Eroding environmental protection

The Trump Administration works to undo Clean Power Plan, focus on jobs

Since early February, the Trump administration has been working hard to demolish the environmental regulations put in place by the former Obama administration.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday, March 28 at the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters that would undo the Clean Power Plan.

According to the EPA’s website, the Clean Power Plan was put in place by the Obama administration in efforts to prevent climate change by limiting carbon pollution from power plants.

“Perhaps no single regulation threatens our miners, energy workers and companies more than this crushing attack on the American industry, “ Trump said in regards to the Clean Power Plan during the signing
Tuesday.

Through this action the Trump administration strongly believes it will be giving power back to the states and prospering the economy with a heavier focus on job creation in the coal industry.

Trump believes these actions are another step in the right direction for the U.S. job market.

This order not only allows for more carbon pollution from power plants, but allows for coal mining on federal lands and authorizes the oil industry to release more methane.

During the signing Trump also proposed the White House would decrease EPA funding by $2.6 billion.

Trump has made it very clear to U.S. citizens that his view on climate change differs dramatically from that of former President Obama.

While Trump previously referred to climate change as a “hoax,” Obama professed to the people that he viewed it as the most dangerous threat to society.

The Trump administration is working to publicize this executive order as an act to protect both the economy and the environment, not to destroy it.

“We are going to have a very focused pro-growth, pro-environment message, and we are excited to start that journey today with the president,” EPA administrator Scott Pruitt said in an interview with Fox News.

Pruitt, who was the former attorney general of Oklahoma, did not have a favorable opinion for the EPA during the time of the Obama administration.

During his interview with Fox News, Pruitt recalled the country’s history of having a safe environment while at the same time having a successful and growing economy.

Pruitt found that under the Obama administration, there was an emphasis on a safe environment but little to no focus on a growing economy.

Democrats remain under the impression that Trump is prioritizing the economy over the environment, which in turn means the end of life as we know it.

Contrary to this belief, I believe this step in overturning these environmental regulations will benefit the economy and the environment at the same time.

Rather than destroying the environment, it seems that through this order, Trump is focusing on handling the safety of the environment in a different way that comes along with economic benefits.

This order will promote civil liberty by giving power back to the states by limiting government funding.

“Since 1980 we have reduced some key pollutants in our air quality program by 65 percent across this country,” Pruitt said on Fox News Sunday, April 2.

“We have made tremendous progress while at the same time growing the economy.”

The U.S. has a history of having a safe environment and a successful economy.

Under the Obama administration so much focus and spending was spent on the environment that the success of the economy slowly decreased.

Through this new executive order, U.S. citizens should remain hopeful in the safe and successful America that we have seen in the past.

Drogan is an opinion writer.