Upon President Donald Trump taking office on Jan. 20, his anti-environmentalist agenda poses a serious threat to the public health and wellness of Americans and the world.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was founded in 1970 with the sole purpose of protecting human health and environment. It was created in response to growing concerns about environmental pollution and climate change with a long-term goal to reduce pollution and reverse the effects of global warming due to climate change. However, the current administration doesn’t seem to consider how the negative impacts or overall existence of climate change can alter our society’s well-being.
Lee Zeldin, the Trump-appointed administrator of the EPA, is more than willing to fulfill Trump’s political agenda, which will weaken climate change prevention efforts. According to The Guardian, it is estimated that 50-75% of the current workforce, which is about 17-18 thousand people, will be laid off.
The loss of a majority of their workforce will worsen air and water pollution, management of toxic waste and other important issues that need to be monitored. It would also layoff as many as 1,155 scientists, which would make it increasingly difficult to address the climate crisis and maintain safety standards.
Secretarial Order (SO) 3418 indirectly mentions the establishment of national monuments and the right to deplete resources administratively. This allows public lands to be used for oil and gas leasing and threatens national monuments for their mineral reserves. Mining practices can cause contamination and destruction in these national monuments, which include preserved habitats and lands protected by tribes. The homes of vital species will be defaced and destroyed due to this senate bill which will allow the government to interfere with fragile ecosystems for the purposes of gathering energy resources.
Executive Order 14162, which was signed by Trump on his first day in office, confirmed the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, an international treaty that aims to reduce global warming. By further promoting the use of fossil fuels as opposed to using alternative sources of energy, the Trump administration is jeopardizing our safety and creating widespread ecological damage.
The ignorance regarding climate change within politicians with such power can lead to worsening impacts on the environment such as rising temperatures and sea levels, extinction and endangerment of many species, increased pollution and greater greenhouse gas emissions.
Ultimately, the EPA plays a crucial role in protecting human health and the environment through development and enforcement of environmental regulations and legislation, conducting research, and seeking access to clean air, land, and water for all. Rolling back important regulations and passing new legislation to weaken environmentally protective laws can potentially negatively affect public health and safety in long-term circumstances.
