Download What does the new President-elect mean for Climate Change? By

What does the new President-elect mean for Climate Change?
By: Sophia Ramsey, Green Raider
One of the things we need to look at when we get a new President is their
policy on climate change and climate action. Why? Well, there are a lot of reasons,
honestly. But we’ll start with the fact that Earth could face an 11 degree Fahrenheit
warming by 2100. That means droughts, wildfires, rising seas, etc. etc. until The
Day After Tomorrow isn’t really just an entertaining movie anymore.
So, our new President-elect is Donald Trump. For a lot of people this is
really exciting! And that’s totally cool, ‘cause we have a lot of good things that
can happen in our country in the next few years with this new President, and this
is true for every one of us - no matter who you supported. But what has he said about the path we’ve been taking
with the fate of our planet?
First off, Donald Trump has – on numerous occasions – denied the existence of climate change. If you
want to confirm that, here is a list of his tweets denying it:
https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q=%22global%20warming%22%20hoax%20from%3Are
alDonaldTrump&src=typd. And that’s not even including the tweet his campaign deleted saying climate
change was a hoax created by the Chinese! But he’s a little wish-washy. When his golf course was threatened
by climate change, they released a statement saying so. And he also said more recently that he believes in it, but
not that it’s man-made.
Still, we’ve got a little bit of work ahead of us with Mr. Trump in terms of climate change. But what does a
climate denier as President mean? Does it just mean we push the issue off for later? Unfortunately, when it comes
to climate change – pushing it off really isn’t an option. But Trump wants to go a little bit further than that. He
wants to cancel the Paris Agreement, stop all U.S. tax dollars from UN Global Warming Programs, cut back (or
cut altogether) the Environmental Protection Agency, and get rid of the Climate Action Plan.
First off, the Paris Agreement is a climate agreement to reduce emissions among 55 countries, representing
55% of global emissions. The United States accounts for 20% of the expected greenhouse gas reductions under
the agreement. If they back out, that large section of the agreement unravels. While China, the second largest
emitter, announced post Trump-win that they would still follow the plan; the world’s third largest emitter, India,
is not as much of a team-player. Reliant on U.S. funding (which Trump wants to completely cut off) and an
illustration of good faith in the agreement from the United States, India may back out now.
The Climate Action Plan was essentially how the United States would reach that goal domestically, bringing
renewable energy to the forefront and making the country less reliant on foreign energy sources. Unfortunately,
Trump plans to cut that too.
To top it off, the head of his Environmental Protection Agency transition team is Myron Ebell. He has been
called an “oil industry mouthpiece” and he denies climate change is real. He is involved in the leadership of the
Cooler Heads Coalition, a self-described organization aimed at “dispelling the myths of global warming.”
It’s unfortunate to see President-elect Trump’s vision on climate change and the EPA is as it is, especially
considering his party’s enormous contributions to environmental justice! As former Republican EPA
administrators William Ruckelshaus and William Reilly have stated: “Donald Trump has shown a profound
ignorance of science and of the public health issues embodied in our environmental laws. He hasn’t a clue about
Republicans’ historic contributions to science-driven environmental policy,” citing such advancements in
environmental justice made by Nixon in the creation of the EPA and the signing of the 1970 Clean Air Act;
Reagan in ratifying the Montreal Protocol; or by George H.W. Bush in signing the Clean Air Act Amendments
of 1990.
But not all hope is lost! Presidents can’t do much without Congress – and they can’t do anything without
the will of the people. Make sure your local representative is voting how you want by downloading Countable or
VoteSpotter to your iPhone. Call your representatives if their position on climate change isn’t satisfactory. All
politics is local. Eventually, President-elect Trump may turn around and find this is something we can work on
together.