Inauguration Day marks many upcoming changes for the White House. President Trump brings his family, Vice President Mike Pence, a new staff, a new oval office décor and a refreshed digital presence.
It comes as no surprise that the White House’s website update affects much of Barack Obama’s policy information because the two men have plainly different views.
What is shocking, however, are the changes made to the section regarding climate change. It was deleted.
While this alone is not too troubling because the administration needs time to renovate the website, when paired with other comments on the website and Trump’s previous statements on climate change, issues start to become more apparent.
Among the new information on www.whitehouse.gov, the closest thing pertaining to our environment is a statement that reads “we’ve been held back by burdensome regulations on our energy industry.
President Trump is committed to elimination harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the U.S. rule” and later goes on to state “we have untapped domestic energy reserves right here in America.”
This is unacceptable. Trump wants to cut two crucial regulations protecting the environment and offers nothing in exchange.
The Climate Action Plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce energy waste, support alternative energy and protect natural resources, and the Waters of the United States rule expands many bodies of water, including swamps, rivers and lakes, to fall under the protection of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Environmental issues, such as greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution, can be traced back to industrial factories.
Although many view policy that protects the environment as a hindrance to the economy, these policies are absolutely necessary.
Without these regulations, nothing stops businesses from ravaging the environment.
Additionally, Trump’s mention of untapped energy reserves specifically points to oil, shale, coal and natural gas. These all contribute negatively to our environmental health and obstruct the nation from investing in renewable, eco-friendly energy, which becomes more cost-efficient each year.
In 2012, Trump wrote a tweet saying that the very concept of global warming was coined by China to render U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.
In addition to this, Trump has said he wants to dismantle the Paris Agreement, which 127 countries have ratified and strives to reverse the most glaring effects of climate change.
With the combination of the prior facts, I hope the sheer ignorance in Trump’s environmental opinions is clear.
Sure, cutting regulations may help businesses prosper. But if the cost of higher corporate profit is our environment, I’ll pass.
Economic standing, political pettiness and nations are temporary.
The planet is not. In the next four years, don’t brush off the president’s remarks regarding our planet because chances are he does not care about it.
sareynol@umail.iu.edu
