Trump is trying to roll back one of our most important environmental protections
John,
CLIMATE ALERT: Scientists have found that the Antarctic Thwaites Glacier, so enormous that it’s been called the “Doomsday Glacier,” is melting much faster than previously known.
This is the latest screaming red-light warning that we must take emergency action to stop the climate crisis.
But instead of taking action, Trump’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is proposing to gut one of the most important tools we have to fight climate change, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Believe it or not, Trump wants to block federal agencies from considering the long-term impacts of government decisions — including their effects on climate change — when conducting environmental reviews of projects like fracked gas pipelines and plants!1
Trump’s “climate gag order” could mean game-over for our climate — and Antarctica's ice sheet.
The melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, of which the Thwaite Glacier is a part, could create a 10-foot sea level rise — enough to flood 28,000 square miles of the U.S. and displace 12 million people.2 And most alarming are new findings that show the glacier is melting away from the base up, causing it to be much more unstable.
This discovery is yet another dire warning that we must move away from using fossil fuels. But Trump’s gutting of NEPA would give a green light to more and more deadly fossil fuel infrastructure projects, including power plants and pipelines.
Enacted in 1970, NEPA is the backbone of U.S. environmental law, forcing federal agencies to consider their actions’ long-term effects on our land, water, communities and health. It requires federal agencies to consider the environmental impact of any new projects, such as roads, pipelines and fracking operations.
But Trump’s new proposal effectively institutes a “climate gag rule,” preventing federal agencies from considering projects’ impacts on long-term climate stability.3
It’s ridiculous, dangerous and the absolute WRONG step in a moment when climate change poses an existential threat. But at Food & Water Action, we have a plan to fight back:
We’re mobilizing overwhelming public support during the 60-day public comment period to show Congress and the Trump administration that the public strongly opposes this rollback.
If Trump doesn’t back off, we’re ready to launch a major pressure campaign to push Congress to take action to block this rollback.
Finally, if necessary, we’ll use every legal option to sue the Trump administration to stop this attack. Considering how blatantly this plan conflicts with the clear legislative intent of the National Environmental Policy Act, we believe we will win in court if necessary.
But it’s not going to be easy: From a massive organizing campaign, to grassroots lobbying to lawsuits, stopping this rollback is going to take heavy resources. And we have to start now.
Food & Water Action and its affiliated organization, Food & Water Watch, are advocacy groups with a common mission to protect our food, water and climate. This email was sent to [email protected] - and we're glad you got it, because it's one of the most important ways you can reclaim political power, hold elected officials accountable and resist corporate control.
