Trump is bad for you, me, and the Earth

Mike Stewart/AP

While former President Donald Trump is notorious for many of his questionable and problematic actions while he was in office, his most long-lasting legacy will likely be his actions taken regarding climate change.

The Bad News

During his time in office, Trump rolled back more than 100 environmental rules and regulations, including those regarding air pollution, drilling and extraction, animals, water pollution, and even toxic substances and safety. Some examples of the rollbacks include removing protections from more than half of the nation’s wetlands, increasing the amount of land available for oil and gas leasing, and weakening environmental requirements for projects. All in all, these are expected to result in an additional 1.8 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by 2035.

Under Mr. Trump, the Environmental Protection Agency delayed regulations on methane leaks from landfills, a significant source of emissions. The EPA also replaced Obama’s Clean Power Plan, which would have avoided over 400 million tons of emissions by 2030, with the Affordable Clean Energy Rule. The rule allows states to decide how to regulate emissions from power plants and would only result in 11 million tons less CO2 in the atmosphere by 2030. Additionally, Mr. Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement has hurt America’s influence in climate talks, slowing down international efforts to reduce emissions.

The Good News

The Biden administration has done quite a lot for the environment, such as the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides significant funding for climate efforts and provides incentives for companies and consumers to invest in clean energy technology. They have also made significant progress on their promises to require all new passenger vehicles to produce zero emissions by 2035 and to scale up carbon removal. However, they have made less progress in reestablishing international leadership and have been off track in terms of taxing pollution.

How You Can Help

For an issue like this, where the problem is an individual in office whose administration has harmed the environment and will continue to do so if let back in office, the solution is simply voting. In the upcoming election, vote if you are eligible to do so in the Americas, and if you cannot, advocate to vote for President Biden. Even though he may not be meeting all of his climate targets at the moment, his current policies are much more sustainable for the world we live in, and Trump's policies have proven to be detrimental to environmental protection efforts. By supporting President Biden's administration, we can work towards a greener future and mitigate further damage to our planet caused by irresponsible governance. Every vote counts in shaping the direction of environmental policies and safeguarding the well-being of future generations.