One week left to take advantage of Earth Lover’s special discount offer!
If you aren’t already, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support as a paid subscriber not only helps me sustain this work financially but also affirms the value of the research, writing and creating practical resources.
It’s an especially good time to upgrade because Marianne Williamson is going to be my guest in an upcoming live chat for paid TRANSCEND subscribers! We’ll be discussing spiritual activism and tools for staying engaged while also balanced and in joy.
I knew when the U.S. presidential election went the way it did that one of the areas of greatest grief for me would be the accelerated damage done to nature, wildlife, and wild places. Over the past two weeks many media outlets presented summaries of the regime’s first 100-days of policies and actions, almost none included the ruthless assault on the environment.
I’ve been keeping track of the most damaging policies being forwarded by this regime because I feel it’s my job as a lifelong environmentalist and writer/speaker. For many of you this will be hard to read but I hope you’ll do so because staying informed will give us a running start repairing damage once we get beyond the current situation.
Fortunately, many of the regime’s initial moves are still on paper and face severe legal challenges, or lengthy rules-making before being implemented. However, even with delays, yhe pace of dismantling environmental protections has already outstripped Trump’s entire first term. So far, they have instigated at least 145 actions to undo rules protecting clean air and water, reverse actions aimed at slowing climate change, and remove protections from vulnerable species and habitats.
Climate Change:
Given that this president is more hostile to science and beholden to fossil fuel interests (who contributed vast amounts to his campaign) than any in history it’s not surprising the new regime has taken a giant leap backwards on addressing climate change. So far, they have frozen climate-related spending, withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris climate accords, and are working to reduce pollution standards for vehicles and power plants. Trump has ordered increased coal production including reopening old coal plants that have been retired. The regime also ended an Obama-era rule that required oil and gas companies to reduce methane emissions from wells by half by the end of this year. Methane is a very powerful, extremely long-lived, greenhouse gas. According to the Environmental Defense Fund methane from human activities is currently responsible for approximately 25% of the warming trend associated with climate change.
The regime is also attempting to fast-track oil and gas drilling across vast wild areas including the Arctic as well as off-shore, while taking steps to block or slow new solar and wind facilities.
Loss of Wildlife and Lands:
The Trump team has unveiled steps to allow commercial fishing in marine preserves and ocean sanctuaries even though science clearly shows such protected areas are highly effective in rebuilding depleted fish stocks. Approximately half of U.S. national forests will now be opened-up to commercial logging. Rules to protect endangered species are being drastically cut.
The regime is also taking steps to turn our public lands over to the corporatocracy. Workforce and resources to support out national parks have been slashed. National monuments are being shrunk to allow for more construction and extraction. Trump’s “mine everywhere” executive order fast tracks mining on public lands even in places that have been deemed too environmentally sensitive or of cultural importance. This will likely lead to some of our most treasured landscapes being torn up and degraded to increase the wealth of mining corporations, many of which are foreign-owned.
Two nights ago, in budget negotiations, republicans pushed through an amendment from GOP Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada and Celeste Maloy of Utah that would sell thousands of acres of public land to private corporations and construction companies. Democrats were furious about the 33-page amendment, which they said they had not seen before it was proposed at 11 p.m.
Last week, in arguably one of the most devastating moves, the regime issued an executive order to blow open deep-sea mining. This likely circumvents ongoing international efforts to establish a framework for attempting to protect fragile deep-sea ecosystems from mining operations. Scientists and environmentalists warn that these deep-sea ecosystems are extremely fragile and mining operations would likely cause irreparable harm not only to the sea floor, but plumes of sediment could suffocate marine life, degrade the food web and shrink fisheries. The U.S. Metals Company, a Canadian mining company, said it would seek a permit from the Trump administration rather than working with the International Seabed Authority.
Letting Polluters Run Wild at Risk to our Health:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is being slashed through mass terminations and axing of programs and funding intended to address pollution and advance clean energy. Gutting the EPA was a specific recommendation in Project 2025 -- the governing blueprint spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation and backed by over 100 right-wing organizations.
Trump’s pick to head the EPA, former New York Republican Congress member Lee Zeldin, announced a set of five pillars to guide the agency’s work, most of which have nothing to do with the agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment. Among the regime’s EPA’s new priorities are “bringing back American auto jobs,” focusing on leading the world in artificial intelligence, and boosting fossil fuel development by pursuing “energy dominance” and permitting reform.
Slashing the EPA undermines bedrock environmental laws like the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, which are designed to protect people against pollution that cause cancer, asthma, and COPD. Already the new EPA is backing away from banning toxins like PFAS, the highly toxic forever chemicals, and is loosening standards for pollution from vehicles, factories and power plants. This will almost certainly expose millions of Americans to higher levels of toxins.
Why?
Given that we all value health and want a livable planet why this all-out assault on both? I believe there are two main factors. First, some of it is tossing red meat to the MAGA base. Trump’s more theatrical acts have been bitching about and then attempting to ban in some way paper straws and low flow showerheads. He does these sorts of things in a way that blames and belittles liberals for ridiculous ideas. The MAGA base, who view liberals as enemy, eat that stuff up.
The more sinister aspect is that this regime is the corporatocracy and will do anything in its power to make it easier for the wealthy to get wealthier even if it means depleting and destroying oceans, lands, and wildlife. On top of this their hostility to science and lack of ecological literacy (genuine or willfully chosen) prevents an understanding that the economy, society, even the corporatocracy cannot thrive on a degraded, depleted planet.
Reasons for Hope
OK, breathe. If you’ve made it this far you might be wondering what could possibly be hopeful? I urge you to have faith because a lot of good is taking place to counter the damage being done by the U.S. regime.
First, many of these actions are being implemented by executive orders which can be reversed by the next president. Second, many of the executive orders are illegal. For example, the president does not have jurisdiction to rescind funding for programs that congress has already allocated. Those actions are being challenged, successfully, in district and appellate courts across the country.
The market itself will prevent some of the actions from moving forward. For example, data center companies are pushing back on the regime’s move away from clean energy since many of them already have investments underway and are counting on renewables to help meet their enormous (and unsustainable) energy needs. A number of key red states produce a lot of clean energy and they have no plans to stop. Even coal communities have noted that Trump’s statement about reopening shuttered coal plants comes with a steep price and funding is not currently available. Also, market forces favor gas and renewables over coal. In Trump’s first term, despite bluster about blowing open coal country, nearly 100 coal plants were closed. Finally, China is expressing interest in picking up the slack from the U.S. disinvesting in clean energy.
Scientists and individuals are stepping up. After Trump illegally cut funding and fired researchers working on the congressionally required National Climate Assessment, groups said they’d complete the work and publish it on their own. Days later, the global science community promised to rally around American researchers to meet a well-documented wave of anti-science propaganda and misinformation.
States are holding the line. From California to Connecticut states are continuing to take action to protect citizens, wildlife and wild places despite the actions of the federal government.
And here is where I let hope take me higher. As we turn the spotlight on this unprecedented assault on nature perhaps more people will begin to care and will engage in creating a saner way forward. Just this week I’ve had a couple of right-wing people in my circle say they oppose the regime’s environmental policies. They said they don’t want marine sanctuaries opened to commercial fishing and they don’t want more oil drilling on our public lands. There’s no way to know for sure, but it is at least possible this blatant destruction, greed, and disregard for the sacred, will produce a wave of concern and a tipping point in consciousness.
In the meantime, please share this article. Mainstream media offers very little coverage of environmental issues. It is important to keep these issues at the forefront as we keep hope alive that we can create a world that works better for all beings.
A Special Bonus
My colleague, Beth Remmes, serves with me on the Unity Worldwide EarthCare team. She delivered a really good EarthDay talk sharing spiritual principles and Earth wisdom. Link is below.
Share this post