The Swoop Of A Sharpie Pen

The 2024 Presidential election is behind us. After the inauguration, one could only hope that President Trump would abandon the environmentally damaging policies from his first term and adopt a more sustainable approach in his new term. However, this hope is quickly being dashed. He’s already demonstrating that on most fronts related to the environment, he’ll do more harm than good. His sweeping set of executive orders upon taking office is dismantling policy that would have helped build a better future for all of us.

Here are some examples from a recent article on CNBC.com about what President Trump has already done since taking office that will negatively impact the environment:  

  • He ordered all federal agencies to immediately pause the disbursement of funds under the Inflation Reduction Act, which has provided financial support for clean energy.
  • He ordered a halt to funding for electric vehicle charging stations. He also directed his administration to consider ending subsidies and other policies that favor electric vehicles.
  • He targeted wind energy in a stand-alone executive order, temporarily suspending new or renewed leases for offshore and onshore wind projects. He also halted the leasing of wind power projects in the outer continental shelf.

In addition to the above, Trump also:

  • Withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, putting us in the company of Iran, Syria, and Yemen as the only other nations that are not part of the agreement. I bet you never thought the U.S. would be part of that group of nations for any reason, right?
  • Declared a national energy emergency (ignoring the fact that we don’t have an energy emergency at all).
  • Signed orders related to electric vehicle rollout targets that will seriously blunt the evolution and continued growth of EVs and their technologies in the US. 

All of this came from the swoop of his Sharpie pen signing executive orders on inauguration day. To see the rest of his executive orders so far, you can reference one of the many running lists like this one from Axios and you can read about the potential environmental impact of some of these orders in this article from The Guardian and this one from the Sierra Club. Additionally, the official White House list of day-one orders impacting much more than just the environment is here.

What We All Want Regardless of Our Politics

Regardless of our political affiliation, we all aspire to a cleaner environment, safe drinking water, and a better future for generations to come, don’t we? If that’s the case, then it’s crucial to understand that Trump’s policies, such as his slogan “Drill baby, drill,” are not going to get us there. We need practical and sensible approaches to achieve our energy and environmental objectives.  

This should be a concern for everyone.  We all breathe air, drink water, and venture out into our environment daily. His decisions affect all of us. If you have children, they’ll be living with these choices long into the future. Therefore, we must take into account both the current and future environmental conditions, but neither of these is a priority for Trump. 

Saving and improving our environment for the future cannot be achieved by alternating between environmentally friendly and not-so-friendly government administrations. Instead, the environment should be a consistent national bipartisan imperative because it affects every person in this country. We need sustained forward momentum, regardless of political party. At some point, the dollar’s influence must be reduced in this equation.

Take Action By Joining Forces With Existing Organizations

So what can you do to mitigate the inevitable assault on our environment by the Trump administration over these next four years? 

One of the easiest things to do is donate to and/or get involved with local or national environmental organizations. They have the structure and wherewithal to battle through the court systems to fight against the government for their causes and prevent as much environmentally destructive legislation as possible.  Read their websites and other materials to familiarize yourself with their causes, and learn how to get involved in their regional chapters.

At the National Level:

At this link from Wikipedia is a list of environmental and conservation organizations in the United States. There is also this extensive list from Conservation Careers which contains both national and regional organizations.

The heavy hitters on that Wikipedia list are referred to as “Big Green” and include the Sierra Club, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, Environmental Defense Fund, Friends of the Earth, Izaak Walton League, The Wilderness Society, National Parks Conservation Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Earthjustice.  I would also add the global organization Greenpeace to that list because of their extensive U.S. operation. All are causes worth investigating if you want to get involved.

As an example of getting involved at the national level, today I took the time to learn more about the Sierra Club by reading here and here, and I then decided to join.  I also joined the NY Atlantic Chapter of the group and will become active there.

Many of the Sierra Club causes resonate with me, and as they explain on their website, “…the Sierra Club has people, policy, and legal power in all 50 states ready to mobilize, and every single person who joins us is growing the demand for sustainable solutions to protect our precious places and communities.” This is the kind of activist fire-power needed in the current political environment, and it made sense to me to support them.

When you add up the collective national power of organizations like the Sierra Club, it’s possible to expose and prevent environmental wrongdoings and move things in a better direction. I’ll spend additional time reading about the other Big Green organizations to learn the mechanisms of how they go about their work, and decide if I also want to get involved with some of them.

At the Local Level:

If local concerns are more important to you, then you need to look no further than your own town or region to find an organization supporting causes that are important to you.  The Conservation Careers link has many such organizations on their list.

As one brief example of this, I live in the Hudson Valley of New York where the Hudson River is core to the history, beauty, and success of this region.  It was easy to Google to find the Hudson River Environmental Society with a focus of “…delivering the science behind Hudson Valley issues to citizens, scientists, and decision-makers.”  The organization “…enables objective discussions, provides forums for rigorous science, connects disparate views, and showcases the region’s natural heritage.” The information coming from this group aids decision-making and Hudson River policy aimed at taking better care of this great natural resource.

There are numerous organizations like this across the country. Once you delve deeper into it, finding regional connections for any environmental cause you’re interested in becomes quite easy. 

In Closing

Every individual concerned about this topic can make a difference; you just need to take action.  Sometimes the first step is a simple one, like joining one of the national conservation organizations. This will allow you to gain knowledge and actively participate in a positive and collaborative manner with individuals who share similar interests.

Learning is a fundamental aspect of the advocacy process. We shouldn’t blindly support causes we believe in, because complex situations, such as U.S. environmental and energy policy, have many different perspectives. Understanding these diverse viewpoints is essential for engaging in effective discussions and taking action. Your knowledge to engage comes from actively connecting with the topic, gaining firsthand experience, and speaking with authority rather than just emotion.

As more of the Trump administration’s actions that will harm our environment are revealed, citizen concern over policy decisions like those above is bound to rise. Such heightened concern and engagement often lead to conservation group lawsuits and legislative delays, providing the interested parties with the time to potentially collaborate in a bipartisan manner to develop more effective approaches that prioritize the well-being of all. Don’t give up under the avalanche of Trump executive orders. Get involved, and make a difference!