploration offshore and on federal lands, and it releases the hand brake on mining activity. It removes a moratorium on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and reopens the door for the Canada-US Keystone XL oil pipeline, which the Biden administration had stopped.
It pulls us out of the Paris Agreement on capping CO2 emissions globally, once again, and abolishes the Civilian Climate Corps, which trains young people for careers in clean energy and climate protection. It also kills programs designed to protect environmental justice (overburdened) communities from excessive pollution.
The order also abolishes the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. This group helped ensure that presidential policies are based on scientific evidence. The order also revokes standards for emissions-free vehicles and engines, buildings, and electrical generation. It wipes out policies enacted for reforestation and sustainable forest management.
Many of the Trump administration orders and memoranda were issued with the dizzying speed and bluntness of a Nazi Panzer division, such that when the corrective legal and legislative processes catch up, an enormous amount of damage already may have occurred and may be irreversible.
The farmers in California will surely miss those 2.2 billion gallons of water in the summertime, for example.
How many more species will be pushed over the brink, and how much hotter will the planet be by the time the Trump administration comes to an end?