Earth is in danger.
After years of discussion and debate, the effects of global climate change are here. The melting of the Arctic ice is raising global sea levels and threatening islands. Unpredictable and unusual weather patterns move across the world. Crop production rates drop. Thousands of species have become endangered or extinct due to warming temperatures in the air and sea. Experts agree that our battle against this global issue should intensify, but President Donald Trump and the White House argue otherwise.
In fact, on March 26th, President Trump signed an executive order that will curb the enforcement on the climate regulations President Obama set during his presidency. The Clean Power Plan, meant to decrease power plant emissions, is being withdrawn and rewritten at Trump’s request. The Environmental Protection Agency’s annual budget will be significantly decreased. A moratorium issued by Obama against leasing federal land for coal mines has been lifted. Methane emission regulations for oil and gas extraction are being dismantled. These policies, as Trump declared, will end the “War on Coal” and “start a new era of production and job creation.” By revitalising the coal industry, Trump argued that the entire economy would be stimulated, and pointed to India and China as examples.
While the White House and coal industry supported this decision, there were many other responses to Trump’s executive order and effects that will occur because of it. CEO of the World Resources Institute Andrew Steer stated that Trump’s executive order “[fails] a test of leadership to protect Americans’ health, the environment, and economy.” President of NexGen Climate Tom Steyer asserted that “these actions are an assault on American values, and they endanger the health, safety and prosperity of every American. Trump is deliberately destroying programs that create jobs and safeguards that protect our air and water, all for the sake of allowing corporate polluters to profit at our expense.”
Agreeing with Steyer and Steer, policy research fellow at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment Ajay Gambler noted that the contamination of air and water affects not only the economy and environment but also human health, an issue ignored by Trump and his cabinet. Gambler stated that “by removing economy-harming regulations, the door will be left open for health-harming regulations.”
While Trump’s new policy may seem extremely concerning, the economy-harming regulations may be overstated. Over the last several decades, the renewable energy market has proven its economic benefit. Tesla, Inc., specializing in the production and storage of renewable energy, began less than two decades ago. Now the company has over $22 billion in assets and 30,000 employees worldwide. Providers of solar, wind, and other forms of renewable energy have appeared in markets across the world. As these companies illustrate, the renewable energy market has the potential to benefit the economy without the health and environmental risks associated with coal and fossil fuels.
Climate systems and policy researcher Karsten Haustein is more optimistic than most stating, “The damage this administration can do might be less than most people think. Of course, it will slow things down, and that's the last thing we need, but business leaders are smart enough to understand that they must invest in renewable energy.” Haustein believes that companies will continue to invest in renewable energy despite Trump’s policies aimed at stimulating the coal industry.
Whether she is right will remain a question only time can answer, but for the moment, Trump, a business leader himself, seems more intent on revitalizing the fossil fuel industry than investing in the growing renewable energy market.
Alexander Lin
After years of discussion and debate, the effects of global climate change are here. The melting of the Arctic ice is raising global sea levels and threatening islands. Unpredictable and unusual weather patterns move across the world. Crop production rates drop. Thousands of species have become endangered or extinct due to warming temperatures in the air and sea. Experts agree that our battle against this global issue should intensify, but President Donald Trump and the White House argue otherwise.
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| via EthicalCorp |
In fact, on March 26th, President Trump signed an executive order that will curb the enforcement on the climate regulations President Obama set during his presidency. The Clean Power Plan, meant to decrease power plant emissions, is being withdrawn and rewritten at Trump’s request. The Environmental Protection Agency’s annual budget will be significantly decreased. A moratorium issued by Obama against leasing federal land for coal mines has been lifted. Methane emission regulations for oil and gas extraction are being dismantled. These policies, as Trump declared, will end the “War on Coal” and “start a new era of production and job creation.” By revitalising the coal industry, Trump argued that the entire economy would be stimulated, and pointed to India and China as examples.
While the White House and coal industry supported this decision, there were many other responses to Trump’s executive order and effects that will occur because of it. CEO of the World Resources Institute Andrew Steer stated that Trump’s executive order “[fails] a test of leadership to protect Americans’ health, the environment, and economy.” President of NexGen Climate Tom Steyer asserted that “these actions are an assault on American values, and they endanger the health, safety and prosperity of every American. Trump is deliberately destroying programs that create jobs and safeguards that protect our air and water, all for the sake of allowing corporate polluters to profit at our expense.”
 |
| via PetaPixel |
Agreeing with Steyer and Steer, policy research fellow at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment Ajay Gambler noted that the contamination of air and water affects not only the economy and environment but also human health, an issue ignored by Trump and his cabinet. Gambler stated that “by removing economy-harming regulations, the door will be left open for health-harming regulations.”
While Trump’s new policy may seem extremely concerning, the economy-harming regulations may be overstated. Over the last several decades, the renewable energy market has proven its economic benefit. Tesla, Inc., specializing in the production and storage of renewable energy, began less than two decades ago. Now the company has over $22 billion in assets and 30,000 employees worldwide. Providers of solar, wind, and other forms of renewable energy have appeared in markets across the world. As these companies illustrate, the renewable energy market has the potential to benefit the economy without the health and environmental risks associated with coal and fossil fuels.
Climate systems and policy researcher Karsten Haustein is more optimistic than most stating, “The damage this administration can do might be less than most people think. Of course, it will slow things down, and that's the last thing we need, but business leaders are smart enough to understand that they must invest in renewable energy.” Haustein believes that companies will continue to invest in renewable energy despite Trump’s policies aimed at stimulating the coal industry.
Whether she is right will remain a question only time can answer, but for the moment, Trump, a business leader himself, seems more intent on revitalizing the fossil fuel industry than investing in the growing renewable energy market.
Alexander Lin
