Trump's past actions and future plans regarding the environment

As some of you may be aware, I followed Trump's actions regarding the environment from the first day that he was in office - when he used his executive order to approve the DAPL pipeline to go through the Missouri River. Since then he and his Republican cabinet appointees (rich donors and fossil fuel execs) enacted over 100 actions that weakened environmental protections including: weakening the Air Pollution Policy; weakening the fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards for passenger cars and light trucks; eliminating the methane emissions standards for oil and gas facilities; weakening the rule meant to reduce air pollution in national parks and wilderness areas; rescinding water pollution regulations for fracking on federal and Indian lands; weakening the National Environmental Policy Act (one of the country’s most significant environmental laws); ending the automatic application of full protections for ‘threatened’ plants and animals (the classification one step below ‘endangered’ in the Endangered Species Act); and scaling back pollution protections for certain tributaries and wetlands that were regulated under the Clean Water Act.

See the list of over 100 actions against the environment here: 
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html

If Trump is re-elected, he will do even more damage. Here are the plans if Trump gets in office. 

TRUMP'S PROJECT 2025 ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Gen Z is more likely to consider climate change a legislative priority than past generations. Young Americans overwhelmingly want to see their government take action to protect the environment and mitigate the potential impact of climate change. Instead of taking this action, Project 2025 proposes rollbacks of environmental protections and aims to undo Biden’s pro-climate actions.

According to Project 2025, an incoming conservative administration would:

-Rescind all climate policies from its foreign aid programs

-Cease collaborating with and funding progressive foundations, corporations, international institutions, and NGOs that advocate on behalf of climate fanaticism

-Repeal the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)

-End the EPA’s focus on climate change and green subsidies

-Eliminate the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

-Eliminate the Clean Energy Corps by revoking funding and eliminating all positions and personnel hired under the program

-Direct the Department of Energy to “end the Biden Administration’s unprovoked war on fossil fuels, restore America’s energy independence, oppose eyesore windmills built at taxpayer expense, and respect the right of Americans to buy and drive cars of their own choosing” (page 286)

-Stop all federal grants to environmental advocacy groups

-Approve the 2020 Willow EIS, the largest pending oil and gas projection in the United States in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, and expand approval from three to five drilling pads

-Withdraw the U.S. from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement

-Reduce proposed fuel economy levels

-Rollback Biden’s executive orders on climate and energy, and reinstated the Trump-era Energy Dominance Agenda, which remove a series of environmental protections, including:

SO 3348: Concerning the Federal Coal Moratorium

SO 3349: American Energy Independence

SO 3350: America-First Offshore Energy Strategy

SO 3351: Strengthening the Department of the Interior’s Energy Portfolio

SO 3352: National Petroleum Reserve—Alaska;

SO 3354: Supporting and Improving the Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program and Federal Solid Mineral Leasing Program;

SO 3355: Streamlining National Environmental Policy Reviews and Implementation of Executive Order 13807, “Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure Projects”

SO 3358: Executive Committee for Expedited Permitting

SO 3360: Rescinding Authorities Inconsistent with Secretary’s Order 3349, “American Energy Independence;”

SO 3380: Public Notice of the Costs Associated with Developing Department of the Interior Publications and Similar Documents;

SO 3385: Enforcement Priorities; and

SO 3389: Coordinating and Clarifying National Historic Preservation Act Section GEN Z’S GUIDE TO PROJECT 2025 from Voters of Tomorrow Please, share this blog with your environmentally conscious friends.

Voting for the Planet

I probably don't have to remind you how important it is to vote this year. But it is especially vital to safeguarding our remaining environmental protections. This year Rep. McSally completely disregarded our requests to protect our waterways. In fact, she used her clout with the President to urge him to sign a bill allowing mines to dump their toxic tailings into our streams. See her letter to President Trump here.

Since President Trump has taken office, there have been so many assaults on our national parks, national monuments, wildlife refuges, endangered animals, the ocean, our water, and even the air we breathe. Our so-called representatives worked to repeal or dismantle hard fought for environmental protections: Clean Power Plan, Clean Water Act, Clean Water Rule, Methane Waste Prevention Rule, Clean Air Act, Emissions Standards, Endangered Species Act, to name a few.

League of Conservation Voters Scorecard

Here is a list of some environmental assaults that I've compiled since Pres. Trump took office, aptly named "Crimes Against Humanity." (I haven't had time to completely update it.  It's hard keeping up with them all!)

Putting a hold on the Clean Power Plan made Sustainable Tucson's advocacy team's fight against TEP's 10 gas-fired engines so much more difficult (if not impossible). Read my blog about our struggle here.

If you would like to help our efforts in encouraging TEP to transition quicker to clean energy, there are two things you can do. 1) Vote "yes" on prop. 127, the citizens initiative that requires them to transition to 50% clean energy by 2030. Read: Renewable Energy and Prop 127, in a nutshell by Paul Hirt.  2) Vote for members of the Arizona Corporation Commission who haven't been bought by the utility companies.

The Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Chapter endorses Sandra Kennedy and Kianna Sears for the ACC.

Sandra Kennedy previously served in the Arizona Legislature and as a Corporation Commissioner. She is a strong advocate for solar energy and energy savings through efficiency and conservation, and she supports Proposition 127. Sandra has repeatedly opposed efforts to weaken Arizona’s Renewable Energy Standard, including by voting against trash burning as a renewable energy resource. Sierra Club gives Sandra Kennedy a strong endorsement.

Kiana Sears wants to help put the Arizona Corporation Commission back on track to do its job to hold utilities accountable. She supports Proposition 127 and significantly increasing our state’s commitment to clean renewable energy such as solar and wind. She also wants to see the Commission do more to watchdog private water companies. Sierra Club is pleased to endorse Kiana Sears for the Arizona Corporation Commission.

You can read the Grand Canyon Sierra Club's voter guide here.

The Sierra Club didn't mention Mine Inspector Candidate Pill Pierce. But Blog for Arizona writer David Gordon wrote:

Democrat AZ Mine Inspector Candidate Bill Pierce Will Protect Us from Soil and Water Contamination

It is also important to vote for Arizona legislators who aren't trying to dismantle our environmental protections.

In the past year, Sustainable Tucson's advocacy team submitted Requests to Speak in response to several bills that would weaken the Arizona Water Law that requires proof that there is 100 years worth of water before applications for new developments are approved. Realtor Gail Griffin, the chair of the Natural Resources, Energy and Water committee, fought tooth and nail to weaken those laws so they can push through a new development that would drain the one river in Arizona that still flows year round: the San Pedro.

The Republican majority in our state legislature made it a priority to dismantle regulations. They even made it illegal for towns to ban plastic bags. (How's that for the party of "Freedom" and eliminating government overreach?)

The newest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). states that Climate Change is worse than first thought, but... humans can still prevent the worst effects. This election is an opportunity to make a real difference by voting for the planet.

Looking forward to seeing lots of "I VOTED" stickers - or better yet - "I voted for the planet!"