Under Trump’s Presidency, the EPA will change a rule that had cut Mercury pollution, ultimately harming the environment: Why we must defeat ‘coal businesses over American pollution,’ President Trump

Throughout Trump’s presidency, Trump’s administration has worked on loosening EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) regulations on companies, the result obviously has not been beneficial for the environment. The latest change under his watch, is that the EPA finalized a ruling that reverses one that had cut the emissions of mercury and other toxins. This despite industry disapproval of this rule change.

One EPA employee said that the reality is that “the prior rule has made the power sector cleaner,” and the unanimous belief is that the proposed changes are “unreasonable, unnecessary, and universally wrong.”

The EPA has tried telling the Trump administration that it is unjust “for the government to limit harmful pollutants from power plants, even though every utility in America has complied with standards put in place in 2011 under President Barack Obama.” The EPA also noted that one of the harms of the revision is that “it means the government would not be able to count collateral benefits — such as reducing soot and smog — when it sets limits on toxic air pollutants.”

The Washington Post also noted that “the changes could give a boost to struggling coal companies while hamstringing future efforts to limit mercury emissions from the nation’s power plants.” Additionally, they reported that “the rule in question, known as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards(MATS), targets a powerful neurotoxin that can affect the IQ and motor skills of children, even in utero.”

These attempts to lessen regulations are a stark contrast to previous presidencies. “Since the Obama-era rule took full effect, emissions have declined 85 percent. The Obama administration initially projected that the industry would spend between $7.4 billion and $9.6 billion each year to comply with the regulation. In comparison, society as a whole would save between $37 billion and $90 billion from the prevention of thousands of premature deaths and lost workdays.” The Washington Post also wrote that, “The power industry ultimately paid far less to comply. It spent about $18 billion between 2012 and 2018, or $3 billion annually.”

With these astounding findings, it is evident that Trump is not “making America great,” as he claims. He is instead harming the environment, people, and our economy. If we elect Trump for another four years, we can only imagine what more harmful revisions he will apply by pressuring the EPA.

Now is the time to activate your Visual Disobedience and help overturn the 2016 electoral college result that resulted in Trump’s presidency. Now more than ever, we need Millennials and Generation Z, especially those that live within the vital swing states outlined in our campaign overview, to vote against Trump in the upcoming election.

Facts from this blog post are primarily from this article in The Washington Post.