Donald
Trump’s presidency threatens countless issues, but efforts to stop climate
change cannot afford to be roped into the mix. The newest US president’s
opinion on the environment is no secret; Donald Trump has clearly stated he has
plans to eliminate environmental regulations that help slow climate change.
With motives speculated to stem from his own business and personal ties whilst
infamously denouncing global warming as a "hoax" manufactured by the Chinese,
Trump’s controversial stance on the environment does not bode well for our planet over the next four years.
Justin Worland from Time magazine reports even current
climate change legislation is under threat, with President Trump “working with
Congress to undo a slew of rules implemented under former President Barack
Obama.” Trump has already taken authoritative action on both the Keystone
XL and Dakota Access pipelines under heavy governmental and public scrutiny, though he seems undeterred by voices of reason.
His lack of concern for the environment is extremely troubling, and public
sources are already urging Trump to keep current climate change legislation
enacted. The Hill pleads the 45th president to "maintain this
country's commitments" Obama signed, such as the critical Paris Agreement of 2015.
In addition, they ask President Trump to support the EPA's Clean Power Plan and
invite more transparency into future actions regarding the environment. With
"a great opportunity to save our environment," and the whole world
looking to the United States' newest leader, The Hill and general public agrees it now falls heavily on President
Trump to act rationally and in the best interest of the environment.
My
question is if Donald Trump fails to support the slowing of climate change, will
other nations follow suit? Will the World Environmental Organization we
mentioned in class be forced to arise as a result? More so, when a natural
disaster occurs sometime in the next four years (which is almost a given), what will the United States’
response look like under President Trump? The amount of aid, supplies, and volunteer relief America
supplies to the country in need will set the stage for new response norms and political
relations, not to mention impact issues of forced migration. These are key issues
we must be aware of as Trump’s presidency takes hold, and though he, his
Cabinet, and his pocketed politicians may ignore global warming’s looming threat,
it is our responsibility to stay vigilant over the next four years.
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ReplyDeleteI think it will definitely be interesting to see how other countries react to Trump's climate change policies. Since the US is already involved in a number of climate change agreements I wonder if the US backs out if other countries will follow or resist Trump's decisions.
ReplyDeleteIt is going to be really interesting to see how Trump handles this issue. He can not just ignore the fact that over 97% of the science community agree that Climate Change is real.
ReplyDeletePersonally I don't think that the U.S. backing out of Environmental Treaties or not addressing climate change will affect the actions of other countries too much (specifically European powers). Western European powers such as France, Germany, and the UK will continue to create Environmental legislation and continue pursuing a solution. These more developed countries harm the environment the most however I believe they will continue to attempt to curb their environmental impact and work with developing countries to develop sustainably and not cause irreparable damage to the environment like the developed countries. Regardless of Trump's opinion on the matter, many countries will remain committed to finding sustainable solutions to the world's issues.
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