Margie Alt
First 100 days of Trump: A disaster for the environment and our families’ health
Media Contacts
Environment America
In his first 100 days, President Trump has taken dozens of actions that threaten clean air, clean water, our families’ health, and treasured places from the Arctic Ocean to the Everglades. (Read our in-depth analysis of Trump’s first 100 days here.)
“There is no question, President Trump is a disaster for our environment and public health. His actions will make our air and water dirtier; ensure we experience the worst effects of climate change even more swiftly; and will put at risk our oceans and national parks. Bottomline these rollbacks put the health of American families at risk.” said Margie Alt, Executive Director of Environment America.
We are quickly approaching the point where scientists say we won’t be able to stave off the most disastrous impacts of global warming. Yet, President Trump’s plans move us in the wrong direction. He stacked his cabinet with big oil allies and climate deniers, plans to dismantle the Clean Power Plan which put the first ever federal limits on global warming pollution from power plants, and ordered the EPA to reconsider clean car standards. He is also doubling down on the dirty energy of the past by approving projects like the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines and dramatically reducing funding for research in renewable energy.
“We used to say climate change was a problem happening some day, somewhere else in the world, and to somebody else. Not any more. Global warming is here and now and is only going to get worse around the country and the world if President Trump has his way,” said Alt.
Clean water and open spaces are also under attack. The Trump administration is working to rewrite the Clean Water Rule putting the drinking water of 1 in 3 Americans at risk. And without adequate funding, the $11.9 billion maintenance backlog our national parks face will continue to grow while Trump’s failure to fund acquisition of new public lands will leave more sensitive areas open to the risk of privatization and development.
Trump administration plans to expand drilling threaten our oceans, forests, and national parks as well, including the Pacific Coast that hasn’t seen a new drilling rig since 1984. Increased drilling would threaten wildlife and habitat and threaten the outdoor recreation economy that generates $65.3 billion in federal revenue.
President Trump is also taking action that will expose our children and families to even more toxic chemicals. His budget proposal eliminates two different programs within the EPA that protect kids from lead paint, as well as eliminates $330 million in Superfund money to cleanup the worst toxic waste sites. His EPA has also approved use of a pesticide, chlorpyrifos, that its own scientific research has shown is unsafe for public health, water quality, and wildlife.
“No matter who we voted for last November, none of us want to expose our kids to more toxic chemicals, or make our air and water dirtier,” said Alt. “The vast majority of Americans oppose moving backwards on climate or selling off our public lands to the highest bidder. I am confident that people will come together with business leaders, as well as local, state, and national decision makers to do what we must to protect our air, water, and families.”
