Amidst a global pandemic, with the climate crisis still looming in the background, the Trump administration has dismantled a number of environmental protections. During the COVID-19 lockdown, U.S. federal agencies have eased fuel efficiency standards for new cars, relaxed reporting rules for polluters, frozen rules for soot air pollution, and continued to lease public property to oil and gas companies. Trump has even announced he wants to mine on the moon, and officials have been trying to create a coronavirus relief program for oil and gas corporations.
With folks at home more worried about how they’re going to pay rent, stay safe if they’re still working, or take care of their children, politicians have been quietly working to dismantle the already limited protections for the environment – and that means for all of us! None of these moves have been made with regard to science or health, only profit for highly polluting industries.
This crisis should be a wake-up call that spurs action to address even larger threats, like the existential crisis of climate change. Instead, it’s being used as an opportunity by the U.S. government to cement the groundwork for humanity’s destruction.
We have to be the ones to act if we want a future and a planet to live on. No one is going to do it for us.
Featured image credit: Jean Beaufort / Creative Commons
