Heres a short list of how Trump is destroying the environment
www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/03/how-trump-is-changing-science-environment/#closeA running list of how President Trump is changing environmental policy
The Trump administration has promised vast changes to U.S. science and environmental policy—and we’re tracking them here as they happen.
BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC STAFF
In 2017, the arrival of the Trump Administration brought a flurry of changes to U.S. environmental policy—from the decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement to cutting federal funding for science and the environment initiatives. To keep track of it all, National Geographic kept a running list, below, of these developments for the first two years of the administration. Now, with campaign season in full swing, we’re keeping track of environmental actions and promises from both the Trump Administration and Democratic presidential nominee Joseph Biden. Follow along here.
Editor's Note: This page was originally published on March 31, 2017, and was last updated on May 3, 2019. It is no longer being updated.
OFFSHORE DRILLING SAFETY RULES ROLLED BACK
May 2, 2019
The Trump administration announced that they will roll back some safety measures that regulate offshore drilling operations.
The previous set of safety rules were implemented in 2010, after a disastrous explosion at a BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 people and spilled over 200 million gallons of oil into the sea. Oil from the disaster marred the nearby coasts and deep seas for years afterward.
After the explosion, the Obama administration tightened safety rules for offshore drilling operations. Amongst other measures, they required more tests on “blowout preventers” and other parts of the drilling apparatuses and required safety checks from independent investigators. The new rollbacks reduce or rescind these safety measures.
The rollbacks were welcomed by leaders in the oil and gas industry and criticized by many environmental groups.
BERNHARDT CONFIRMED AS INTERIOR SECRETARY
April 11, 2019
The U.S. Senate confirmed David Bernhardt as secretary of the interior on a 56-41 vote. It's a post he has held on an acting basis since previous office holder Ryan Zinke resigned earlier in the year amid allegations of ethics misconduct.
Democrats had criticized Bernhardt's nomination in part because of his long history as a lobbyist for the energy and agribusiness sectors. Environmentalists have expressed concern that he will continue working to expand extraction operations on public lands and roll back protections. Democrats have called for an investigation of Bernhardt's pass conduct.
“David Bernhardt spent years in the private sector advancing policy goals of special interests who profit off our public lands. Despite his clear conflicts, Zinke put him in charge of ripping apart the plans just to help those very industries that Bernhardt used to work for,” Jayson O’Neill, deputy director of the Western Values Project, a Montana-based nonprofit focused on public lands protections, said in a previous statement.
TRUMP SIGNS PIPELINE ORDERS
April 9, 2019
President Trump signed two executive orders that will smooth the path for companies to build oil and gas pipelines and limit the tools states have to block them.
The Trump administration, as part of their "Energy Dominance" initiative, has consistently sought to streamline the domestic energy production process. These two executive orders follow in that pattern.
The first order directs the EPA to reconsider a part of the Clean Water Act. "Section 401" of the Act requires any oil or gas project that could potentially contaminate waters regulated under the act to receive state-level certifications and approvals. In the past, states have occasionally denied those certifications, preventing pipelines and other infrastructure from being built. If the EPA re-evaluates this section of the act, companies would be able to sidestep the state certification process, streamlining the pathway to construction.
The second order asserts that the president has the authority to “issue, deny, or amend” any permits for pipelines or other infrastructure projects that cross international borders. Previously, that authority lay with the secretary of state. Most notably, this decision would apply to permitting decisions concerning TransCanada Corporation's controversial Keystone XL pipeline, a project that, if completed, could carry some 800,000 barrels of oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast each day.
TRUMP GREENLIGHTS KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE
March 29, 2019
President Donald Trump issued a new permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline, which he had previously approved two years ago, after the Obama administration had delayed it. The pipeline would carry crude oil from the tar sands of western Canada to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Trump's previous approval had been blocked by a federal judge in Montana in November, who had said the government had not done enough to complete environmental reviews of the controversial project.
In response to the new order, a White House spokesperson told the Associated Press, “Specifically, this permit reinforces, as should have been clear all along, that the presidential permit is indeed an exercise of presidential authority that is not subject to judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act.”
Stephan Volker, a lawyer representing environmentalists opposed to the pipeline, told the AP he would be suing to block construction. “President Trump has launched a direct assault on our system of governance,” Volker said.
(Read more about the Keystone XL Pipeline.)
OIL AND GAS COMPANIES GET ACCESS TO SAGE GROUSE HABITAT
March 15, 2019
The sage grouse, an odd-looking western bird that has become a symbol of land conflict between environmentalists and energy companies, is again at risk of losing some of its habitat.
On Friday, the Trump administration announced it would be dismantling the 2015 Sage Grouse Conservation Plans, which had been negotiated by many stakeholders from industry to conservation groups. The new directive, led by acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, now gives states more control over which habitats they can open for fossil fuel extraction. Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, and parts of California will be impacted, and the National Wildlife Federation cites eight million acres of sage grouse territory that will be potentially at risk.
Those in favor of the change are saying it will give states more flexibility over their own territories and was praised by Utah Governor Gary Herbert.
Conservationists fear the regulatory rollback will push the species toward endangerment. Once numbering as many as 16 million, only about 500,000 are thought to exist today. The National Wildlife Federation classifies the bird as an indicator species, meaning when sage grouse populations are declining, the surrounding ecosystem is likely declining.
TRUMP SIGNS BILL PROTECTING MILLIONS OF ACRES OF PUBLIC LANDS
March 12, 2019
President Donald Trump signed a bill that provides protections to over two million acres of lands across the United States. The massive package was well-received by environmental groups, hunting and angling groups, and lawmakers from both parties; before Trump signed, it had easily passed in both the House and the Senate.
The package touches nearly every state, designating 1.3 million new acres of wilderness lands across several western states; creating new national monuments in Mississippi and Kentucky; and protecting hundreds of miles of rivers under the Wild and Scenic Rivers program. In addition, the bill guarantees authorization for the popular Land and Water Conservation Fund, a program that uses revenues from offshore oil and gas drilling to fund public lands and conservation efforts nationwide. (Read more about the law.)
ANDREW WHEELER CONFIRMED AS EPA ADMINISTRATOR
February 28, 2019
Since Andrew Wheeler was made acting EPA director in July, he has issued a series of controversial environmental rollbacks. Wheeler is a former coal lobbyist who replaced Scott Pruitt, President Trump's first pick for EPA administrator who resigned last July.
Wheeler's confirmation comes at a time when Congress is deeply divided among party lines over how to approach climate change and the environment, with some Democrats pushing for a “Green New Deal.” Wheeler also faces intense pressure from environmentalists after the Washington Post revealed earlier this month that EPA inspections are at a 10-year low. Inspections are a key tool the agency uses to regulate polluters.
In the months that Wheeler has been in office, he has undone Obama-era regulations on emissions from coal power plants and automobiles. He has also dismissed a scientific review panel that advised the EPA on air pollution regulation and weakened the criminal enforcement arm of the agency.
EXECUTIVE ORDER CALLS FOR SHARP LOGGING INCREASE ON PUBLIC LANDS
January 15, 2019
Earlier this week, the Washington Postrevealed that President Donald Trump quietly issued an executive order to increase logging of forests on federal land on December 21, a day before the government shutdown. The order states that logging will prevent future wildfires like the deadly blazes seen in California last year.
Both the Department of Interior and the Department of Agriculture have been instructed to harvest more than 4 billion board feet of timber that will then be put up for sale. That figure is 31 percent more than what the agencies logged in 2017.
Last November, President Trump published a series of tweets blaming poor forest management for the deadly fires that destroyed homes and lives in California. Though it was soon revealed that many of those forests were federally managed, firefighters noted that clearing dry debris was essential to preventing large fires because it removes potential fuel sources.
Speaking with the Washington Post, a fire ecologist from the University of Colorado Boulder said the increased logging might help quell a small percent of the fires that occur near homes but would do little to halt large-scale wildfires. Logging would also do nothing to fight fires fueled by dry brush.
Critics of the president's executive order also say the decision to log does little to address concerns from scientists that wildfires are more frequently being caused by climate change-induced conditions. Logging can also have other negative impacts, including disruption to wildlife habitat and erosion.
EPA CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENTS HIT 30-YEAR LOW
January 15, 2019
A report by the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) found the Environmental Protection Agency's criminal prosecutions under the Trump administration have been the lowest they've been in 30 years.
Much of the EPA's authority comes from the agency's ability to prosecute organizations that have violated environmental standards, but the Trump administration has been vocal about scaling back regulations and reducing EPA legal authority.
Only 166 referrals were sent to the Department of Justice during the last fiscal quarter. The EPA hasn't filed such few cases since the Reagan administration. Under the Clinton administration, criminal referrals reached just under 600.
In a press release, PEER attributed the steep decline to the agency's reduced budget for enforcement staff. Before leaving office, former administrator Scott Pruitt reportedly pulled agents from regional offices to staff his large security detail.
Last August, the agency also renamed their National Enforcement Initiative to the National Compliance Initiative. The change brought with it a softer approach to reprimanding polluters. For instance, a company could be allowed to negotiate an agreement to change their actions instead of facing prosecution. Though decried by environmentalists, the EPA says the change will help them tackle a broader scope of violations.
Environmental groups say not enforcing violations is a subtle way for the agency to scale back the EPA without passing large policy changes.
TRUMP NOMINATES ANDREW WHEELER TO PERMANENT EPA JOB
January 9, 2019
Though the federal government remains shut down, President Donald Trump officially nominated Acting Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler to the post on a permanent basis on Wednesday. Wheeler had served in the acting role since July, when former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned after intense media scrutiny and ethics scandals (see below).
Confirmed by the Senate as acting administrator, Wheeler will now need an additional confirmation for the permanent job.
The former coal lobbyist has largely continued Pruitt's legacy in office. In August Wheeler released a proposed rule that would roll back fuel-efficiency and pollution standards for vehicles, as well as limit California's ability to set its own car standards. Wheeler also unveiled a proposed replacement for the Obama-era Clean Power Plan that would let states set their own rules. In December Wheeler rolled out a weakened redo of the Waters of the United States rule, which would limit oversight of a range of activities from farming to industry.
Trump said Wheeler has "done a fantastic job" in his acting role.
“For me, there is no greater responsibility than protecting human health and the environment, and I look forward to carrying out this essential task on behalf of the American public,” Wheeler said in a statement upon his nomination.
“Wheeler has advanced the same destructive agenda as Pruitt, but without sideshow antics slowing him down,” Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “If he’s confirmed, Wheeler would surpass Pruitt as the most dangerous EPA administrator of all time. The Senate must not give him the chance.”
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ROLLS BACK OBAMA-ERA COAL RULES
December 6, 2018
The Trump administration rolled back another Obama-era climate rule when it announced Thursday it will lift some restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from coal power plants.
The change, intended to spur construction of new coal plants, comes as scientists warned world leaders attending the UN’s annual climate conference that the consequences of unchecked global warming will be severe and costly. The meeting opened with a warning from Polish President Andrzej Duda: “We are trying to save the world from annihilation…”
The easing of coal rules was announced by the Environmental Protection Agency’s acting administrator, Andrew Wheeler, who said the move would “rescind excessive burdens on America’s energy providers and level the playing field so that new energy technologies can be part of America’s future.”
Proposed changes to the New Source Performance Standards would no longer require that plants meet strict goals of achieving emissions equal to or less than what plants would have achieved with carbon capture and storage technology.
The Obama administration rule, adopted in 2015, restricted carbon dioxide pollution from future power plants and prompted a strong pushback from the coal industry that complained it inhibited new plant construction. Equipment required under the Obama rule was expensive, and criticized by the energy industry as technologically unproven.
The announcement also came the day after the U.S. Energy Information Administration released figures for coal consumption in 2018 that show a four percent decline from 2017 and the lowest level since 1979. The largest consumer of coal is the electric power sector, and the decline reflects the closing of coal plants and competition from natural gas and renewable energy sources. Energy analysts have predicted that coal is unlikely to recover in the energy market it once dominated.
Michelle Bloodworth, president and CEO of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, who appeared by Wheeler’s side at the EPA press conference, praised the proposal because it will make it feasible for new plant construction.
Clare Lockwood, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, called the proposal an “act of flailing, die-hard climate denial.”
INTERIOR EASES DRILLING CONTROLS PROTECTING SAGE GROUSE
December 6, 2018
The U.S. Interior Department moved forward Thursday with plans to ease restrictions on oil and gas drilling across millions of acres of protected habitat in 11 western states where the imperiled greater sage grouse lives.
Documents released by the Bureau of Land Management show the Trump administration’s intention to open more public lands to lease and allow waivers for drilling in the grouse breeding grounds. The plan is the next step in the administration’s efforts to rework Obama administration protections for the grouse. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had promised to remove obstacles to drilling. Protections of the ground-dwelling grouse have long been viewed by the energy industry as an obstacle to development.
“I completely believe that these plans are leaning forward on conservation of sage grouse,” Interior Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt told the Associated Press. “Do they do it in exactly the same way, no? We made some change in the plans and got rid of some things that are simply not necessary.”
Conservationists and wildlife advocates vigorously disagreed and warned that drilling could further threaten the birds’ survival. The sage grouse once numbered in the millions. The population is now estimated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service between 200,000 and 500,000.
“David Bernhardt spent years in the private sector advancing policy goals of special interests who profit off our public lands. Despite his clear conflicts, Zinke put him in charge of ripping apart the plans just to help those very industries that Bernhardt used to work for,” Jayson O’Neill, deputy director of the Western Values Project, a Montana-based nonprofit focused on public lands protections, said in a statement.
The administration’s plans would modify protections in seven states, including Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, California, Idaho, and Oregon. The documents released Thursday include environmental analysis of the changes in each state plan. The public can comment on that analysis before a final decision, expected to be announced in early 2019.
NOAA GREEN LIGHTS SEISMIC AIRGUN BLASTS FOR OIL AND GAS DRILLING
November 30, 2018
Five oil and gas companies have been given the green light to use seismic airgun blasts to search for lucrative oil and gas deposits that could be buried in the sea floor from New Jersey to Florida.
The proposal was shot down by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in 2017 after it was deemed unsafe for marine life, but a recent review by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) concluded the blasts could be done without significantly threatening the population status of threatened or endangered species. The basis of NOAA's investigation was to determine whether or not the activity would violate the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Large marine mammals like whales and dolphin use sound communicating, feeding, and mating, meaning the blasts could impact all three of those essential activities.
Read more about how marine life will be impacted.
KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE BLOCKED BY FEDERAL JUDGE
November 8, 2018
A federal judge in Montana blocked construction from beginning on the Keystone XL pipeline, a 1,200-mile-long project that would deliver 800,000 barrels a day of crude oil from the Alberta, Canada, oil sands to refineries in the U.S. Pipeline operator TransCanada first proposed the pipeline in 2008; the Obama administration rejected its permit application in 2015, citing concerns about the pipeline's impact on climate. Trump reversed that decision shortly after he was inaugurated in 2017. (What is the Keystone XL pipeline?)
Judge Brian Morris wrote that the Trump administration had “simply discarded prior factual findings related to climate change” in order to move the project forward. In so doing it had violated its responsibility under the Administrative Procedures Act to provide a “reasoned explanation” for the changed decision. The Trump administration, Morris wrote, had failed to fully consider the climate, cultural, economic, and environmental impacts of the project—neither incorporating the latest science on climate change nor the impact on indigenous cultural resources in the pipeline's path.
The pipeline has been controversial since it was first proposed, with many environmental groups and indigenous communities strongly opposed to its construction. Construction work had been scheduled to begin in 2019. How long it will now be delayed is uncertain. The administration could appeal the ruling.
YOUTH CLIMATE CHANGE LAWSUIT DELAYED
November 8, 2018
The trial in a climate change lawsuit brought by 21 youths has been delayed again, after a federal appeals court granted the Trump administration’s request that it consider halting the case.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday gave the youths’ lawyers 15 days to respond to the government’s petition. In a meeting with lawyers, District Court Judge Ann Aiken indicated she will promptly set a new trial date once the appeals court lifts its temporary stay, according to Meg Ward, a spokeswoman for the youths.
The trial had been set to begin on October 29 in Eugene, but was delayed after the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to intervene and halt it. On November 2, the justices refused and advised the government to return to the Ninth Circuit, which it did on November 5. Trump administration lawyers filed a rarely-used appeal that asks the appellate court to rule on the case before the lower court has heard it at trial.
