Category Archives: Trump

8 Major Trump Executive Actions on the Environment

Repost from the San Francisco Chronicle  (This article is a feature of an important SF Chron investigative piece: “Trump Gains, Science Loses.”)

8 MAJOR TRUMP EXECUTIVE ACTIONS ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Traffic on Highway 880 in Oakland. President Trump’s order calls for a review of fuel economy standards for vehicles for model years 2022-25. Michael Macor / The Chronicle

Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines: Jan. 24 Signs orders to approve the two oil pipelines over the objections of environmentalists who say the projects will damage the area and encourage use of fossil fuels.

Expedite approvals for infrastructure: Jan. 24 Signs order directing the White House Council on Environmental Quality to speed approvals of infrastructure projects around the country “using all necessary and appropriate means.” Critics fear the order will lead to construction without proper environmental review.

Border wall: Jan. 25 Calls for expansion of a wall along the southern border with Mexico. Environmentalists say the wall would fragment ecosystems and create barriers to the movement of species. It would also intersect Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Big Bend National Park. Funding faces bipartisan resistance in Congress.

Two-for-one regulatory repeal: Jan. 30 Orders federal agencies to repeal two rules for every new one and orders all new regulatory costs this year to equal zero. Public Citizen, Natural Resources Defense Council and Communications Workers of America sued, saying the order could require the government to lift bans on lead or asbestos to protect against new chemicals.

Enforcing the regulatory reform agenda: Feb. 24 Orders federal agencies to root out rules that inhibit job creation, “are outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective,” or “impose costs that exceed benefits.”

Waters of the United States: Feb. 24 Orders review of an Obama-era rule that expanded protection of smaller bodies of water, tributaries and wetlands. The action could make it easier to develop on wetlands and near streams.

Fuel economy: March 15 Orders review of fuel-economy standards that limit greenhouse gas pollution from cars and light trucks for model years 2022 to 2025. Vehicles are the biggest source of U.S. carbon pollution.

Promoting energy independence: March 28 Orders review of Clean Power Plan limiting carbon emissions from coal plants, a linchpin of federal climate policy along with vehicle standards. Ends consideration of climate change in agency reviews, ends calculation of social cost of carbon, making it harder to write new rules to limit emissions. Halts federal actions to prepare for climate change. Lifts moratorium on new coal leases on federal land.

Online resources: Read more at http://bit.ly/2pHNJW4  (Climate Deregulation Tracker, Columbia Law School, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Earth Institute, Columbia University)

BENICIA VIGIL: Still Standing Strong after Trump’s First 100 Days

WeThePeople Benicia Standing StrongBENICIA RESISTANCE: OBSERVANCE OF TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS
Friday, April 28, 5 PM
City Park, First & Military Streets

WE WILL GATHER ON TRUMP’S 99TH DAY (…not on the 20th this month)

Shepard-GreaterThanFearWe found ourselves moved and encouraged on Inauguration Day, January 20th when we sang and held hands in the pouring rain just as Donald Trump took the oath of office.  We determined that day to organize, to keep watch, to remain vigilant, and to come together on the 20th of each month to support one another in our efforts to resist authoritarian governance of our constitutional democracy.

And so we did gather again – in the pouring rain each time – on February 20 and March 20.  In April, we will put off our gathering for a week or so, and meet on the day before the Trump Administration’s 100th day.  We will gather on Friday, April 28th.

Please share this invitation with friends and family, bring signs and banners, and prepare to have your discouragement and anxieties transformed into purpose and strength in the warmth and insight of our hopeful community of Benicia progressives. 

BENICIA STANDING STRONG: VIGIL ON THE SPRING EQUINOX

Next Monday!

– BENICIA STANDING STRONG –
VIGIL ON THE SPRING EQUINOX

WeThePeople Benicia Standing StrongMonday, March 20, 6 p.m. First & Military

We continue on the 20th of each month to stand strong, watching over the Trump administration’s disastrous agenda. AND…it’s important to remain focused on local & regional issues. TOGETHER, we are strong.

March 20th falls this year on the spring equinox, a season of increasing light, and a time when life springs forth from death.  We gather again to support one another in our efforts to resist the stifling of democracy and hope.

Bring information about groups you are working with.
Connect with others who are taking action.
Bring signs and banners.

TRUMP WATCH
HERE AT HOME
Among MANY other things…President Trump released his preliminary discretionary budget Thursday morning with its massive cuts to the arts, science, and the poor.  The proposal cuts the EPA and the State Department the most — by nearly a third.

Trump would eliminate funding for 19 agencies, including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Chemical Safety Board.

  • Great news! The Phillips 66 proposal to bring oil trains through Northern California to San Luis Obispo was DEFEATED last week, thanks to vigorous local and regional organizing!
  • The Bay Area Air District is hosting a community workshop on Tues, March 28 at 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at the Benicia Library. A strong public presence is important to send the Air District the message that we cannot wait any longer and we need emissions caps now.
  • On April 4, there will be a nationwide screening of the 80’s movie 1984. In Vallejo, see the movie at the Empress Theater in Vallejo (more info on Facebook event page).
A few good local organizing links:


JOIN us at the vigil on March 20 and SHARE on Facebook
tinyurl.com/BeniciaVigil

We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak. And we must rejoice as well, [at] the high grounds of a firm dissent based upon the mandates of conscience and the reading of history. Perhaps a new spirit is rising among us.
– Martin Luther King, Jr., 1967

On the Climate Crisis, It’s Donald Trump vs. the World

Repost from Inside Sources

On the Climate Crisis, It’s Donald Trump vs. the World

On the Climate Crisis, It’s Donald Trump vs. the World
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves a rally at The Palladium in Carmel, Ind., Monday, May 2, 2016. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Donald Trump is many things, but we now know that in at least one area he would be a totally unique world leader if elected president: He would be the only leader of any nation to reject the science and dangers of climate change.

The Associated Press recently reported on a new study from the Sierra Club that reveals that every current world leader recognizes both the science of climate change and the dangers it poses to humanity.

Some have assumed that leaders of other nations around the world, including those countries most dependent on fossil fuels or with despotic leaders, hold similar views regarding climate denial and opposition to all climate action. But this study demonstrates that, from our closest allies like Canada, Japan and Germany, to the largest carbon emitters like India, China and Brazil, to the most fossil-fuel dependent states like Russia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, to countries as varied as Zimbabwe, North Korea and Fiji, the leaders of all nations accept the scientific consensus that man is fueling climate change by burning fossil fuels and are calling for urgent action.

America’s closest partners, like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have said that “climate change will test our intelligence, our compassion and our will. But we are equal to that challenge.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who attended the Paris climate conference, said there: “This is a pivotal issue of our time. … We are one planet, and climate knows no bounds.”

Trump, in stark contrast, has made his views clear over the last few years. In his opinion, “the scientists are having a lot of fun.” Over the years, he’s described climate change as a “hoax,” “mythical,” “nonexistent” a “con job,” and “bulls- – -.”
He even said that “the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”

In actual fact, NASA has made clear that “97 percent of climate scientists agree” on the fact that man is driving climate change by burning fossil fuels.

The Republican Party’s national leadership has long been a notable outlier in the global discussion and national debate on the climate crisis, climate science and the need for action. But it’s only now that we understand just how dangerously far out of step they and their new leader Donald Trump are on this critical issue.

Trump’s absurd position on climate change makes clear that his policies will not just harm the U.S. economy and businesses, but rejecting climate action would undermine America’s global leadership and influence around the world. The world is united as one behind climate action, and Trump’s promise to “cancel” the universal agreement reached in Paris while eliminating the Environmental Protection Agency would completely undermine our standing in the world community and our influence within key alliances.

While Trump claims he will negotiate “fantastic deals” with the rest of the world (think Atlantic City), the reality is that he is poised to undermine decades of progress this country and the world have made on climate action, environmental protection, and ensuring cleaner air to breathe and water to drink. The truth is that Donald Trump is toxic to our environment, noxious to our standing on the world stage.

In contrast, Hillary Clinton believes that “every child and every family in America deserves clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and a safe and healthy place to live.” She has and will be a leader on the international climate stage who will build upon our alliances and the progress made in Paris.

What is absolutely clear now is that anyone who cares about the future of humanity’s only home in the universe cannot afford to sit on the sidelines in 2016. We don’t have time to waste four years on the future of this planet. It’s not just all the progress we’ve made on climate action that’s on the line, it’s the health and safety of our families today and future generations to come.

That’s just one of the reasons you can be sure that the Sierra Club will be doing everything we can to elect Hillary Clinton the next president of the United States.

 

For safe and healthy communities…