SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
EPA head Scott Pruitt announced Monday that he would move to repeal the Clean Power Plan, President Barack Obama's central rule aimed at reducing carbon emissions from power plants. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr/cc)
Climate Groups Vow to Fight in Court and Streets as Trump EPA Pulls Plug on Clean Power Plan
"If you want to protect your citizens, it's time to take action yourselves because the Trump-Pruitt EPA has shown it's more interested in protecting polluters than the health of Americans."
Oct 09, 2017
Climate advocacy groups pledged to fight back against the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday after EPA head Scott Pruitt announced, after much speculation, that he would repeal the Obama-era Clean Power Plan--while state and local leaders said they would move forward with plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions even as the Trump administration abandons the EPA's core mission.
The Natural Resources Defense Council vowed to wage a legal fight to protect the rule, which President Barack Obama passed in 2015 with the goal of significantly reducing carbon emissions by 2030.
"Rolling back the Clean Power Plan has been part of Pruitt's agenda since well before he was approved to run the EPA," said 350.org executive director May Boeve. "Slashing climate policy is par for the course in the Trump administration, but we won't let it go unchallenged. This decision will be fought in the courts and in the streets. It will be up to people all across the country to do what the White House won't: shut down polluting fossil fuel projects and move our communities to 100% renewable energy for all."
Jamie Henn, 350.org's co-founder, reminded his Twitter followers of research that has shown the Clean Power Plan to be a life-saving law, preventing more than 1,000 heart attacks and illnesses per year by limiting air pollution.
A group representing 400,000 medical professionals agreed. "A decision to repeal the Clean Power Plan is a choice that puts American lives at greater risk from unhealthy air and the health harms from climate change," said the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health after Pruitt announced his decision.
As Axios reported, the EPA may open a public comment period asking Americans about a potential new rule to limit carbon emissions--a move that would delay "any action toward a carbon rule by several months if not a year or more."
Despite the EPA's decision under Trump, Bruce Ho of the NRDC said that the governors of the nine states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) will continue to cut emissions at their states' power plants by 30 percent by 2030--building on the Initiative's achievement of cutting emissions to 79.2 million tons last year--already reaching their earlier 2030 target.
"Pruitt's attempt is the latest in the Trump administration's dangerous campaign of climate change denial, and is a wake-up call for state and local leaders: if you want to protect your citizens, it's time to take action yourselves because the Trump-Pruitt EPA has shown it's more interested in protecting polluters than the health of Americans," wrote Ho in a Monday blog post.
The Union of Concerned Scientists (USC) added that with President Donald Trump's earlier decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement, signed by nearly 200 countries, the EPA's move further isolates the U.S. while countries like China move away from a reliance on oil and gas.
"Instead of addressing one of the most significant problems facing mankind, the administration thumbed its nose at science, and now at the law," said Ken Kimmel, president of the USC. "Rather than positioning America in the global clean energy marketplace, the administration will stand on the sidelines."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Climate advocacy groups pledged to fight back against the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday after EPA head Scott Pruitt announced, after much speculation, that he would repeal the Obama-era Clean Power Plan--while state and local leaders said they would move forward with plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions even as the Trump administration abandons the EPA's core mission.
The Natural Resources Defense Council vowed to wage a legal fight to protect the rule, which President Barack Obama passed in 2015 with the goal of significantly reducing carbon emissions by 2030.
"Rolling back the Clean Power Plan has been part of Pruitt's agenda since well before he was approved to run the EPA," said 350.org executive director May Boeve. "Slashing climate policy is par for the course in the Trump administration, but we won't let it go unchallenged. This decision will be fought in the courts and in the streets. It will be up to people all across the country to do what the White House won't: shut down polluting fossil fuel projects and move our communities to 100% renewable energy for all."
Jamie Henn, 350.org's co-founder, reminded his Twitter followers of research that has shown the Clean Power Plan to be a life-saving law, preventing more than 1,000 heart attacks and illnesses per year by limiting air pollution.
A group representing 400,000 medical professionals agreed. "A decision to repeal the Clean Power Plan is a choice that puts American lives at greater risk from unhealthy air and the health harms from climate change," said the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health after Pruitt announced his decision.
As Axios reported, the EPA may open a public comment period asking Americans about a potential new rule to limit carbon emissions--a move that would delay "any action toward a carbon rule by several months if not a year or more."
Despite the EPA's decision under Trump, Bruce Ho of the NRDC said that the governors of the nine states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) will continue to cut emissions at their states' power plants by 30 percent by 2030--building on the Initiative's achievement of cutting emissions to 79.2 million tons last year--already reaching their earlier 2030 target.
"Pruitt's attempt is the latest in the Trump administration's dangerous campaign of climate change denial, and is a wake-up call for state and local leaders: if you want to protect your citizens, it's time to take action yourselves because the Trump-Pruitt EPA has shown it's more interested in protecting polluters than the health of Americans," wrote Ho in a Monday blog post.
The Union of Concerned Scientists (USC) added that with President Donald Trump's earlier decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement, signed by nearly 200 countries, the EPA's move further isolates the U.S. while countries like China move away from a reliance on oil and gas.
"Instead of addressing one of the most significant problems facing mankind, the administration thumbed its nose at science, and now at the law," said Ken Kimmel, president of the USC. "Rather than positioning America in the global clean energy marketplace, the administration will stand on the sidelines."
Climate advocacy groups pledged to fight back against the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday after EPA head Scott Pruitt announced, after much speculation, that he would repeal the Obama-era Clean Power Plan--while state and local leaders said they would move forward with plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions even as the Trump administration abandons the EPA's core mission.
The Natural Resources Defense Council vowed to wage a legal fight to protect the rule, which President Barack Obama passed in 2015 with the goal of significantly reducing carbon emissions by 2030.
"Rolling back the Clean Power Plan has been part of Pruitt's agenda since well before he was approved to run the EPA," said 350.org executive director May Boeve. "Slashing climate policy is par for the course in the Trump administration, but we won't let it go unchallenged. This decision will be fought in the courts and in the streets. It will be up to people all across the country to do what the White House won't: shut down polluting fossil fuel projects and move our communities to 100% renewable energy for all."
Jamie Henn, 350.org's co-founder, reminded his Twitter followers of research that has shown the Clean Power Plan to be a life-saving law, preventing more than 1,000 heart attacks and illnesses per year by limiting air pollution.
A group representing 400,000 medical professionals agreed. "A decision to repeal the Clean Power Plan is a choice that puts American lives at greater risk from unhealthy air and the health harms from climate change," said the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health after Pruitt announced his decision.
As Axios reported, the EPA may open a public comment period asking Americans about a potential new rule to limit carbon emissions--a move that would delay "any action toward a carbon rule by several months if not a year or more."
Despite the EPA's decision under Trump, Bruce Ho of the NRDC said that the governors of the nine states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) will continue to cut emissions at their states' power plants by 30 percent by 2030--building on the Initiative's achievement of cutting emissions to 79.2 million tons last year--already reaching their earlier 2030 target.
"Pruitt's attempt is the latest in the Trump administration's dangerous campaign of climate change denial, and is a wake-up call for state and local leaders: if you want to protect your citizens, it's time to take action yourselves because the Trump-Pruitt EPA has shown it's more interested in protecting polluters than the health of Americans," wrote Ho in a Monday blog post.
The Union of Concerned Scientists (USC) added that with President Donald Trump's earlier decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement, signed by nearly 200 countries, the EPA's move further isolates the U.S. while countries like China move away from a reliance on oil and gas.
"Instead of addressing one of the most significant problems facing mankind, the administration thumbed its nose at science, and now at the law," said Ken Kimmel, president of the USC. "Rather than positioning America in the global clean energy marketplace, the administration will stand on the sidelines."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.