https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trumps-wall-could-cause-serious-environmental-damage/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trump-s-border-wall-pledge-threatens-delicate-desert-ecosystems/ Government and environmental protection interplay; the government has large control over the environment as it can pass regulations and inform the people. Unfortunately, Trump’s presidency, seems to be doing the contrary. The recent news article reveals the potential damages associated with constructing a wall between the United States and Mexico. Trump has announced an executive order that fulfills his promise of building a wall, ignoring all the negative consequences of such an action. Besides the obvious wastage of money, building a wall will increase greenhouse emissions with the production of cement. Furthermore, wildlife migrations have already been blocked by the construction of fences and walls without environmental protections. In fact, existing fencing has “led to erosion and flooding in border communities along with a roadblock for the natural movement of wildlife across the border.” Building a large wall will only fuel these problems. The borderlands have some of the highest diversity of species including many of which are threatened, and a wall will divide the species. The Trump Presidency is extremely disappointing. It seems that instead of progressing environmentally and revolutionizing, the Trump administration is encouraging us to move backwards. Building a wall is not the only environmental concern. The declaration of facts will also be restricted as the display of scientific data will be limited. All of Trump’s decisions are affecting everyone negatively because we need a clean environment which is not being encouraged under the Trump presidency.
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http://www.npr.org/2017/01/18/510502789/nominee-to-lead-epa-testifies-hell-enforce-environmental-laws Scott Pruitt has been picked by Donald Trump to head the Environmental Protection Agency. This current nominee for the EPA has sued the agency more than a dozen times while accusing it of overreach and favoritism under President Obama. Ironically, an individual that has been against the EPA for years has been nominated by our President to run the agency. Pruitt has accepted thousands of dollars in donations from oil and gas companies and has favored them specifically in the state of Oklahoma. Pruitt has been known to be a climate change-denier, but there is some shift, although minor, in his behavior. He has now declared that climate change is not a hoax but continues to undermine human impact on climate change. Furthermore, Pruitt who has strongly advocated states’ rights, has not committed to upholding a “federally-approved waiver that allows California to set stricter emissions standards than the federal requirement.” Despite all this, Pruitt is claiming to enforce environmental laws. Pruitt’s nomination for such an influential position has raised fear and concern among Democrats and environmentalist for obvious reasons. Personally, this makes me concerned for our future because this may cause all the environmental advancements our society has made over the past years to go to waste. I would not want someone who has very evidently stood against the EPA to run it. Pruitt’s duality and perhaps, dishonesty are also indicated through his changing stances regarding states’ rights. He seems as if he may twist the laws in accordance with own best interest rather than the people’s. I truly hope that this decision of Donald Trump does not push us back in terms of environmental protection. China has announced that it will launch an environmental police force to help combat Beijing’s pollution crisis. Beijing's mayor has revealed that he will begin to impose tougher restrictions to reduce the country's “longstanding toxic smog problem.” He has stated that the police force would enforce regulations on outdoor barbecues garbage incineration and the burning of biomass for fuel use. The World Health Organization released a report in September 2016 revealing that 92 percent of the world breathes polluted air, and China is one of the most polluted countries. China has also ranked sixth on the list for number of deaths linked to air pollution each year. Beijing specifically has taken action against this pollution in the past as well. “In early December, Beijing and parts of northern China issued an orange alert for air pollution as high temperatures and humidity blanketed the area in a thick, heavy smog. Many outdoor activities were prohibited, large vehicles were not allowed on roads and the Hebei province completely closed some sections of highway.” I believe that it is extremely important to launch some regulations or programs to control the growing problem of pollution. Pollution damages the environment and our health. There weren't many details provided on the environmental police force so I cannot predict its efficiency. However, China needs to reduce its gas emissions and an environmental police force may be the solution. http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/foot-rain-Bay-Area-California-storm-Santa-Lucia-10832523.php#photo-12131603
The most recent weather model indicates that Northern California can experience more than a foot of rain in the next seven days. The highest rain totals are expected in Santa Cruz and Santa Lucia Mountains and Sonoma County. National Weather revealed that an atmospheric river is hitting the West Coast "tapping into subtropical moisture bringing in a lot of precipitation.” Urban areas like San Francisco can receive about five inches through Monday while Santa Cruz and Santa Lucia Mountains could produce 10 to 15 inches. A cold front from the north is merging with warmer air from the Pacific resulting in large amounts of rain. The great amount of anticipated rainfall will have a direct effect on us as the weather forecast for Turlock indicates rain through the weekend and next week. The rain should ideally have a positive impact and alleviate the current drought according to me. However, our discussion in class today revealed that the large rainfall may cause rivers to reach their flood stages. In fact, Yosemite has previously closed down for months due to such conditions. |
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May 2017
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