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The Trump administration announced that they were going to rollback auto pollution rules from the Obama-era, successfully undoing regulations put in place in order to fight climate change. The previous rule stated that by 2025, it was required that all the automobiles have to have an average 54 miles per gallon. However, this new rollback decreases it to only an average of 40 miles per gallon, effectively leading to the release of nearly a billion more tons of carbon dioxide which would further warm the planet. They claim that this rollback was done in order to help the economy and consumers even though data indicates otherwise. Additionally, the new rollback will most likely face many legal challenges as about 20 states are expected to sue, bring the case to the Supreme Court in the coming years. The Trump administration is well known for being opposed to efforts to fight climate change as they previously pulled out of the Paris climate change accord and overall undermine environmental regulations put in place. Personally, I was not surprised by this rollback as the Trump administration has made their stance of climate change very clear in their past actions. It saddens me to see the them undo all of the environmental regulations that are needed to protect the planet and its inhabitants. As for international relations, I do not think that this will effect them much, except that the US will set a bad example on how to prevent climate change through regulation which may affect how other countries address environmental issues.
Questions:
1. What is your reaction to this rollback?
2. How do you think this will effect the health of the planet and its inhabitants?
3. Do you think this will effect how other countries handle their environmental regulations?
3. Do you think that states will successfully undo this rollback through suing?
I’m not surprised that the Trump administration is going through with this rollback especially considering he is nearing the end of his term as president and the current economic climate. While I think that reducing auto pollution is a good goal to work towards and that companies definitely require regulations to push them toward innovation more quickly, I do see the merit in cutting back the regulations at this time. Yes the Trump administration’s economic analysis does show that this move could hurt consumers, but this isn’t definite and the economy consists of both consumers and producers. By rolling back some of these regulations, it frees up resources for American car companies to use more efficiently in other areas, something that is needed during an economic downturn like this. And, even with the rollback, the regulations are still getting stricter than they currently are, which still does push car companies toward innovation in fuel efficiency.
ReplyDeleteTrump following through with his rollback plan is kind of expected, especially right now because his whole presidency he’s been bragging about the economy and how good he made it, but now because of the virus the economy is not doing well, so he doesn’t really have anything to boast about. Lowering the amount of car pollution is a good idea, but with the possibility of it hurting the economy, implementing anything that could further hurt the economy right now wouldn’t be a good idea, considering all the people that have lost jobs and the first quarter report. However, once the economy is back on its feet, the guidelines should definitely be re-implemented by the next president.
ReplyDeleteIt is not surprising that Trump's administration announced a rollback in auto pollution rules. This is because Trump has always ignored environmental problems like climate change especially when the US pulled out of the Paris climate change accord. As the US is one of the main pollutants in the world, I think that this will affect the planet greatly because this will release nearly a billion more tons of carbon dioxide which ultimately will make the planet warmer. As the US is one of the main leaders in the world, it may influence other countries to follow what the US is doing as well. On the other hand, it wouldn't influence other countries at all. With this rollback, there is bound to be disagreement within the country. I'm not sure that the states will be able to successfully undo the rollback through suing because it will take awhile to get to the Supreme Court.
ReplyDeleteTrump has been very open about ignoring environmental problems and I don't think anyone is really surprised that he followed through with the rollback. Obviously, by not attempting reduce climate change, this will hurt the environment even more, but I don't think it will change how other countries are handling their environmental regulations. Many other countries have been proponents of environmental regulation, as well as many states in the US. If the next President is not Trump, I think they will take more action towards environmental regulations, but I don't know if the states can actually do much right now by suing.
ReplyDeleteI too am not surprised that the Trump administration decided on this rollback because they are known to engage in this type of action. In terms of how this will affect the health of our planer, I don't think it will automatically cause a significant or dramatic difference; however, after a certain amount of time and as time continues to pass, this rollback along with the many other acts that the Trump administration has passed, it will affect this planet and its inhabitants - by doing nothing to change the current situation, matters will definitely get worse. Additionally, in relation to this affecting how other countries will handle their environmental regulations, they might emphasize them even more. Again, maybe not instantly but once they realize the mistake(s) that the United States is making when it comes to environmental regulations, I would think they will make their own regulations much more strict, to say the least. Also, in terms of whether or not the states will be able to undo the rollback through suing, I don't know that they will be able to do so under Trump's presidency. Even if they are able to change the rollback, they may not be able to completely undo it.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I am not surprised either. It seems like a typical Trump move to go back to how things were. I think this will be catastrophic for our planet. Even though we cannot see the effects now, we are also set back from seeing the effects of the progressive change of the Obama-era's pollution rules. I don't have extensive knowledge about the Supreme Court, but from what we learned this year, it seems like the Court values public opinion, so with 20 states being expected to sue, maybe the states might have an impact. But the Court leaning politically more towards the right, it may be an uphill battle.
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