Trump's First 100 Days are a Climate and Environmental Nightmare

Trump's first 100 days have been a dismal failure. Trump failed to deliver on almost every single one of his promises leading many to conclude that the self-proclaimed deal-maker can't seem to close. True to his word he is making progress on one front, depriving Americans of clean air and clean water.

Trumps Muslim ban failed, his attempt to pass health-care legislation also failed. Congress will not finance his wall and nor will Mexico.  Rather than drain the swamp he has made the swamp bigger. The president has rewarded the wealthy on the backs of the poor and the middle class. His one-page reward-the-rich tax plan does not have a snowball's chance in hell of passing and if it were ever enacted by Congress it would trigger economic ruin.

Clearly, Trump does not have a clue about how to get things done in Washington.  Here is a general summary of Trump's first 100 days, by most accounts, the worst 100 days in modern US presidential history.



Trump's inauguration was a gloomy affair heralding the coming darkness. Even before Trump took the oath of office he cast a shadow over the proceedings at COP22.

Early in his term, some had the audacity to suggest that a Trump presidency would not be as bad as it seemed. They did not have the courage to face the truth about what a Trump administration would mean for the planet. However, their naive hopes were quickly dashed. Shortly after the inauguration, his administration purged all mention of climate change from the White House and State Department websites. However, they did leave one reference, a promise to eliminate Obama-era climate change policies.

Trump then picked Scott Pruitt to head the EPA and ex-Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be the secretary of state. These two men and other members of the administration oppose science-based climate action plans. Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, like so many others in the administration, opposes government funding for climate research.

This brings us to Trump's budget which was a declaration of war against environmental protections, climate action, and scientific research. Trump made it clear that he wants to decimate environmental protections and climate action in the US.

In their first month, the Trump administration resurrected dead or dying pipelines (the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipeline). Within the first two months, they began eliminating vehicle fuel efficiency standards and then they went to work gutting the EPA with proposed budget cuts of 31 percent.

Trump has broken almost every promise he made except for one, the promise to eliminate environmental regulations. 

On the one hand, Trump is the most ineffectual US president in history on the other he has wreaked unprecedented environmental damage in his first 100 days.  His Executive Orders have systematically rolled back all vestiges of environmental progress in the US. These are protections that began under Republican presidents. He has ended the era of progressive climate action that we saw under President Obama and he has turned the US into a global climate pariah.

When he was running to be president leading Republican insiders suggested he was not fit to be president. After one hundred days in office, it is safe to say that those who made this statement have been vindicated. Even Trump himself conceded that the job is far harder than he had imagined. One hundred days into his presidency Trump has joined the chorus of those who say he is is not up for the job. The point may become moot if he is impeached for collusion with the Russians.

More than any other president who preceded him, Trump is an unmitigated disaster. However, people are standing up and offering unprecedented opposition.

Even before he was president heads of state, climate scientists and business leaders have all urged him to act on climate change. Early in his term, there was the Women's March. This was followed by the March for Science on Earth Day where scientists and others called Trump out for his war on science. One week later there was the Peoples Climate Movement event that drew attention to his utterly irresponsible climate conduct. Just to make sure we get the point, on April 28th, the eve of the Peoples Climate Movement event, all vestiges of climate science were removed from the EPA website.

Trump's strategy is encountering resistance from some business leaders and the courts are challenging his authority.  People are feeling that it is both necessary and appropriate to protest against Trump and they are seeing that there is power in their resistance.

The situation is grim but we need to try to stay hopeful and keep resisting the incompetence of this administration.

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Republicans Trying to Kill the EPA Quickly

Trump drew first blood with an Executive Order that enfeebled some of the EPA's activities, now Republicans are going in for the kill. They recently proposed a bill that seeks to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Known as H.R.861, the bill has the following self-explanatory title: "To terminate the Environmental Protection Agency."

While this bill is unbelievably destructive for the American people it should come as no surprise when you consider Republican obstructionism for the last eight years and the man who is now President of the United States. Within his first two weeks in office, Trump signed an Executive Order that targeted the EPA.

The nomination of Scott Pruitt to lead the EPA sent a clear message that made his intentions clear. Pruitt has spent a good chunk of his adult life trying to dismantle the EPA from the outside. Now after having been confirmed in committee he gets to destroy the agency from the inside.

The proposed bill that would kill the EPA has moved on to committee. Don't wait to see if it moves forward from there. Call or email your congressman, write letters to your local newspapers, talk to your friends, don't let the EPA go down without a fight. Despite what Trump may say, the EPA is not a partisan body. Both Democrats and Republicans want and need clean air and water. Don't let Republicans deprive you of your basic human rights.

Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 to reach your senators or representative, you can also find the direct number to any member's office by consulting the Senate phone list or House phone list.

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Hilary Maintains her Climate Silence as O'Malley Pushes his Green Agenda (Iowa Democratic Presidential Town Hall)

Hilary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley are the three remaining candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for president. On January 25th they fielded a barrage of questions from voters in a town hall meeting at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, The moderator was CNN anchor Chris Cuomo.

O'Malley emerged from the Iowa Town Hall as the greenest of the three candidates with Sanders trailing some distance behind. O'Malley bluntly stated that "this planet is worth saving," and Sanders reaffirmed his commitment to tackle climate change. Hilary remained silent on climate and clean energy and let her rivals steal the green thunder.

As in previous debates, Hilary did not mention climate change or the clean energy economy once. Perhaps she is taking her cues from Republican presidential hopefuls or perhaps she knows that this is one area where she cannot hope to compete with her Democratic rivals (see the climate positions of the Democratic presidential candidates: O'Malley, Sanders and Clinton).

Alternatively, Hilary's silence on green issues may be part of a clever strategy. According to a poll conducted towards the end of 2015, Americans do not think climate change is anywhere near as important a concern as the economy. Only 3 percent of Americans said that they thought global warming was the most important issue facing the country today.

Climate is not a priority issue for the vast majority of voters so Hilary has nothing to gain from being a climate champion. Conversely embracing climate action risks alienating voters who are worried about the economic costs.

By allowing O'Malley and Sanders to own the climate spotlight she may be trying to entrench herself as the most "moderate" Democratic candidate. Her campaign may be betting that this will appeal to independent voters or even soft conservatives. Hilary's shrewd politics may win a general election, but she must first secure the Democratic nomination. With her lead shrinking and Sanders ahead in some states, it remains to be seen whether Hilary's strategy will succeed in getting her through the primary process.

Climate Change

Both O'Malley and Sanders made it clear that there is no cause to doubt the scientific veracity of anthropogenic climate change. Early in the evening Sanders got in a good shot at Republicans when he said, "in terms of climate change, which everybody here knows - and apparently everybody in the world knows except Republican candidates for president, is one of the great environmental crises facing this nation." O'Malley followed up by reiterating that he thinks climate change is the single biggest issue we face.

Green Energy Economy

The emerging green energy economy will be worth trillions by the time it replaces fossil fuels. However of the three Democratic hopefuls, only O'Malley appears to understand the scale of the economic opportunity this transition represents. "Climate change is the greatest business opportunity to come to the United States in 100 years" O'Malley said. "And I am the first candidate in either party to put forward a plan to move us to a 100 percent clean electric energy grid by 2050, and create 5 million jobs along the way."

O'Malley, cited the fact that Iowa gets 30 percent of its electricity from wind power. He also pointed to the 5000 jobs the wind industry has created in that state. He indicated that he wants to manufacture cleantech components like wind turbines in America. He wants to train people to retrofit buildings and install distributed energy systems. He also said that he wants to put American cities at the center of the low carbon economy, or as he put it, be at the, "leading edge to this clean green environment."

O'Malley indicated that all three Democratic hopefuls aspire to do right by the planet, but he was quick to distinguish himself as the most focused on clean power. In a shot that appeared to be directed towards Hilary's moderate stance on green energy, O'Malley said:

"And we're not going to get to 100 percent clean electric grid with an "all of the above" strategy, any more than we got to the moon with an "all of the above" strategy. It was an engineering challenge. And we are up to this as Americans. But incrementalism, half steps, splitting the loaf, that's not going to get us. And that's not what your generation wants. You want the straight truth and you want us to face our challenges fearlessly and make this new reality ours."

Sustainable Agriculture

O'Malley was the only candidate who spoke to the importance of sustainable agriculture:

"The ability to consume and to grow, and to do that within the footprint of this place that we call home. So, I would like to work with congress, and I plan to work with congress, to do more in the Farm Bill to reduce the barriers of entry to new farmers as they start up. Huge capital costs that go into buying the land and buying the equipment. But it's also what's best for keeping our rural economies, and it's best for America. So I've seen in my own state a whole movement to the "buy local" movement and the sort of farming that you describe. We need to do more as a nation to encourage young farmers to go into farming to reduce those barriers and those capital costs, even at the same time that we push back against the concentration monopoly power in the agricultural sector. And that's what I intend to do."

Fossil Fuels

Sanders has repeatedly come out against fossil fuel pipelines. He spoke about his opposition to the Keystone Pipeline, the Bakken Pipeline and pipelines in Vermont and New Hampshire. "I think we've got to break our dependence on fossil fuel." Sanders said. He then asked the question, "Why did it take Hillary Clinton such a long time before she came into opposition to the Keystone Pipeline?"

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Climate and Energy Excerpts from the Fourth Democratic Primary Debate

Three candidates met for the fourth Democratic debate hosted by NBC News and YouTube and moderated by anchor Lester Holt. The debate took place in Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday January 17th. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley were present for the debate. However, except for a passing reference to renewables ("I would work quickly to present to the congress my plans for creating more...clean and renewable energy...") Clinton did not address climate change or energy issues. Hilary's silence on these importance issues in the fourth debate mirrors her strategy in the preceding debate.

Here are the climate and energy remarks made by Sanders and O'Malley during the fourth debate:

Climate Change

Sanders: The debate is over. Climate change is real. It is already causing major problems. And if we do not act boldly and decisively, a bad situation will become worse. It is amazing to me, and I think we’ll have agreement on this up here, that we have a major party called the Republican Party that is so owned by the fossil fuel industry, and their campaign contributions, that they don’t even have the courage, the decency to listen to the scientists. It is beyond my comprehension (APPLAUSE) how we can elect the president of the United States, somebody like Trump, who believes that climate change is a hoax, invented by the Chinese. (LAUGHTER)

Energy

O'Malley: I believe the greatest business opportunity to come to the United States of America in 100 years is climate change. And I put forward a plan to move us to a 100% clean electric energy grid by 2050 and create five million jobs along the way. (CHEERING) Thank you.

Sanders: Bottom line is, we need to be bold and decisive, we can create millions of jobs. We must, for the sake of our kids and grandchildren, transform our energy system away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy.

O'Malley: ...we need a new agenda for America’s cities. We have not had a new agenda for America’s cities since Jimmy Carter. (APPLAUSE) We need a new agenda for America’s cities that will invest in the talents and the skills of our people, that will invest in CBBG, transportation, infrastructure and transit options and make our cities the leading edge in this move to a redesigned built, clean, green energy future that will employ our people.

O'Malley: Lester, on this stage tonight, this Democratic stage, where we actually believe in science, (LAUGHTER) I would like to challenge and invite my colleagues here on this stage to join me in putting forward a plan to move us to a 100% clean, electric energy grid by 2050. It can be done with solar, with wind, (APPLAUSE) with new technologies, with green buildings.

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Republican Climate Avoidance and the Sixth GOP Debate

Republican candidates for president seem to think that if you ignore the climate crisis American voters won't notice. During the sixth Republican debate there was no mention of climate change or global warming, the COP21 deal, renewable energy, cleantech, or the low carbon economy, and of course nary a word was uttered on emissions or greenhouse gases.

Climate change was a no show in the first Republican debate, the CNBC presidential debate and in the November debate they made their opposition to climate action clear. Republican presidential candidates have stated that they do not believe we should not do anything to combat climate change.

For their part the Democratic Presidential contenders have made their support for climate action clear in the CBS debate and the third debate. In fact the differences between the two parties on climate change have led some to conclude that it may give the Democrats the edge in the 2016 election.

The current slate of Republicans presidential contenders are vulnerable to criticism. Their anti-science policy positions will not stand up to scrutiny. Republicans have tried to kill the Clean Power Plan and they have worked to sabotage the COP21 deal.

Despite polls which show that American climate deniers are an increasingly rare breed, Republicans keep ignoring or undermining climate action.

Republicans are at odds with Americans on the subject of climate change and the Clean Power Plan. Even Pope Francis has condemned Republican climate denial in his address to Congress. To understand the Republican's seemingly irrational stance you need to follow the money to the fossil fuel industry.

In the sixth Republican debate closest anyone got to a discussion of anything green was when the it was used as a prefix to the word card in a xenophobic exchange on the horrors of immigration. Rubio even suggested that "radical jihadist" are somehow behind the issuance of green cards.

The only one of the candidates who mentioned energy and oil is Kasich. It came up when he was asked the following question:

"while everyone has been focusing on Iran’s provocations, I’m wondering what you make of what Saudi Arabia has been doing and its recent moves in the region, including its execution of a well-known Shi’ite cleric and its move to dramatically increase oil production, some say in an effort to drive down oil prices and force a lot of U.S. oil producers out of business. Sure enough, oil prices have tumbled. One brokerage house is predicting a third or more of American oil producers and those heavily invested in fracking will go bankrupt, and soon Saudi Arabia and OPEC will be back in the driver’s seat."

Kaisich replied saying:

"With Saudi Arabia and oil production, first of all, it’s so critical for us to be energy independent, and we’re getting there because of fracking and we ought to explore because, see, energy independence gives us leverage and flexibility, and secondly, if you want to bring jobs back to the United States of America in industry, low prices make the difference. We’re seeing it in my state and we’ll see it in this country. And that’s why we must make sure we continue to frack."

It is ironic that in Kasich's closing remarks he explained that his grandfather was a coal miner, who went blind and died of black lung.

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Obama Signs Executive Order to Reduce GHGs in the Federal Government and Across their Supply Chain

President Obama is leading by example and significantly reducing the federal government's greenhouse gas emissions. In the first week of November the President signed an executive order that cuts emissions and weaves sustainability into the fabric of the federal government.

The move will cut government greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40 percent and avert 26 million metric tons of GHG emissions by 2025. The White House claims that this will save tax payers up to $18 billion in energy costs and increase the share of federal energy derived from renewables by at least 25 percent.

The new EO also calls for emissions reduction in the federal government's $445 billion supply chain. The sustainability record of the government's major suppliers is already publicly available. The Federal Supplier Greenhouse Gas Management Scorecard documents the emissions of companies in the governments supply chain.

Federal vehicles will reduce their GHGs by 30 percent and federal buildings will improve their energy efficiency by 2.5 percent a year and water intensity in federal buildings will improve by 2 percent a year

For more information about the Executive Order click here.

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Climate Excerpts from the CBS Democratic Primary Debate

The CBS Democratic Democratic primary debate took place in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday November 14th. Here are the climate related excerpts from that debate. The moderator for the debate was CBS News political director John Dickerson. Hilary Clinton summarized the field of Democratic candidates for President when she said, "All of us believe climate change is real."

DICKERSON: Senator Sanders, you said you want to rid the planet of ISIS. In the previous debate you said the greatest threat to national security was climate change. Do you still believe that?

SANDERS: Absolutely. In fact, climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism. And if we do not get our act together and listen to what the scientists say, you're going to see countries all over the world -- this is what the CIA says -- they're going to be struggling over limited amounts of water, limited amounts of land to grow their crops ask you're going to see all kinds of international conflict.

CORDES: Governor O'Malley, you also want to make public college debt-free. You want...

OMALLEY: That's right.

CORDES: ... states to freeze tuition. You've got your own family leave plan. How would you pay for it? In Maryland, you raised the sales tax, you raised the gas tax and you raised taxes on families making over $150,000 a year. Is that the blueprint?

OMALLEY: Nancy, the blueprint in Maryland that we followed was yes, we did in fact raise the sales tax by a penny and we made our public schools the best public schools in America for five years in a row with that investment. And yes, we did ask everyone -- the top 14 percent of earners in our state to pay more in their income tax and we were the only state to go four years in a row without a penny's increase to college tuitions.

So while other candidates will talk about the things they would like to do, I actually got these things done in a state that defended not only a AAA bond rating, but the highest median income in America. I believe that we pay for many of the things that we need to do again as a nation, investing in the skills of our people, our infrastructure, and research and development and also climate change by the elimination of one big entitlement that we can no longer afford as a people, and that is the entitlement that many of our super wealthiest citizens feel they are entitled to pay -- namely, a much lower income tax rate and a lower tax rate on capital gains.

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Obama Clean Energy Budget and Republican Opposition

Here is a summary of the green elements in President Obama's $4 trillion budget for 2016 which he sent to Congress on Monday February 2. Republicans are already expressing their opposition to a number of proposals contained in the budget. This includes higher taxes on wealthier Americans and corporations as well as a number of climate oriented mitigation and adaptation initiatives.

Obama's budget asks for a total of $7.4 billion to develop clean energy technology strategies through the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Agriculture, and the National Science Foundation. His budget seeks to provide permanent tax incentives for the solar and wind industries and extend the investment Tax Credit for solar which is due to expire at the end of 2016. It also contains provisions for updating the national energy grid to accommodate more renewable energy.

There is money earmarked for states including an additional $4 billion fund to encourage states to make faster and deeper cuts to power plant emissions than are required by the EPA's clean power plan. The budget seeks to offer state financial incentives to expand clean energy initiatives and cut greenhouse gases.

As the President who made America a fossil fuel leader the budget seeks ways of minimizing associated emissions. This includes funding for carbon capture and storage, alongside research to measure methane emissions that leak from natural gas operations. 

While much of the budget is geared towards mitigation, there are also a range of proposals focused on adaptation. This includes preparations to manage natural disasters, drought, wildfires, and coastal flooding.

The Obama administration also wants to give $1.29 billion to its Global Climate Change Initiative. This includes $500 million for US contributions to the UN’s Green Climate Fund, the first installment of the $3 billion pledged by the US last November.

Unsurprisingly the budget is already being opposed by Republicans, who now control both chambers of Congress.

Obama's budget proposal follows the 11th hour passage of a $1.1 trillion spending plan in January to fund the federal government for the rest of this fiscal year. The omnibus spending bill, aptly nicknamed the cromnibus bill contained a number of anti-environment riders.

Even though Environmental funding is less than 1.5 percent of the overall federal budget, Republicans singled out these programs for cuts. This included spending cuts to EPA's regulatory oversight budget as well as the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). This budget prohibits the enforcement of efficient light bulb regulations, it blocks future efforts to restrict mining waste and efforts to stop funding for coal plants abroad.

A Grist article explained, "All of these measures demonstrate that the GOP’s real agenda is not to save money, but to free polluting industries from the burdens of social responsibility."

Scott Slesinger, legislative director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said, “Republicans don’t want to implement environmental laws or enforce laws that are already on the books.”

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GOP Denial and President Obama's Climate Legacy

Republicans continue to resist the veracity of anthropogenic climate change despite an endless stream of scientific warnings. The GOP response to President Obama's State of the Union address was given by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and she did not mention climate change once. The only time she mentioned the environment was in the context of her party's support for the Keystone XL.

The Republican message did not respond to the President's address and Ernst laced her speech with a number of dishonest comments. "Even if we may not always agree, it's important to hear different points of view in this great country. We appreciate the President sharing his," she said.

Ernst's comment is a blatant lie. Throughout most of the Obama Presidency Republicans have had no interest in serious debate, they showed no signs of compromise and have laid down a solid track record demonstrating their vociferous resistance to working with the Democrats.

Ernst declared that as a child she was, "raised to live simply, not to waste." However, it is hard to reconcile this statement with Republican resistance to efforts curb Wall street excesses or engage a low carbon economy.

Even the fact that Obama has made the US the world's largest producer of oil and gas did not earn him favor or foster a spirit of bipartisanship.

The GOP have opposed him from the beginning. His reliance on science to drive policy initiatives on issues like climate change have only emboldened their obstructionism.

In his remaining two years in office, President Obama has no other recourse than to use his executive powers, even though he has used such powers sparingly.

So when the President vetoes a piece of Republican legislation or signs an executive order, understand that this is the only sane response to an anti-science, anti-reason, anti-compromise Republican party.

You cannot expect much from a Republican party with climate denying Senators like Jim Inhofe (R-OK) who continue to say that human-caused climate change is not real. "Man cannot change climate," Inhofe said recently. "The hoax is that there are some people that are so arrogant to think that they are so powerful that they can change climate."

The President is doing what he can to combat climate change, he has laid a foundation that future presidents will have to grapple with. History will record that the Republican party stood in the way.

The GOP will succeed in ensuring that the President will not be able to pass legislation, particularly climate legislation.

The President may be a lame duck, but history will record that the GOP is simply lame.

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Video - Stop the Republican Environmental Assault

Republicans were planning their assault on environmental protections even before they won big in the 2014 midterms. It did not take them long to identify targets in their anti-climate/anti-environment crusade. No single agency is more maligned by the GOP than the EPA.

Click here to join Robert Redford and NRDC in asking President Obama to stand up to Congress and defend our health, our families and our environment.

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Cromnibus Bill Foreshadows the GOP's Legislative Agenda

In the December budget bill, Republicans gave themselves and their friends a number of Christmas gifts. The so called Cromnibus bill is a pale reflection of what Republican legislators will do when they have even greater control in 2015.

After the House voted in favor of a 1.1 trillion government funding bill, the Senate followed suit and passed the bill on Saturday night (December 13) with a vote of 56 to 40. To avoid a government shutdown, Republicans demanded some non-germane amendments that amount to big gifts for themselves and their friends in the oil industry and on Wall Street.

In addition to a number of anti-environmental provisions, the bill weakens the Dodd-Frank act that placed restrictions on banks risky derivative trading that caused the financial crisis and subsequent recession of 2008. The bill will also allow wealthy donors to contribute up $3.1 million per election cycle which is more than three times the current limit. This opens the doors to even more Republican funding from oil interests and Wall Street. These two measures amount to cronyism hence the appellation "Cromnibus bill."

In addition to a host of anti-environmental riders in the bill, the fossil fuel industry benefited from the bill's pro-highway transportation support and a decrease in funding for the relatively more efficient train travel. Amtrak operating subsidies would go down from $340 million to $250 million. Smart growth investment through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) competitive grant program (created in the 2009 stimulus package) was cut by $100 million.

The bill, which funds most of the government for the rest of the fiscal year or until the month of September will be signed by President Obama this week.

Some Republicans wanted to use the bill to defund the EPA's authority to protect waterways and the clean energy plan, however these initiatives were dropped before the vote. The Senate was forced to work over the weekend thanks to Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) opposition to President Obama's immigration related executive orders.

The bill was strongly condemned by a wide range of environmental organizations not only for what it contains but also for what it means for the coming legislative session in the new year.

Republicans are wringing their hands in glee as they look forward to the forthcoming legislative session in 2015. When Republicans bolster their ranks in the House and take control of the Senate, we can expect more non-germane amendments to advance their anti-environmental agenda.

The new year will not mark the beginning of compromise, it will herald the dawn of unprecedented extortion from the GOP.

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Anti-Environmental Tidings in a Bill to Keep Government Running

A pre-Christmas bill contains some bad tidings for the environment. Republicans had an extortion list to avert a government shutdown that included blocking environmental protections. The so called Cromnibus bill, narrowly passed in the House with a vote 219 to 206, it will keep the government running until next September. The $1.01 trillion, 1,603-page spending bill is chalked full of pork including a number of anti-environment provisions.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and many of her colleagues were particularly displeased with two attached riders that would significantly increase the ceiling for political donations from wealthy patrons while scaling back the Dodd Frank Wall Street reform act designed to reign-in the kind of Wall Street activity that sparked the financial crisis of 2008.

"This is ransom, this is blackmail," Pelosi said. "We don't get a bill unless Wall Street gets its taxpayer-funded coverage." Similarly, it could also be said that Americans were permitted to keep their running government running by allowing Republicans to whittle away at environmental protections.

As extrapolated from a Climate Progress article, here are some of the worst.

Cutting Environmental Protection Agency Funding

Under the bill, EPA funding would be cut by 60 million compared to last year. This will force a staff cutback that will would hamper the EPA's ability to do its work including enforcing basic health protections and cleaning up Superfund sites.  

Preventing Funding To The Green Climate Fund

The bill explicitly states that “no funds may be made available for the Green Climate Fund,” Green Climate Funds are designed to help developing nations deal with the impacts of climate change.

Fossil Fuel Development Kills Endangered Species Research

The bill prevents federal funds from being used to determine the eligibility status of two species of sage grouse (the Gunnnisan and the greater) under the Endangered Species Act. The real issue here is drilling and fracking on land used by the sage grouse. The Gunnison sage grouse was listed as “threatened” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last month, but the agency originally had until next September to figure out a listing for the greater sage grouse Denying scientific study precludes their listing as endangered species and invites fossil fuel development.

Finance of Coal-Fired Power Plants at the Expense Renewable Energy Abroad

The spending bill would opens the door to finance for coal power plants abroad In effect the provision allows for the export of carbon pollution at the expense of sustainable, clean energy for developing countries.

Prohibiting Regulations On Light Bulb Efficiency

The bill prevents government from funding efforts to “implement or enforce” standards for light bulb efficiency.

Blocking Regulation of Lead Ammunition

The bill includes a provision that would prohibit federal funds going toward regulation of lead in ammunition and fishing. Lead in bullets and fishing tackle are harmful to birds and other animals.

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The Weapons Republican will use in their War on Climate Protections

There are a number of weapons that the GOP will use in their war against climate protections. The planning has already begun as the new slate of Republican legislators and governors prepare to be sworn in in January. Here is the array of resources each side has at its disposal.

Republicans are already zeroing in on targets. They will try to pass legislation that eliminates climate change mitigation efforts and environmental protections. They will support fossil fuels and resist cleaner forms of energy.

The right to filibuster and a Presidential Veto are all that stand in the way of the GOP's legislative assaults. When the Democrats avail themselves of their only option or the President uses his veto, Republicans can be expected to wreak bloody havoc.

For starters the GOP can block all of the President's nominees. They can use tactics such as those they have attempted in the past. This includes efforts to defund federal agencies like the EPA. They can shut down government by refusing to approve a budget. They could even trigger the "nuclear option" of a global financial collapse by breaching the debt ceiling and defaulting on the US national debt.

Most Democrats and businesses with a conscience along with a number of mayors and investors will oppose the Republican agenda. However, the loudest voices will come from environmental organizations and concerned citizens. As evidenced by the recent People's Climate March support for climate protections is at an unprecedented high. These protests may even succeed in forcing some Republicans to think twice ahead of the 2016 presidential elections. 

To stay within acceptable temperature limits the US must radically decrease their greenhouse gas emissions. If Republicans are allowed to proceed with their agenda it will radically accelerate carbon production.

 The implications of runaway climate change are widely documented. The scientific community is virtually unanimous in its assessment of what will happen if we continue on our current trajectory. If Republicans succeed in dismantling climate mitigation efforts it will augur catastrophe.

Although it will get far worse in the future the current situation is already perilous. As many as five million people are killed each year by climate change related phenomenon, by the end of the century that number could rise to 100 million. The GOP's agenda is a road-map to the earth's sixth mass extinction event.

The Republican assault on climate protections may not be fought with guns, planes or tanks, but if it goes unchallenged, it could prove more lethal than a full scale conventional war.

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Republicans Pass Anti-Science Bill in the House

Republicans in the House of Representatives have passed a bill that would keep the EPA from using science to inform and support their policy positions. Republicans have a long history of resisting science particularly when its serves their partisan interests. However, with this new bill they have sunk to a new low as few pieces of legislation are as blatently anti-science as this one.

In November the House passed a bill that would limit the type of scientific research available to the EPA for crafting regulations. The bill deceptively named the Secret Science Reform Act of 2014 passed in the House with a vote of 237 to 190. While the legislation purports to restrict the EPA's use of science that is "hidden and flawed" it is actually an attempt to undermine access to things like medical research which guarantees that the medical records of those who participate are kept confidential.

"Some of the best real-world public health research, which relies on patient data like hospital admissions, would be excluded from consideration because personal data could not, and should not, be made public," wrote Union of Concerned Scientists director Andrew Rosenberg. "Demanding public release of full raw data the agency cannot legally disclose is simply a way to accuse the agency of hiding something when it has nothing to hide."

The White House explained the Republican's efforts this way, "In short, the bill would undermine EPA’s ability to protect the health of Americans, would impose expensive new mandates on EPA, and could impose substantial litigation costs on the Federal government...It also could impede EPA’s reliance on the best available science."

Clearly, depriving the EPA of access to the best science is the real goal of the House bill. While their crusade against science driven policy is hardly a secret, passing legislation to restrict government agencies from taking informed positions seems extreme even for them.

This legislation is a thinly veiled assault against the EPA. It may be best understood as an attack against the wealth of scientific evidence that shows why environmental protections and efforts to combat climate change are so important. Given their support for the fossil fuel industry, Republicans are at odds with the vast array of scientific data that shows how burning carbon is destructive to the environment and human health.

Republican actions are explained by the fact that they are beholden to the fossil fuel industry at the expense of the health of Americans and the national interest. Simply put, Republicans are afraid of science because it refutes their convoluted web of lies.

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Republican Ignorance and the Latest IPCC Report
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Republicans Declare War on the Environment and Surrender to Climate Change

Even before the new slate of Republican's take their seats in Congress early in 2015, they have already begun their assault on the environment and efforts to fight climate change. They have promised to take on the EPA and President Obama's climate change agenda.

Led Mitch McConnell, the man destined to be the next Senate majority leader, this climate-denying-coal-loving Senator has made his anti-science, anti-climate and anti-environment intentions clear. In his home state of Kentucky he campaigned on the promise of combating what he has terms Obama's "war on coal." One of the top items on the Republican agenda is fast tracking of the Keystone XL.

Republicans have vowed to delay the EPA's regulatory initiatives through a variety of tactics including "open investigation" and call for funding cuts that would defund the EPA's efforts. As chair of the environmental committee, Senator Jim Inhofe is expected to hold hearing to aggressively attack the EPA administrator Gina McCarthy. As explained by Inhofe, "As we enter a new Congress, I will do everything in my power to rein in and shed light on the EPA’s unchecked regulations." Inhofe has also denounced the recent historic climate agreement between the US and China.

Tax credits for renewable energy are also under attack from some Republicans as lawmakers address the fate of dozens of expired tax provisions and work to reach a deal by mid-December. In particular the revival of the wind energy tax credit, which expired at the end of 2013, can be expected to be vociferously rejected by some Republicans in congress, while others may continue to support it.

The President still has his veto powers and McConnell is unlikely to be able to muster the two-thirds majority in the Senate necessary to override a presidential veto. There is also the court of public opinion, if sufficient numbers of Americans come to understand the facts, they may rebel against Republican's anti-science tirades. 

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Cromnibus Bill Foreshadows the GOP's Legislative Agenda
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Republican Ignorance and the Latest IPCC Report
Republican Law to Curtail (Environmental) Regulations
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GOP Identifies Targets for their Impending War Against Climate Protections
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Republican Ignorance and the Latest IPCC Report

The Republican's response to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report puts their ignorance and their partisan politics on display. Although this is among the world's most comprehensive reports on climate science it is dismissed by the GOP as "politics".

Listen to what two leading Republicans had to say about the IPCC's conclusion that the Earth is headed towards, “severe, pervasive, and irreversible” climate change impacts:

Lamar Smith of Texas, the chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee said that the UN report is "nothing new...Similar to previous reports, the latest findings appear more political than scientific...People are tired of the re-packaged rhetoric. It’s time to stop fear mongering and focus on an honest dialogue about real options." Smith said it appears that the UN is, "once more attempting to provide cover for costly new regulations and energy rationing."

James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, ridiculed the latest IPCC report saying, "The idea that our advanced industrialized economy would ever have zero carbon emissions is beyond extreme and further proof that the IPCC is nothing more than a front for the environmental left."

Americans should be profoundly skeptical of the contempt Republicans show for climate science. Such an attitude warrants deep concern about their basic competency and justifies allegations of negligence. You cannot hope to craft useful policy without understanding the conclusions of cogent bodies of science.

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Republican Law to Curtail (Environmental) Regulations

Even before the 2014 midterms Republicans were looking for ways to fight environmental regulations.  Republicans have already passed legislation in the House that would keep the federal government from spending money on regulations. The bill is called the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act. It would require the approval of both houses of Congress for any federal rules that cost $100 million or more per year.

Republicans are well known for their outdated anti-regulatory political philosophies. They have not changed their tune one bit even though recent history has painfully demonstrated that it was the absence of regulations that led to the global recession of 2007 & 2008.

In addition to being slow learners, the GOP are willfully obstructionist. This law is a thinly veiled attempt to keep the Obama administration from enacting regulations. This is chiefly about stopping the EPA from moving forward with its Clean Power Plan.

This law is an instrument designed to enable Republicans to manifest their anti-environment and anti-climate resolve. This legislative vehicle will enable them to stop the government from moving forward with efforts to provide the American people with clean air and water. It can be applied to both the Clean Power Plan and Waters of the United States as well as any other significant  attempts to enact regulations.

Prior to the election some Republicans have deemed this legislation to be their top priority if they took control. Now that they have control we can expect them to make good on their sinister promise.

Related
Obama's Clean Energy Budget and Republican Opposition
GOP Denial and President Obama's Climate Legacy
Cromnibus Bill Foreshadows the GOP's Legislative Agenda
Anti-Environmental Tidings in a Bill to Keep Government Running
Republicans Pass Anti-Science Bill in the House
Republicans Declare War on the Environment
Republican Ignorance and the Latest IPCC Report
Republicans vs Democrats on Climate Change
Republican Climate Deniers are in Control
The Arsenal Republicans will use in their War on Climate
GOP Identifies Targets for their Impending War Against Climate Protections
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