It is being reported by Politico that Trump’s “most senior advisers” will gather next week to hash out their differences on whether the U.S. should pull out of the global climate agreement reached in Paris in 2015 or continue to fight climate change and curb greenhouse gas emissions.
This supposed meeting of the minds will include National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, senior adviser Jared Kushner and chief strategist Steve Bannon.
And with this group deciding on an issue that will affect the lives of every American, you should be scared to death and mad as hell. I keep thinking, perhaps wrongly, that this is a nation with a government representing the will of the people – Obviously I am wrong, especially if the president is going to take the advice of a bunch of hand-picked climate change deniers.
As it is, Pruitt, the head of the EPA and Bannon, the president’s racist and white-power pet, are both strongly in favor of getting us out of the Paris deal. The president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are actually in favor of us staying with the Paris deal, supposedly, anyway. As for Cohn and McMaster – Who knows?
Scott Pruitt spent the last 24 hours lying through his teeth
Gizmodo’s headline said it all when it reported that on Thursday, Scott Pruitt visited the Harvey Coal Mine in western Pennsylvania, spewing his usual rants, saying the EPA is an “unhinged, anti-coal agency that he’s reining in through systematic self-destruction.” He also promised the miners the “assault on coal” was over, adding that the EPA was “protecting the American way,” which probably means the way it was back in 1958, maybe?
Sidney Fussell, writing for Gizmodo was full of vitriol, adding that the day of half-truths and outright lies were ironic because Pruitt’s choice of a venue was so laughable. You see, the Harvey Mine’s owner, Consol Energy, is trying to get out of the long-failing coal industry. Bloomberg reported the news about Consol Energy back on march 3 this year.
Trump cannot dismiss renewable energy figures
The president can’t overlook the figures that show carbon reductions in the U.S. have fallen consistently over the past 10 years, with carbon emissions from power plants falling 5.0 percent in just the last two years, largely due to switching from coal to natural gas. Altogether, carbon releases are 24 percent less than they were in 2005.
Even coal companies are advocating for the U.S. to remain in the global climate accord to combat climate change because it will give U.S. negotiators a seat at the international table in the future, not only to protect our energy interests but to advocate for coal as part of the global energy mix.
Every American old enough to remember the good old days of 1958 and even before then, should also remember how much better off we are with cleaner air, safe drinking water, and healthier lungs – And don’t be afraid to speak up against pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement.
