President Trump’s last (anti-science) stand
United States President Trump is on a sinking ship, and he’s trying to take the Planet down with him.
United States President Trump is on a sinking ship, and he’s trying to take the Planet down with him.
As if it wasn’t enough for him to spend four years unchecked, pissing on science, Trump is now ousting top officials and solidifying environmental damage before President-elect Joe Biden takes office. Most, if not all, of these moves come down to some maniacal preference of party loyalty over competence.
“It has long been clear that President Trump cares about loyalty above all else, often at the expense of competence, and during a period of presidential transition, competence in government is of the utmost importance,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) told The New York Times after Defense Secretary Mark Esper was fired a little over a week ago.
But Trump’s last-ditch effort to weed out disloyalty is more sinister than it seems. His public attacks on democracy, the environment, and pandemic restrictions following the election are his last anti-science stand — and this stand will affect the world for years to come, despite Biden taking office in January.
Climate change, unlike other environmental challenges, can’t just be reversed with the next administration. So while Biden can reinstate environmental regulations, restoring water and air quality in the states, heat-trapping gases from loosened restrictions will remain in the atmosphere for decades.
And Trump’s recent shuffling only makes Biden’s job harder. For example, last week, the Trump administration removed Michael Kuperberg, the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s executive director since July 2015. David Legates, who has questioned the severity of the climate crisis and worked closely with climate denial groups, will fill his shoes and take over the program’s fifth National Climate Assessment — the government’s primary contribution of climate knowledge and the basis for federal regulations.
On top of packing agencies with climate deniers, Trump is also opening nearly 1.6 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife refuge in Alaska for oil leasing (with final sales happening before January 20). In addition to the obvious problem of drilling for more fossil fuels, the move narrows protections for habitats guarding endangered species and migratory birds.
The overwhelming consensus was if we voted Trump out, the damage would stop. But Trump always had different plans.
We still have two more months of tweetstorms, lies, conspiracy theories, and delays on climate action. Meanwhile, Trump has stopped doing his job. Despite record COVID-19 cases across the country, he has been almost entirely absent from the public eye and has also failed to concede the election, making an effective transition difficult for the Biden administration.
But Trump isn’t just some temper-tantrum throwing toddler — he’s the leader of the free world. And the one thing consistent with his marred grip on reality is that he remains in power until January, with no formal limitations on the damage he can do.
All hope is not lost, though. Even if Trump refuses to admit it, Biden will take office on January 20 and is already moving forward with a climate administration — packed with officials who will reinstate environmental regulations and protections and (hopefully) prevent further damage to the global climate.
While we anxiously wait for a full transition, all we can do is hope the GOP majority grow a spine and put an end to all this nonsense. If not, Biden will have to race against time and clean up an even bigger mess.