Though he calls himself an environmentalist, President Trump has demonstrated a disregard for the health of our environment with almost every major decision he has made to date. Today, his Administration added to that dismal record, clearing the way for the Keystone Pipeline at a time when an oil glut has suppressed the price of crude and when countries across the globe are making a concerted effort to diminish their use of fossil fuels; the pipeline, if completed, will transport low-quality crude from the decimated Tar Sands region of Canada to refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Of course, both Trump and his Chief of the EPA are climate change deniers and have vowed to withdraw U.S. support for the Paris climate accord. Meanwhile, hoping to redirect funds to the bloated Defense Department budget, the President and his Administration have proposed cutting funds to various environmental programs, including projects designed to augment the welfare of the Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay. Support for clean, renewable sources of energy will be a low priority for an Administration promising to "bring back the coal industry."
Worst of all, Trump wants to "role back" environmental regulations, willing to accept potential damage to natural ecosystems in order to boost corporate profits. One would think that the health of our environment, which is directly tied to the welfare of our species, would not be subject to politics. But, when ignorance and mysticism are pervasive and counter the validity of science, Conservative Republicans retain a base large enough to support their anti-environment agenda.
