Trump Pushes Ahead With Anti-Environment Agenda

Taking advantage of a nation rightfully distracted by the coronavirus crisis, the Trump regime is continuing its assault on the environment by rolling back auto emissions standards set by the Obama administration:

The White House released the final version of its rules to roll back Obama-era auto emissions standards, taking a critical step toward completing what would be President Donald Trump’s most substantial environmental change since taking office as the novel coronavirus pandemic rages. 

The rule, written by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation, would lower fuel economy standards for vehicles sold in the United States from 54 miles per gallon by 2025 to 40 miles per gallon.

The two-digit change carries 10-digit implications for climate change. Under the new standard, which could be implemented as soon as this spring, the U.S. auto fleet would emit nearly additional 1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide over their lifespans on the road than they would under the existing rule. That’s nearly the annual emissions of Japan, the world’s fifth-largest source of planet-heating carbon dioxide.  (our emphasis)

While the regime modified its even more reactionary original proposal to freeze standards at this year's level, the new standards are another example of the regime's incestuous ties to the industries it "regulates" and to its overall blundering approach.  The Los Angeles Times notes:

Dialing back its original proposal hasn’t made the administration’s problems go away.

The government’s cost-benefit analysis shows that even if the rollback lowers the cost of new cars — as the administration maintains it will — drivers will likely still lose money in the end by having to buy more gas.

And although President Trump has boasted that the new standards will spur economic growth, the administration’s forecasts aren’t remotely sunny. They project car companies could suffer a loss of thousands of jobs by making dirtier cars that would be locked out of many overseas markets.  (our emphasis)

Of course, the focus isn't on whether the average consumer will benefit in the end from cleaner air, global climate change abatement, or having more money in their pockets.  It's about the Republican donor base, as it always is.

The greed and short- sightedness of the auto and oil and gas industries matches that of the Trump regime and its cadre of 4th raters and ideologues.  It's a recipe for environmental disaster, and reason number infinity that these vandals and crooks need to be kicked out in November (if they don't manage to kill us all first).

Scientists: 2035 Is Point Of No Return On Climate

A new study by geoscientists in the UK and Netherlands indicates we've nearly run out of time for action to hold global warming at bay. The study, published in Earth System Dynamics by the European Geosciences Union, warns that by 2035 unless action is taken to reduce carbon emissions, increases in the earth's temperature will reach two degrees Centigrade:

"In our study we show that there are strict deadlines for taking climate action," says Henk Dijkstra, a professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and one of the study authors. "We conclude that very little time is left before the Paris targets [to limit global warming to 1.5°C or 2°C] become infeasible even given drastic emission reduction strategies."  (our emphasis)

The dire warning comes as the U.S. fossil fuel industry is emboldened by the Trump administration's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, it's promotion of coal production and use, and its relaxation of environmental air pollution standards. The fossil fuel industry not only has a place at the table as far as Trump's energy policies are concerned, they own the table.

To illustrate how urgent action is needed to accelerate renewable energy use, we are already fighting a rear guard action:

"To likely limit global warming to 1.5°C in 2100, humanity would have to take strong climate action much sooner. We would only have until 2027 to start if we could increase the share of renewables at a rate of 5% a year. We have already passed the point of no return for the more modest climate-action scenario where the share of renewables increases by 2% each year." (our emphasis)

Facts matter, elections matter. Our lives and our planet matter.

Federal Report: Human Activity Causes Climate Change

It looks like this was one report that slipped by the incompetent Trumpkins.

Despite the adamant denial of the fossil-fuel shills in the administration of pathological liar and con man Donald "Rump" Trump that climate change is principally caused by man's burning of fossil fuels, the Government issued a mandated report, the "Climate Science Special Report" which had the following definitive statement:

"This assessment concludes, based on extensive evidence, that it is extremely likely that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases, are the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th Century. For the warming over the last century, there is no convincing alternative explanation supported by the extent of the observational evidence." (emphasis added)

The report is the consensus of Federal agencies and independent scientists and cited rising temperatures globally, rising sea levels and extreme weather events. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott "Screw It" Pruitt is a prominent climate change denier out of Oklahoma's oil patch, who has worked to undermine his agency's work to curb the damage done by fossil fuels. Rump has consistently referred to climate change as a "hoax" perpetrated by China to cripple U.S. industry, and withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord, joining despotic Syria as the only two nations in the world not party to the accord.

Polluters To Be Rewarded With Oil Pipeline

Reversing President Obama's decision to block the Keystone XL pipeline, the State Department is reported to be poised to sign the cross-border permit with Canada to allow the pipeline as soon as next Monday, according to reports. The 1.200 mile pipeline would carry oil sands crude from Canada across the center of the U.S. to oil refineries along the Gulf Coast, and on to the world oil market. The oil pipeline company TransCanada has sought construction of the project for a decade. It would move the crude oil across some of the most environmentally vulnerable parts of the U.S., including across major rivers and tributaries, and will likely boost oil sands development in Alberta, Canada with dire consequences to the environment in the form of increased carbon emissions.

Former Exxon CEO and recipient of Russia's Order of Friendship Secretary of State Rex "Rexxon" Tillerson recused himself from the decision to approve the pipeline, an empty gesture since sociopath and environmental predator Donald "Rump" Trump would have found someone in the State Department to approve the construction of the pipeline. Interestingly, Rump has recently promised to his gullible cult members that he would insist on U.S.-supplied steel pipes for the pipeline, a promise which he's already broken (not that his cult will notice or care about). Oil industry hacks tried to sell the pipeline on the basis of job creation, touting many thousands of jobs, a claim that fact-averse Rump was happy to repeat. In fact, the number of intermittent, temporary jobs created would be between 1,950 and 3,900, with only 35 full-time permanent jobs to manage the pipeline once built.

This is a big windfall for the big carbon polluters. Our environment will suffer in many ways now and in the future from this decision.