It would be extremely challenging to avert catastrophic climate chaos no matter who would have been elected President of the United States in 2016. On Earth Day (April 22, 2016), 175 nations signed the historic Paris climate accord in New York City at the United Nations. That was a hopeful day for the world, as it was a worldwide pledge to hold global warming to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial revolution levels, and to strive for 1.5C if possible by 2100. It was, and is, a lofty goal to slow the rise of human caused greenhouse gases that is jeopardizing our ability to have a livable climate for anything similar to our current human civilization. Alarmingly, the United Nations found that commitments made by the world’s governments in Paris is not nearly enough to hold off planetary disaster because they are not proportional with the growth of fossil fuel emissions. These pledges, the report found, put forward to cut emissions would actually see temperatures rise by 3C above pre-industrial levels, far above the 2C of what was agreed to in Paris.
In response to a question on climate recently, President-Elect Donald Trump is quoted as saying “Now, Paris, I'm studying. I do say this. I don't want that agreement to put us at a competitive disadvantage with other countries, and as you know, there are different times and different time limits on that agreement. I don't want that to give China, or other countries signing agreements, an advantage over us.” He further stated, “I'm very open-minded. I'm still open-minded. Nobody really knows. Look, I'm somebody that gets it, and nobody really knows. It's not something that's so hard and fast, I do know this: Other countries are eating our lunch.”
Sharon Lerner of the Intercept writes a must-read piece that exposes how Donald Trump and the Republican Party, with guidance by Myron Ebell of the CEI, intend to destroy our environment. She dissects how the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s legislative agenda “Free to Prosper” is a radical plan which, if implemented, will result in the dismantling of environmental safeguards.
Most disingenuously, CEI presents its efforts to do away with climate protections as stemming from a concern for the poor, since “energy costs already impose real burdens on low-income households.” In truth, the poor are disproportionately affected by climate change. And, of course, huge energy and chemical companies are the ones who stand to benefit most from the assault on climate and other environmental protections suggested in the report. Not coincidentally, many of these same powerful interests, including Exxon, Dow, Texaco, the American Petroleum Institute, and the Koch Brothers have funded CEI.
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Budgets may be the most direct way to paralyze environmental progress, and CEI proposes slashing a number of them. “Free to Prosper” also calls on Congress to cut off the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, an intergovernmental group that gathers and shares information on strategies for addressing greenhouse gas emissions and preparations for the impacts of climate change.
Although some environmental advocates have offered assurances that dismantling environmental laws will be difficult and time consuming, the CEI report suggests specific strategies the Trump administration might pursue, such as amending the Clean Air Act so that the EPA no longer has the ability to affect climate policy; altering the Clean Water Act so that the EPA has no power to regulate wetlands; and reforming the Endangered Species Act so that it’s harder to add threatened animals.
Generally speaking, whatever natural resource you might think of, CEI believes it doesn’t need protection. So the Waters of the U.S. Rule, which limits pollution in lakes and rivers, should be overturned; the federal government should transfer ownership of land to the states or private citizens, or at the very least make it available for “resource production”; fuel standards for cars should be allowed to expire; and Congress should push back against the Fish and Wildlife Service, which, according to CEI, is engaged in “a vast new endangered species power grab.”
Sharon Lerner ends her piece with a quote from Daniel Rosenberg, a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Counsel.
“This is standard CEI — hysteria, nonsense, and dishonesty to promote the most extreme pro-chemical manufacturer agenda, These people are not relevant players, they’re at the margins,” he added. “Or at least they used to be.”
The below video is a interview with the infamous Myron Ebell, Competitive Enterprise Institute director, wacko and climate change criminal, who recently oversaw the transition of the US Environmental Protection Agency which resulted in the nomination of Scott Pruitt, a notorious climate change denier. Scott Pruitt, Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson, along with Trump, Putin and the Republican Congress, all intend to install a fossil fuel kleptocracy in the United States. You can help join the resistance to protect scientists and the environment by fighting back: donate to 350.ORG. And please keep the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s legislative agenda handy, as we know an all-out assault on the earth will commence immediately in January—we need to be ready to fight.
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