Throughout his four years in office, former President Donald Trump P’00 dismantled hundreds of environmental policies, exacerbating the world’s raging climate crisis. The weeks before President Joe Biden’s inauguration have been no different. The Trump administration finalized over 47 pieces of legislation known as “midnight regulations” — policies implemented immediately before a president leaves office. It is no surprise that a majority of these regulations pertain to the environment.
Off the coast of Queen Bess Island, La., a pelican was found covered in oil. It was one of the one million birds killed in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill. Photo courtesy of the New York Times
Rather than rolling back Obama-era environmental policies, the Trump administration speedily implemented their own. Although all of Trump’s environmental policies are major steps backward in the nation’s fight against climate change, there are three regulations in particular that will drastically hinder the nation’s fight for climate justice.
The most important of these three policies is an Environmental Protection Agency rule titled Strengthening Transparency in Pivotal Science Underlying Significant Regulatory Actions and Influential Scientific Information. Despite its clunky name, the legislation is simple: publicly-released scientific data should be preferred over studies that keep their data confidential. This rule will allow large corporations such as the EPA itself to twist scientific evidence in their favor by independently validating their research to implement unsustainable regulations. What’s more, this EPA policy will go into effect without undergoing the traditional 30-day waiting period, which could prevent the Biden administration from immediately suspending the regulation.
A second controversial piece of legislation is the Arctic Oil Exploration Lease, which will ease environmental and safety requirements for oil exploration in the Arctic. This regulation has raised alarm across social media over the history of native environmental protection in the Arctic and the wellbeing of the region’s diverse ecosystems and wildlife. It’s also another example of the Trump administration’s negligence toward not only climate change but also native communities. Despite nationwide protests and even opposition from large oil corporations, the Trump administration is still adamant about moving forward with the proposal.
On the bright side, it will most likely be many weeks before these leases are finalized because of the widespread discontent concerning this policy. This delay could potentially give the Biden administration enough time to take action before the legislation is passed.
Finally, the Trump administration cemented drastic changes to the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The changes ensure that the federal government will no longer have the power to prosecute or fine any corporations that threaten the livelihood of birds “without underlying intent.” Given the staggering number of bird deaths as a result of oil spills and toxic waste ponds, this regulation will allow these companies to continue to wreak havoc without consequence.
When asked about Trump’s new regulations, Director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists Andrew Rosenberg said to the Washington Post, “These are really substantial rules that are fundamentally changing the way that regulations on very large industries are implemented.” Dr. Rosenberg added that most of these regulations have also been “completely slammed” by the professional scientific community.
The haunting nature of the Trump administration’s new environmental legislation has raised questions from a concerned public about the future of climate policies. Unfortunately, the Biden administration will have to embark on a lengthy process to prevent Trump’s laws from taking effect, which could siphon time and energy from more urgent environmental needs.
