Why Our Feckless President Considers ‘Jobs’ More Important Than Climate Protections

by Michael John Scott

Donald Trump doesn’t believe in climate change.  On the contrary, he believes that global warming is a “hoax” perpetrated by the “Chinese.”  He also believes that coal mining is good for the country, even though wind and natural gas are much more efficient and much cheaper.  It wasn’t Obama’s regulations that shut down the coal mines, it was economic common sense.

While not completely unsympathetic the fact is affected miners need to stop whining and find other jobs because Mr Trump isn’t going to be able to bring them back, despite his bloviated rhetoric to the contrary.

Related: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: America’s Magic Phrase

So today, Trump is moving forward with a campaign pledge to unravel former President Obama’s sweeping plan to curb global warming.  He will sign an executive order Tuesday that will suspend, rescind, or flag for review more than a half-dozen measures with an eye to boosting domestic energy production in the form of fossil fuels, the AP reports.

As part of this feckless rollback, Trump will initiate a review of the Clean Power Plan, which restricts greenhouse gas emissions at coal-fired power plants. The regulation, which was the former president’s signature effort to curb carbon emissions, has been the subject of long-running legal challenges by Republican-led states and those who profit from burning oil, coal, and gas.

Related: In Trump World That ‘Fake Clean Air’ Nonsense Costs Jobs

The plans, which were praised by Trump supporting business groups, will also rescind Obama-era executive orders and memoranda, including one that addressed climate change and national security and one that sought to prepare the country for the impacts of climate change.  Think about that for a moment: Trump claims that protecting jobs is more important than protecting the country against the ravages of climate change.  The British have an expression for astonishment and it’s called “gobsmacked.”  Well, I’m gobsmacked at this bizarre, twisted way of thinking, unique to republicans, and owned by the president of the United States.

An administration official said Monday night:

“This policy is in keeping with President Trump’s desire to make the United States energy independent.”

Energy economists, however, tell the New York Times that the move will do little, if anything, to boost energy independence, since the US isn’t importing coal—and since coal mines are stepping up mechanization, the order may do little to fulfill Trump’s promise to bring back thousands of lost coal mining jobs, and for those folks the butcher’s bill will fall due.