all over the world. Famine, drought, hurricanes.
With so much pressing evidence of the horrors of climate change, how can the leader of the free world make such a decision? Like all decisions Trump makes, it reeked of being "all business" - except ...
There was Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX founder, who tweeted, "Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world." And there were the flurry of businesses who'd already endorsed the accord - even BP (as in the Gulf oil spill), even Exxon (as in their former CEO is now the secretary of state...say what?).
Here's a snippet of what's in my in-box:
- from Rainforest Action Network Executive Director Lindsey Allen:
"The Trump administration’s decision to pull out of the groundbreaking Paris Climate Accord is as unsurprising as it is ignorant.
Flying in the face of all credible science on climate change, this decision threatens to return the United States to the age of choking smog, flammable lakes, and a regressive and hopeless energy infrastructure.
Nearly every decision from this administration has prioritized shortsighted corporate profits over human rights, Indigenous rights, civil rights and the future of our forests, our climate and our planet. From gutting public education to privatized prisons to stripping away environmental regulations to maximize fossil fuel profits, this administration has been one long demonstration of naked greed and corporate giveaways."
- And from Hispanic Federation:
“President Trump has turned his back on an unprecedented and urgent global agreement. Perhaps more than any of Trump’s latest actions, exiting this agreement carries the risk of widespread and lasting damage – not just to the planet and future generations, but to our country’s standing in the world.
Scientists have been warning for years that a rise in global average temperature will mean widespread stresses on food, water, and a harmful increase in sea level. Moreover, many states that are home to the country’s largest Latino communities are ground zero for the impacts of climate change, including extreme heat, drought, water-borne illnesses, and other infectious diseases. Latino communities in the U.S. already face disproportionate rates of respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Trump’s decision to ignore the science will compound the conflict and suffering that disproportionately affect already vulnerable communities, including immigrants and Latinos.
Cities like New York have pledged to uphold the underlying tenets of the Paris Climate Accord regardless of the President’s decision. We urge other cities and states to do the same and take measures to protect the planet and protect public health by making existing federal clean air, climate, clean water, worker safety, and endangered species standards enforceable under state and local law. If our federal government will not prioritize protecting the environment and public health, then we must look to our local leaders to do so.
Ultimately though, to avert the worst of these consequences, we need global coordination to solve the toughest problem humanity has ever faced. The U.S. is the second greatest polluter in the world, and our leadership was welcomed when the Paris Agreement was crafted two years ago. Since then, it has been agreed to by 195 countries and ratified by 147 to date. By exiting the climate agreement, Trump has severely damaged our standing as a global leader on arguably the most important issue affecting our planet, and has endangered our ability to prevent catastrophe and widespread human suffering on a global scale.”
More tomorrow.
PHOTO: Via Wikimedia Commons Images, Michael Vadon.
Showing posts with label Donald Trump. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Donald Trump. Show all posts
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Trump provokes fiery response to Paris climate deal exit
It had just been a few hours since U.S. President Donald Trump cheerily announced America's withdrawl from the Paris climate agreement when the press releases and statements started to roll into my e-mail box. I can't even keep up with them all.
In case you missed it, or don't know what the Paris Agreement is, it's a deal struck by 195 nations to curtail greenhouse gases and keep temperature rise below pre-industrial levels at 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. And in case you haven't stepped outside the past few years, every year has gotten warmer than the one before it. Cities are threatened by sea level rise
all over the world. Famine, drought, hurricanes.
With so much pressing evidence of the horrors of climate change, how can the leader of the free world make such a decision? Like all decisions Trump makes, it reeked of being "all business" - except ...
There was Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX founder, who tweeted, "Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world." And there were the flurry of businesses who'd already endorsed the accord - even BP (as in the Gulf oil spill), even Exxon (as in their former CEO is now the secretary of state...say what?).
Here's a snippet of what's in my in-box:
- from Rainforest Action Network Executive Director Lindsey Allen:
"The Trump administration’s decision to pull out of the groundbreaking Paris Climate Accord is as unsurprising as it is ignorant.
Flying in the face of all credible science on climate change, this decision threatens to return the United States to the age of choking smog, flammable lakes, and a regressive and hopeless energy infrastructure.
Nearly every decision from this administration has prioritized shortsighted corporate profits over human rights, Indigenous rights, civil rights and the future of our forests, our climate and our planet. From gutting public education to privatized prisons to stripping away environmental regulations to maximize fossil fuel profits, this administration has been one long demonstration of naked greed and corporate giveaways."
- And from Hispanic Federation:
“President Trump has turned his back on an unprecedented and urgent global agreement. Perhaps more than any of Trump’s latest actions, exiting this agreement carries the risk of widespread and lasting damage – not just to the planet and future generations, but to our country’s standing in the world.
Scientists have been warning for years that a rise in global average temperature will mean widespread stresses on food, water, and a harmful increase in sea level. Moreover, many states that are home to the country’s largest Latino communities are ground zero for the impacts of climate change, including extreme heat, drought, water-borne illnesses, and other infectious diseases. Latino communities in the U.S. already face disproportionate rates of respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Trump’s decision to ignore the science will compound the conflict and suffering that disproportionately affect already vulnerable communities, including immigrants and Latinos.
Cities like New York have pledged to uphold the underlying tenets of the Paris Climate Accord regardless of the President’s decision. We urge other cities and states to do the same and take measures to protect the planet and protect public health by making existing federal clean air, climate, clean water, worker safety, and endangered species standards enforceable under state and local law. If our federal government will not prioritize protecting the environment and public health, then we must look to our local leaders to do so.
Ultimately though, to avert the worst of these consequences, we need global coordination to solve the toughest problem humanity has ever faced. The U.S. is the second greatest polluter in the world, and our leadership was welcomed when the Paris Agreement was crafted two years ago. Since then, it has been agreed to by 195 countries and ratified by 147 to date. By exiting the climate agreement, Trump has severely damaged our standing as a global leader on arguably the most important issue affecting our planet, and has endangered our ability to prevent catastrophe and widespread human suffering on a global scale.”
More tomorrow.
PHOTO: Via Wikimedia Commons Images, Michael Vadon.
all over the world. Famine, drought, hurricanes.
With so much pressing evidence of the horrors of climate change, how can the leader of the free world make such a decision? Like all decisions Trump makes, it reeked of being "all business" - except ...
There was Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX founder, who tweeted, "Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world." And there were the flurry of businesses who'd already endorsed the accord - even BP (as in the Gulf oil spill), even Exxon (as in their former CEO is now the secretary of state...say what?).
Here's a snippet of what's in my in-box:
- from Rainforest Action Network Executive Director Lindsey Allen:
"The Trump administration’s decision to pull out of the groundbreaking Paris Climate Accord is as unsurprising as it is ignorant.
Flying in the face of all credible science on climate change, this decision threatens to return the United States to the age of choking smog, flammable lakes, and a regressive and hopeless energy infrastructure.
Nearly every decision from this administration has prioritized shortsighted corporate profits over human rights, Indigenous rights, civil rights and the future of our forests, our climate and our planet. From gutting public education to privatized prisons to stripping away environmental regulations to maximize fossil fuel profits, this administration has been one long demonstration of naked greed and corporate giveaways."
- And from Hispanic Federation:
“President Trump has turned his back on an unprecedented and urgent global agreement. Perhaps more than any of Trump’s latest actions, exiting this agreement carries the risk of widespread and lasting damage – not just to the planet and future generations, but to our country’s standing in the world.
Scientists have been warning for years that a rise in global average temperature will mean widespread stresses on food, water, and a harmful increase in sea level. Moreover, many states that are home to the country’s largest Latino communities are ground zero for the impacts of climate change, including extreme heat, drought, water-borne illnesses, and other infectious diseases. Latino communities in the U.S. already face disproportionate rates of respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Trump’s decision to ignore the science will compound the conflict and suffering that disproportionately affect already vulnerable communities, including immigrants and Latinos.
Cities like New York have pledged to uphold the underlying tenets of the Paris Climate Accord regardless of the President’s decision. We urge other cities and states to do the same and take measures to protect the planet and protect public health by making existing federal clean air, climate, clean water, worker safety, and endangered species standards enforceable under state and local law. If our federal government will not prioritize protecting the environment and public health, then we must look to our local leaders to do so.
Ultimately though, to avert the worst of these consequences, we need global coordination to solve the toughest problem humanity has ever faced. The U.S. is the second greatest polluter in the world, and our leadership was welcomed when the Paris Agreement was crafted two years ago. Since then, it has been agreed to by 195 countries and ratified by 147 to date. By exiting the climate agreement, Trump has severely damaged our standing as a global leader on arguably the most important issue affecting our planet, and has endangered our ability to prevent catastrophe and widespread human suffering on a global scale.”
More tomorrow.
PHOTO: Via Wikimedia Commons Images, Michael Vadon.
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Sunday, February 19, 2017
Scott Pruitt sworn in as EPA Administrator
On Friday Feb. 17, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt was confirmed and sworn in as the 14th administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The news comes as a jolt to environmentalists and citizens concerned about his record of fighting the very agency he will be tasked with overseeing.
Back in December, the National Audubon Society along with other environmental groups responded negatively to the nod. NAS CEO and president David Yarnold said at the time:
“Scott Pruitt’s nomination as the anti-EPA Administrator causes us deep concern. The Environmental Protection Agency's work has always been based on science, but Pruitt is a climate change denier who has worked to dismantle well-grounded protections for clean air and clean water.
Those protections have benefited birds and kids for decades and the next administration’s EPA needs to base its work on scientific consensus, something Pruitt hasn't shown a willingness to do. We urge the Senate to hold an EPA administrator to those basic standards."
The EPA issued a press release, which says in part:
"Administrator Pruitt believes promoting and protecting a strong and healthy environment is one of the lifeblood priorities of the government, and EPA is a vital part of that mission.
Pruitt became a national leader through a career of advocating to keep power in the hands of hardworking Americans. He has a proven record of working with industry, farmers, ranchers, landowners, small business owners and others to protect our natural resources.
As a dedicated civil servant, Pruitt created policies that serve the people. He strongly believes environmental law, policy, and progress are all based on cooperation among the states, cooperation between the states and EPA, and cooperation between regulators and the public.
As Administrator, Mr. Pruitt will lead EPA in a way that our future generations inherit a better and healthier environment while advancing America’s economic interests. He is committed to working with the thousands of dedicated public servants at EPA who have devoted their careers to helping realize this shared vision, while faithfully administering environmental laws.
Most recently, Administrator Pruitt served as the Attorney General for Oklahoma. He worked with his Democratic counterpart in Arkansas to reach agreement to study the water quality of the Illinois River that crosses between the two states and has been enjoyed by generations of Oklahomans and Arkansans. The Statement of Joint Principles provided for a best science study using EPA-approved methods, with both states agreeing, for the first time, to be bound 
by the outcome.
During his tenure as Oklahoma’s Attorney General, Mr. Pruitt led an historic water rights settlement between the State of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City and the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations that preserved the ecosystems of scenic lakes and rivers on native lands. The agreement, which required Congressional approval, was signed into law on December 2016.
The Law provides a framework that fosters intergovernmental collaboration on significant water resource concerns while protecting existing water rights and affirming the State’s role in water rights permitting and administration. Water settlement cases can be lengthy, costly, divisive and disruptive, however under Pruitt’s forward thinking leadership the process was hailed by all parties as one of commitment, hard work, perseverance and cooperation.
As Attorney General for Oklahoma, he also led the State’s legal challenges against property rights intrusion while protecting Oklahoma’s natural resources and environment."
In response to the announcement, an environmental attorney, James Rubin of Dorsey & Whitney, said:
"After a bruising confirmation fight, former Oklahoma Attorney Scott Pruitt will be sworn in as EPA’s latest administrator today. Everyone will be watching closely, including industry, environmental groups and EPA employees themselves, as Pruitt pivots from strong critic of EPA regulatory efforts in the Obama Administration to the head of a large agency tasked by multiple statues with protecting water and air quality, chemical and waste management and a myriad of other public health matters. It is not yet clear what his chief goals and initiatives may be, but change is certainly possible on the scope of climate and other energy-related regulation, wetland jurisdiction, and potentially even staffing sizes."
Before going into private practice, Mr. Rubin served for 15 years in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
To see Administrator Pruitt’s biography, visit: https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epas-administrator
Photo: Scott Pruitt, at the Conservative Political Action Conference 2015, by Gage Skidmore, Peoria, AZ, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39289810
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Environmentalists bristle at EPA nom of Oklahoma Attorney General Pruitt
Environmental groups nationwide, from Natural Resources Defense Council to Friends of the Earth, have sent out press releases today warning that Donald Trump's proposed EPA chief, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, is anti-climate science and bad for the environment. The nomination will be reviewed during hearings held by the Environment and Public Works Committee, before moving to the Senate for a vote.
The National Audubon Society says they are "deeply concerned" and this climate denier "has no place leading the Environmental Protection Agency."
The Trump transition team announced the nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as a candidate for administrator of the agency today, prompting The National Audubon Society's response from its president and CEO, David Yarnold:
“Scott Pruitt’s nomination as the anti-EPA Administrator causes us deep concern. The Environmental Protection Agency's work has always been based on science, but Pruitt is a climate change denier who has worked to dismantle well-grounded protections for clean air and clean water.
"Those protections have benefited birds and kids for decades and the next administration’s EPA needs to base its work on scientific consensus, something Pruitt hasn't shown a willingness to do. We urge the Senate to hold an EPA administrator to those basic standards."
A cursory check of Pruitt's background reveals that the staunch Republican, a former Oklahoma state senator, is not only anti-climate science, but against gay marriage and the Affordable Care Act.
Friends of the Earth said in its press release today that the appointee is a "big polluter" who sued the EPA "multiple times to stop them from protecting air and water."
He also, FOE point out, has deep ties to the oil and gas industry. Natural gas mogul Harold Hamm was the chair of his latest re-election campaign, while in an official role Pruitt has delivered letters to the EPA that were drafted for him by the oil and gas industry, say Friends of the Earth.
Friends of the Earth Climate and Energy Program Director Benjamin Schreiber issued the following statement:
"By appointing Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency, Donald Trump has made it clear that he intends to wage war on clean air and clean water. Trump has also put our climate in peril and shown he is out of step with the American people.
As the Attorney General, Scott Pruitt did the bidding of the oil and gas industry and fought many of the laws he will now be tasked to enforce. He helped Big Oil turn Oklahoma into an earthquake zone. With this EPA pick, Donald Trump is putting all Americans at risk. Friends of the Earth is committed to stop Trump and Pruitt from undermining environmental protections."
The Natural Resources Defense Council is equally alarmed by the nomination. Rhea Suh, president of the NRDC, said in a statement:
“The mission of the EPA and its administrator requires an absolute commitment to safeguard public health and protect our air, land, water and planet. That’s the litmus test. By naming Pruitt, President-elect Trump has flunked. The American people did not vote to return to the country to the dirty old days or to turn a blind eye on dangerous climate change. If confirmed, Pruitt seems destined for the environmental hall of shame, joining the likes of Anne Gorsuch Burford and James Watt, two disastrous cabinet officials in the 1980s.”
The move today by Trump would seem to run counter to chatter that his daughter, Ivanka Trump, is influencing his views on climate change. The soon-to-be-elder First Daughter is said to have been influenced by a Leonardo DiCaprio documentary on climate change, and she held a widely publicized meet-and-greet with Al Gore at Trump Tower recently.
PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons Images: Scott Pruitt speaking at CPAC 2016 in National Harbor, Maryland.
Mar 5, 2016, by Gage Skidmore.
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