Donald Trump, like nearly all Republicans, claims ad nauseam that environmental regulations kill economic growth and destroy businesses – in particular they destroy big businesses and hurt the economy. Since he believes anthropogenic climate change is a hoax, and that big businesses and the economy will grow exponentially by eliminating environmental regulations, Trump has systematically ravaged environmental laws to sate the greed of the fossil fuel industry; at the expense of Americans’ and the economy’s health. Neither Trump nor Republicans care one iota about the environment, the climate, or the health of the American people.
However smart Trump thinks he is, especially about Earth’s ecosystem and American economics, a report mandated by Congress “built on 2017’s damning 600-page [climate] report” and once again warned that failure to address climate change will have devastating effects on America; including drastically “shrinking America’s economy.”
It is almost certain that warning Trump that his crusade against the environment will decimate the economy is a last ditch effort to get his, and Republican’s, attention about the clear and present danger of Trump’s do nothing climate policy; they routinely ignore research showing that Trump’s deregulation campaign will kill tens-of-thousands of Americans annually. Like they did last year, the White House attempted to “bury” the current report by releasing it late “Black Friday” afternoon of the Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend.
This year’s version of the “congressionally-mandated” National Climate Assessment (NCA), a 1,600-page tome, was compiled by 13 federal agencies and hundreds of the country’s top scientists. In a blatant contradiction of Trump’s and Republicans’ assertion to the contrary, the United States federal government warned that Trump’s “do-nothing climate policy will end up costing Americans more than a half-trillion dollars per year in increased sickness and death, coastal property damages, loss of worker productivity, and other damages.” Those “other damages” will be an increase in severe weather events’ intensity, an increase in wildfires in intensity and frequency, tens-of-thousands of premature fatalities annually, and the further decimation of the environment.
The NCA released on Friday follows, by one month, an equally damning report released by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). That comprehensive study revealed that “the planet’s governments have barely ten years to reduce global warming and save the planet’s climate and environment.”
There was little doubt Trump’s reaction to his own government’s report would be no less absurd than his reaction to the U.N.’s report last month, and the ignorant sot delivered as expected.
Less than a month ago Trump cast aspersions on the U.N. IPCC report’s dire warning that the Earth’s government’s have a decade to curb climate change or “it’s game over for the environment.” Trump reacted to that report saying that he knew of several other reports that were as valid as the one issued by the United Nations, but he did not cite the source of even one. He told reporters:
“I want you to look at who drew it, you know, which group drew it. I can give you reports that are fabulous."
Trump’s reaction to his own government’s report on the climate was no less despicable than it was a month ago. He gave with a typical Trump response to science – “I don’t believe it.”
Based on comments from Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Ben Sasse (R-NE), the report will fall on conservatives’ deaf ears and Trump will continue dooming America, decimating the environment, and killing tens-of-thousands of Americans prematurely.
Apparently, neither Sasse nor Lee are aware of either wind, geothermal or solar power. Both Sasse and Lee said what they think America really needs is some good old-fashion energy innovation. Lee added that the country cannot possibly address climate change, if it’s real, because doing so will hurt the economy. The idiot from Utah, Mike Lee added:
"All the proposals I've seen so far that would address any of these issues would devastate the U.S. economy and have little or no benefit that is demonstrable from our standpoint."
Obviously, Senator Lee did not read the report. His response is contrary to the glaring message in the document - that failing to take extreme, urgent, action to slow global warming will “devastate the economy.” For Lee to make such an insane comment makes it is almost certain that he failed to even peruse the report’s abstract.
It is a travesty that despite climate change already wreaking havoc on America’s economy, and representing a major national security threat according to the Department of Defense and the Pentagon, Trump will continue his assault on environmental regulations with extreme prejudice. Worse yet, Republicans will support him all the way; likely because the fossil fuel industry led by the Koch brothers have decried any and all environmental regulations as abusive and unconstitutional for decades, including demanding that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is eliminated.
If Americans haven’t figured it out by now, Trump and Republicans are Hell-bent on executing the will of the Kochs and their dirty fossil fuel industry at any cost; including ravaging the economy and killing massive numbers of Americans on American soil – the definition of domestic terrorism.