Executive Action to Reverse Environmental Regulation, Promote Pollution Coming This Week

An executive order is anticipated this week that will dismantle efforts of President Obama to curb the impacts of climate change and lower 

The moves are intended to send an unmistakable signal to the nation and the world that Trump intends to follow through on his campaign vows to rip apart every element of .... policies to address climate change.

Trump will order Mr. Pruitt to withdraw and rewrite a set of Obama-era regulations known as the Clean Power Plan.... devised to shut down hundreds of heavily polluting coal-fired power plants and freeze construction of new coal plants, while replacing them with vast wind and solar farms.

The draft also lays out options for legally blocking or weakening about a half-dozen additional Obama-era executive orders and policies on climate change.

Fortunately there is a fight to be had due to lawsuits from groups seeking to protect the future of our globe and potentially if those elected to represent us in Congress decide to do their job.

Experts in environmental law say it will not be possible for Mr. Trump to quickly or simply roll back the most substantive elements of Mr. Obama’s climate change regulations, noting that the process presents a steep legal challenge that could take many years and is likely to end up before the Supreme Court.

Economists are skeptical that a rollback of the rules would restore lost coal jobs because the demand for coal has been steadily shrinking for years.

Those paying attention, which ought to include all citizens, are very concerned by plans to defund climate change-related programs while Scott Pruitt leads the EPA and claims carbon dioxide is not a primary driver of climate change which is equivalent to claiming the world is flat.

They also noted the remarks last week by Mick Mulvaney, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, in justifying Mr. Trump’s proposed cuts to climate change research programs. “As to climate change, I think the president was fairly straightforward: We’re not spending money on that anymore,” Mr. Mulvaney said at a White 

“The message they are sending to the rest of the world is that they don’t believe climate change is serious. It’s shocking to see such a degree of ignorance from the United States,” said Mario J. Molina, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist from Mexico who advises nations on climate change policy.

ACTION: Organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Coucil, 350.org, the Sierra Club will be fighting hard against this administration.  Read up on their work at their web sites, follow them on Twitter, and give a donation to them or similar groups.  We need environmental groups to be well funded to fight this fight.  Their web sites have concrete ways you can get involved beyond giving them money if this fighting for this cause drives you.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/21/climate/trump-climate-change.html