Wednesday, January 20, 2021
GMO test
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Investing
  • Business
    • Corporate Culture
    • Leadership
    • Marketing
    • Supply Chains
  • Economy
    • Jobs
    • The Green Economy
    • GDP
  • Energy
    • Solar
    • Wind
    • Fossil Fuels
    • Renewables
  • Environment
    • Emissions
    • Wildfires
    • Biodiversity
    • Extreme Weather
  • Technology
    • Food
    • Health
    • Buildings
    • Renewables
    • Carbon Capture
    • Transportation
    • Climate Change
  • Social Change
    • Activism
    • Education
    • Psychology
No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Investing
  • Business
    • Corporate Culture
    • Leadership
    • Marketing
    • Supply Chains
  • Economy
    • Jobs
    • The Green Economy
    • GDP
  • Energy
    • Solar
    • Wind
    • Fossil Fuels
    • Renewables
  • Environment
    • Emissions
    • Wildfires
    • Biodiversity
    • Extreme Weather
  • Technology
    • Food
    • Health
    • Buildings
    • Renewables
    • Carbon Capture
    • Transportation
    • Climate Change
  • Social Change
    • Activism
    • Education
    • Psychology
No Result
View All Result
GMO test
No Result
View All Result
Home Politics American Politics

The Trump Administration’s Recent Failures on Plastic, the Arctic and Efficiency

by Richard Matthews
May 28, 2019
in American Politics, Politics, Uncategorized
0

The Trump administration is on the wrong side of a wide range of global issues. This administration defies the global consensus on climate change. They have eradicated  at least 40 regulations and they have hurt the renewable energy industry while supporting fossil fuels.

Even though we are approaching the point of no return on the climate crisis Trump has said he wants to withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Agreement. In the wake of reports on unprecedented biodiversity loss this administration is enacting policies that are killing wildlife and hastening its extinction.


Most recently the administration made headlines for refusing to join the international community in its efforts to address the problem of plastic waste and refusing to sign a brief on the Arctic because it includes references to climate change, they have even rolled back Obama era light bulb efficiency standards.

With the exception of the Trump administration almost every government in the world has agreed to address the issue of dumping plastic waste at a UN-backed convention in Geneva, Switzerland. A total of 187 countries agreed to control the movement of plastic waste across national borders. The new agreement will add plastic to the Basel Convention which regulates the movement of hazardous materials. Although the US is not a signatory they will be bound by the agreement if they try to move plastic waste out of the US.

The Trump administration also refused to sign an Arctic Council declaration protecting the Arctic because it references climate change. This is the first time that the Arctic Council has cancelled a declaration since its inception. The eight nations on the Arctic Council met in Rovaniemi in Finland with the hope of being able to minimize climate damage in the far north and to find a sustainable development path for resource extraction in the vulnerable region.

The US specifically objected to references to climate change as a serious threat. In his address Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed climate change in the Arctic and particularly melting sea ice. He said it makes the Arctic a “21st century Suez and Panama Canals,” that will afford new opportunities for trade. Pompeo is likely eying the regions fossil fuel reserves. Pompeo specifically referred to the fact that the Arctic contains 13 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and 30 percent of its undiscovered gas. He also mentioned other Arctic resources including uranium, rare earth minerals, gold and diamonds. At one point Pompeo even mocked the Paris Agreement.

It is hard to imagine that Pompeo is genuinely misguided about the deleterious effects of climate impacts on the Arctic which includes interfering with global weather patterns. The region is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world. The resultant fires and melting permafrost could trigger tipping points from which we may not be able to recover. It is more likely that he is parroting his boss who has previously tried to open the Arctic Ocean and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling for hydrocarbons.

It would appear that this administration wants to ferret out everything that reduces energy demand including light bulb standards first enacted under the George W. Bush presidency. This is an administration that has adopted what can only be called an energy inefficiency policy.

However, states see value in efficiency and they are resisting the Department of Energy’s proposals that would eliminate efficiency standards. This bipartisan resistance is coming from states like Vermont, Washington and Colorado all of which passed bills designed to protect the lighting efficiency standards.

Why would you want to do away with standards that reduces energy demand and saves the average household more than $100 each year?

“The idea that we are returning to some by-gone era is nonsense,” Clark R. Silcox, general counsel for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), was quoted as writing by the Hill. “Yes, there is still a little way more to go to this lighting market transformation, but this is not the ‘nightmare’ nor is it as ‘bad economically’ that some of our colleagues in the energy efficiency community are portraying.”

ShareTweetShare
Previous Post

The Benefits of Climate Action Far Outweigh the Costs

Next Post

BlackRock’s Revolutionary Prioritization of Climate Disclosure

Related Posts

Taking Stock of Trump’s Dismal Legacy

by Richard Matthews
January 19, 2021
0

The presidency of Donald J Trump ended as it began, with dysfunction and narcissistic self-preoccupation. Trump's presidency is a stain that will not wash. His four years in office have been...

Trump Leads an Insurrection after He and the GOP are Rejected in a Historic Election

by Richard Matthews
January 7, 2021
0

January 6, 2021 is a historic day, it is also a day that will live in infamy.  The day that started with historic electoral victories and ended with a mob...

Unprecedented Wildfires in 2020 are Connected to Climate Change

by Richard Matthews
December 29, 2020
0

The intense wildfires that raged across the Western U.S., South America, and Australia in 2020 are being attributed to climate change. What makes these fires unprecedented is their size and...

Next Post

BlackRock's Revolutionary Prioritization of Climate Disclosure

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • SoundCloud

Subscribe to the Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

American Politics

Taking Stock of Trump’s Dismal Legacy

by Richard Matthews
January 19, 2021
0

The presidency of Donald J Trump ended as it began, with dysfunction and narcissistic self-preoccupation. Trump's presidency is a stain that...

Read more

Corporate America’s Break Up with Trump & the GOP

January 15, 2021

Climate Change is Fueling Deadly Extreme Weather and Costly Climate Disasters

January 13, 2021
protected areas and new species on the map of the world

Summary of Positive Biodiversity Stories

January 11, 2021
images of extreme weather events

Long Term Warming Trends Tell Us What We Need to Know

January 9, 2021
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Energy
  • Environment
  • Investing
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Social Change

© 2021 Copyright The Green Market Oracle.

No Result
View All Result
  • Business
    • Corporate Culture
    • Leadership
    • Marketing
    • Supply Chains
  • Economy
    • GDP
    • Jobs
    • The Green Economy
  • Energy
    • Fossil Fuels
    • Renewables
    • Solar
    • Wind
  • Environment
    • Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Extreme Weather
    • Wildfires
  • Investing
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Technology
    • Buildings
    • Carbon Capture
    • Climate Change
    • Food
    • Transportation
    • Health
    • Renewables
  • Social Change
    • Education
    • Activism
    • Psychology
    • Marches

© 2021 Copyright The Green Market Oracle.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In