Cincinnati, OH -- Today, Donald Trump delivered a speech on the banks of the Ohio River, the most polluted river in the country. Trump failed to mention the booming clean energy sector, which is the fastest growing job market in the country. He did note his cancellation of the environmental review on the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, claiming that no one had the guts to move it forward, but he closed his eyes and said “do it,” and that he didn’t hear any complaints on his decision. In the 24 hours after Trump advanced the project, the Sierra Club generated more than 20,000 phone calls of people expressing their disapproval, a number only surpassed last week when Trump pulled America out of the Paris Climate Agreement.
In response, Sierra Club Legislative Director Melinda Pierce released the following statement:
“Donald Trump once again reminded the country he lives in an alternative reality, which is perhaps why he relies so heavily on ‘alternative facts.’ He proclaims the need to invest in infrastructure, but has proposed a budget that won’t advance America into the future; it will send us backwards to the 19th century. Trump claims he wants to create jobs, but ignores the fastest growing job sector in the country, clean energy. Trump talked about the need to protect our clean water, but two of his first acts in office were to scrap a rule protecting our waters from mountain top removal pollution linked to dirty coal production and to force through the Dakota Access Pipeline which threatens water resources for the Standing Rock Sioux. Trump talked about the need to protect our clean air, but less than 24 hours ago, his administration attempted to illegally delay protections designed to reduce smog pollution.
“Perhaps the only true statement Trump made today was that he just closes his eyes and makes a decision, because clearly, there’s no thought of the American people or their right to clean air and water that goes into his decision making process.”
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