Trump hostility to the environment

[catherine]

In office in 4 days, and here are his "accomplishments":

• Announced reduction of 75% of the current corporate regulations, which include environmental protections
• Signed an executive order granting approval of the Keystone Pipeline
• Somehow intimidated the CDC into canceling its climate change summit next month (not saying it was direct intimidation, but apparently they were worried about how the administration would take it)
• Ordered a media blackout at the EPA and suspended grants

So, when I was complaining to DH, he was saying that we don't know how Trump is going to be with the environment--maybe he'll be fine, and I had to remind him that this was the man that sued Balmedie, the town in Scotland that let him build a golf course there, because he objected to the wind farms. Thankfully, he lost that fight.

[iris lilies]

I think there is way too much "awfulizing" a Trump presidency, and the many items already posted on social media are small, instubstantial things blown out of proportin.

However, being a friend to the environment is not his priority. So yeah, if decisions come down to environment vs. Something Else, I doubt that the environment will win.Your overall concern is legitimate.

[catherine]

I agree about the sensationalizing this election outcome, IL, and I'm ready to go on a media fast--well, at least a FB fast. I'm tired of seeing my liberal and conservative friends duke it out with anti-Trump/anti-Liberal meme after meme after meme. It's getting VERY tiring.

But, yes, I'm afraid that the planet will not get much attention from this administration.

[LDAHL]

I think there is way too much "awfulizing" a Trump presidency, and the many items already posted on social media are small, instubstantial this blow out of proportin.

I think you're right that the cottage industry of finding new things to deplore about Trump may be expanding beyond the zone of even American-politics rationality. The good people at Slate are publishing articles with headlines like "Donald Trump's Horrifying Signature is a Cry for Help", "A Detailed Forensic Analysis of Melania Trump's Creepy, Devastating Inauguration Smile/Frown" and "How Long Would a Liberal Have to Cry to Fill a Mug With Tears?".

I like your use of "awfulizing". "Demonizing" has been overused to the point of cliche.

[CathyA]

How can anyone NOT be concerned? We're already seeing so much damage to the planet, even with the laws in place to protect it (weak as they are). I would venture to say that people who aren't concerned about it, aren't really aware of things.
Being a person who lives out in the country, I'm seeing it up close and personal. I'm barely seeing butterflies/birds/animals like I used to. And most woods around here are sick. Farmland and lack of concern for wetlands is making for lots of problems. Even if we did everything right for the environment, man is destroying so much, just with population. I can only shake my head when people say the concern for the environment is over-blown. So sad. I'm wondering if those people don't have children......

[ApatheticNoMore]

Also advancing the Dakota access pipeline apparently.

Yea, it's hard to get news that isn't hysterical, but going back and forth about what is hysterical based on whether people have strong emotions is NOT rational either. So take a step back and ask: 1) is this actual policy (Trump being a jerk on Twitter, inauguration counts don't count). 2) Is this something Trump actually has the power to do? Remember some things still require Congressional approval, now you can be as pessimistic about the current Congress as you like and it's probably well founded! But some legislation is not actual law until it gets both that and Trumps ok is all I'm saying. 3) Does it represent a change of policy? Some of the bad policy under Trump will be pre-existing bad policy, occasionally pre-existing bad policy might be reaffirmed. 4) what is the likely effect?

Now executive orders and authority over government agencies are where Trump actually may have some power sad to say! .

[Chicken lady]

It is making me emotional and literally crazy.

i am trying, and often failing, to change a lot of ingrained behaviors (see mindful consumption thread) and I feel like no matter what I do, it's bailing a sinking ship with a spoon.

every other issue I care about, I feel like "well, this will probably suck, but it can be fixed later." The environment I don't think we can fix later.

[CathyA]

It is making me emotional and literally crazy.

i am trying, and often failing, to change a lot of ingrained behaviors (see mindful consumption thread) and I feel like no matter what I do, it's bailing a sinking ship with a spoon.

every other issue I care about, I feel like "well, this will probably suck, but it can be fixed later." The environment I don't think we can fix later.

I hear ya Chicken lady. Unfortunately, I'm to the point where the only consolation I can find is thinking "Nature will endure without us." It may take a long time to recover, but it will happen.

[Chicken lady]

My friend told me "the planet will be fine. It's the current cast of life forms that won't. Stop being so human-centric. The cockroaches have waited a long time for this."

[catherine]

I hear ya Chicken lady. Unfortunately, I'm to the point where the only consolation I can find is thinking "Nature will endure without us." It may take a long time to recover, but it will happen.

I know, Cathy. That's the argument I hear, also. But millions of years to establish such miraculous biodiversity and maintain a perfect ecological balance, and in a mere hundred years or so we're overfished, overfarmed, overpopulated, over-consumed. We've poisoned streams and rivers, killed off the Coral Reef, killed off tens of thousands of species every year, eroded our topsoil.

Yes, it will return, but it seems like such a waste. It's like when we spend money foolishly and my husband's mantra is "ah, money comes and money goes," which makes me so mad because usually when it "goes" it's because we've been stupid. Same thing with the environment. We're saying, "Ah, planets come and planets go" instead of saying, "we're being stupid."