Donald Trump is president. What this means for women, Muslim-Americans, Mexican-Americans who do not have legal citizenship yet, and members of the LGBT+ community, I am unsure. But I am sure of one thing; our environment will suffer under a Trump presidency.
It should come as no surprise when I remind you that Donald Trump does not believe in climate change. In fact, he believes that global warming was created by and for the Chinese to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.
Trump has already selected Myron Ebell, one of the most well-known climate change skeptic in the world, to lead the transition team at the E.P.A. (Environmental Protection Agency).
The fact that the future leader of our country, in such a crucial time for our environment, plans on canceling the international Paris Climate Accord, opening up federal lands to gas drilling, coal mining, and ending regulations on carbon emissions for businesses is baffling to me.
14 of the 15 hottest years on record have occurred since the year 2000, according to the UN World Metrological Organization. Yeah…I know; not exactly great timing for a global warming denier, like Trump, to tear apart the environmental regulations Obama and his cabinet have set up in the past eight years.
This election has been heartbreaking for me. The conservatives I saw during the primaries are without a doubt not the conservatives I see today. I would see support for Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich. I would see the supporters of these candidates bash Trump for embarrassing their political party, and treat him as if he were a joke. Then, it seemed as if these same people, a few months later, put on their earmuffs, along with a veil of ignorance, and stood behind Donald Trump and screeched, "Make America great again!"
You can argue all you want that democrats are “too pc” (although, it seems that role can flip pretty easily when somebody silently protests during an Anthem at a football game, eh?) or that Trump’s words are just words, and should not be taken so seriously. But I will be dammed if my planet is forced to suffer because this nimrod puts the economy before the environment.
For a party so concerned with holding American family values, I must admit, I find it very odd that the planet warming so much to where storms are becoming much stronger, animals are going extinct at an alarming rate, and the land your families are living on is being engulfed by our rising oceans, that you would elect a man who disagrees with over 90% of scientists on global warming (yes, coalition of conservative keyboard warriors! Can you believe it?).
You can still do your part as a concerned citizen of Earth by donating to organizations focused on the wellbeing of our planet and its inhabitants. Here's a list of them!
Wake up. Let your leader know that he needs to rethink his stance on the environmental crisis that faces our world…or your sons and daughters will be paying the price of your silent ignorance.
