Every week Samuel and Lorenzo take on the challenge to explain to the students of Runnymede College what is really going on in the strange and wonderful world of politics.
When I was asked to write an article about what is going on in the Trump Administration, my first question was: where to start? After several attempts, I concluded that writing a single article summarising the entire Trump administration was impossible. So, I have decided focus on writing an article solely about what the administration is doing with respect to the environment.
In the past 3 years, President Donald Trump has proved to be a climate change cynic and so we have sadly witnessed him making a whole host of decisions directly contrary to the global efforts of mitigating climate change.
One of the first things he did as president was to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord. This agreement was signed by 197 countries and each country had its own goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. What I fail to comprehend is how someone who is qualified to be president of the United States would be against this idea. But of course Donald Trump is not qualified to be president of the United States. That’s just my opinion. Why? Trump stated that the ‘Paris accord would undermine the US economy’ yet he gave no evidence to prove the claim.
Other examples of Trump’s denial of the need to protect the environment include his various anti-green policies. Recently, he eased regulations which prevent companies in the US polluting streams and rivers. Companies no longer need a permit to leak chemicals into clean water because who needs clean water?
What is more, Trump has weakened restrictions on the sale of halogen and incandescent light bulbs. Most companies have already adjusted to manufacturing and selling LED light bulbs because they are more energy efficient. However, Trump somehow feels the need to allow the sale of inefficient light bulbs. Yet again, I cannot understand why one might do this. Maybe it’s because it might benefit specific companies that Trump is associated with or that have lobbied him. That may be beneficial for Trump, but not for the country. And when the president is working for himself rather than the general public, the very democracy that holds America together will fall apart. Trump claimed that the sale of inefficient light bulbs would benefit the consumer for they are sold at a cheaper price and, to an uninformed mind, that sounds like a great idea. But what Trump decided not to tell the public was that while LED light bulbs may be more expensive, they last longer, and therefore are a better investment than the halogen or incandescent bulbs.
We can truly see how ignorant Trump is about the climate though through the cabinet members he has appointed. His original choice for the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, for example, was Scott Pruitt, an oil industry lobbyist. Think about that. Trump appointed a man associated with the oil industry to lead the agency responsible for protecting the environment. Due in part to his corrupt ties to his previous profession, he ended up resigning. And the current head of the EPA is Andrew Wheeler, a former coal industry lobbyist. Appointing men who are defined by their support of non-renewable energy sources is a perfect example of Trump’s cynicism about the environment.
We can see more examples of Trump’s denial of climate change everywhere. One of the first things he did when he became president was that he stripped the EPA’s website of any mention of climate change. Throughout his entire campaign he denied that climate change was a problem, once calling it a Chinese hoax. I would find it truly amazing if it was an idea concocted by the Chinese, as restrictions on carbon emissions have made their industrialisation much more difficult. And the cherry on the cake, Trump has attempted to roll back over 85 environmental regulations.The conclusion? Trump couldn’t care less about the environment.
Check out Lorenzo Nogales’ article on Brexit for more reads like this!
Samuel P, Year 9