The following list is headlines and introductory snippets of Trump’s Sherman-like march on public lands, science, and the environment through 2018. If you click on “Read complete story” . . . You can read all the 2018 summaries on ONE CLICK, as well as those of his first year of office, 2017.
You’re not going to like the facts. – Skip Clement
A Running List of How President Trump Is Changing Environmental Policy
BY Michael Greshko, Laura Parker, Brian Clarke Howard, Daniel Stone / National Geographic / August 2, 2018
The Trump administration has promised vast changes to U.S. science and environmental policy—and we’re tracking them here as they happen
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Trump administration’s tumultuous presidency has brought a flurry of changes—both realized and anticipated—to U.S. environmental policy. Many of the actions roll back Obama-era policies that aimed to curb climate change and limit environmental pollution, while others threaten to limit federal funding for science and the environment.
It’s a lot to keep track of, so National Geographic will be maintaining an abbreviated timeline of the Trump administration’s environmental actions and policy changes, as well as reactions to them. We will update this article as news develops.
TRUMP ANNOUNCES PLAN TO WEAKEN OBAMA-ERA FUEL ECONOMY RULES
The Trump administration announced a long-expected plan to dismantle an Obama-era policy that would have increased vehicle mileage standards for cars made over the next decade. The Obama rules were intended to limit vehicle emissions of greenhouse gasses that contribute to climate change.
August 2, 2018
Read complete story . . .
SUPREME COURT LETS CHILDREN’S CLIMATE CHANGE LAWSUIT MOVE TO TRIAL
Juliana v. United States, a lawsuit filed by 21 children against the federal government over climate change, is headed to trial later this year, after the Supreme Court rejected the Trump Administration’s efforts to derail the case.
July 30, 2018
TRUMP OFFICIALS SET ASIDE EVIDENCE OF NATIONAL MONUMENTS’ SUCCESSES
July 23, 2018
As the Trump administration downsized Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments and reviewed dozens more, U.S. Department of the Interior officials dismissed evidence that the monument designations brought benefits, the Washington Post reports.
TRUMP OFFICIALS PROPOSE ROLLBACKS OF ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT RULES
July 19, 2018
On Thursday, the Trump administration unveiled a proposal that would make several key changes to the Endangered Species Act—the 1973 law that has served as a bulwark against the bald eagle’s extinction, among thousands of other species.
Read complete story . . .https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/03/how-trump-is-changing-science-environment/
EPA ADMINISTRATOR SCOTT PRUITT RESIGNS
July 5, 2018
EPA administrator Scott Pruitt resigned on Thursday, ending the tenure of the most divisive U.S. environmental lead in decades.
Pruitt’s resignation, confirmed by President Trump in a statement on Twitter, comes after months of criticism and an ever-growing pile of ethics scandals.
Media reports found that Pruitt had racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in first-class flights, a $43,000 soundproof office phone booth, and more than $1,500 in fountain pens. A recent CNN report also alleges that Pruitt made his staff omit parts of his schedule from the public record.
WHITE HOUSE CUTS NASA CLIMATE MONITORING PROGRAM
May 9, 2018
Science magazine reports that the Trump administration has ended NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System, a $10-million-per-year effort to fund pilot programs intended to improve the monitoring of global carbon emissions.
EPA ISSUES CONTROVERSIAL RULE ON SCIENCE ‘TRANSPARENCY’
April 24, 2018
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt proposed a rule Tuesday that would only allow the agency to consider in its rule making scientific studies for which the underlying data are made available publicly. “The science that we use is going to be transparent. It’s going to be reproducible,” Pruitt told reporters.
THREATENED SPECIES PROTECTION RULE UNDER REVIEW
April 2, 2018
The White House is currently reviewing a regulation that some environmental groups fear could nix protections granted to nearly 300 threatened species.
EPA STARTS ROLLBACK OF CAR EMISSIONS STANDARDS
April 2, 2018
In a press release, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt announced that the U.S. government would revisit the Obama administration’s fuel efficiency standards for cars and light-duty trucks—the first step in a rollback of one of the U.S.’s biggest efforts to curb carbon emissions.
ZINKE OFFERS SUPPORT FOR GRIZZLIES IN NORTH CASCADES
March 23, 2018
In a move that pleased conservationists and infuriated cattlemen, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced his support for efforts to return the grizzly bear to the North Cascades ecosystem.
FEMA EXPELS “CLIMATE CHANGE” FROM STRATEGIC PLAN
March 16, 2018
NPR reports that the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency has stricken “climate change” and associated verbiage from its strategic plan, on the heels of one of the most expensive years of natural disasters in modern U.S. history.
EPA MULLS SHAKE-UP TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH PROGRAM
February 26, 2018
The Trump administration is thinking about reorganizing an EPA group that funds research on children’s health and environmental health disparities affecting minorities and the poor.
TRUMP PROPOSES CUTS TO CLIMATE AND CLEAN-ENERGY PROGRAMS
February 12, 2018
In its FY2019 budget and addendum, the Trump administration has proposed sweeping rollbacks to U.S. programs designed to study and mitigate the effects of climate change, as well as cuts to research on renewable energy.
REPORT: TRUMP MULLING MAJOR CUTS TO CLEAN ENERGY RESEARCH
January 31, 2018
The Washington Post reports that in its 2019 budget, the Trump administration is seeking to slash Department of Energy funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives by 72 percent.
EPA LOOSENS REGULATIONS ON TOXIC AIR POLLUTION
January 25, 2018
In a brief legal memo, the Trump EPA has dropped “once in, always in” (OIAI), a Clinton-era EPA policy that aimed to lock in reductions of hazardous air pollution from industrial sources.
While going from 11 tons of emissions to nine is technically a reduction, it’s actually more pollution relative to what the facility could have achieved by complying with MACT standards. This phenomenon, called “backsliding,” is what OIAI aimed to prevent.
MOST OF NATIONAL PARKS ADVISORY BOARD RESIGNS IN PROTEST
January 15, 2018
Nine of the 12 members of the National Park System Advisory Board resigned on January 15, the Washington Post reported on January 16, in protest of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s refusal to meet with them.
REPORT: CLIMATE CHANGE WEB SITES ‘CENSORED’ UNDER TRUMP
January 10, 2018
A new report finds that in the first year of the Trump administration, U.S. government websites have been systematically altered to cut mentions of climate change. However, there is no evidence of tampering with climate data.
About the contributing authors:
Michael Greshko writes online science news stories on everything from animal behavior to space and the environment.
Laura Parker is a staff writer who specializes in covering climate change and marine environments.
Brian Howard is a senior writer covering environment, science, technology, and other topics.
Daniel Stone is an editor for National Geographic magazine and covers science, technology, and agriculture. He is the author of The Food Explorer, on the life and adventures of food spy
