The Climate Crisis and the Consequences of Denial and Supression

 

When it comes to the climate crisis, the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term in the white house was truly unprecedented and shocking. He reveals to the public that we have entered a national energy emergency, stating how the costs of energy are rising drastically. But what can we attach to these statements? To begin, we need to understand the relationship between energy efficiency and carbon emissions. In 2023, a report titled: “2023 Energy Efficiency Impact Report”, released by Alliance stated the many benefits of energy efficiency as the costs rise. Some notable points demonstrated in the report are working to reduce carbon emissions, while also creating job opportunities. In the report, it is stated:  “Today, 40% of all energy jobs in the U.S. relate to energy efficiency – totaling 2.2 million workers in 2021. The report also reinforces energy efficiency as a key climate solution: in 2021, the U.S. would have produced 78% higher carbon emissions without the energy efficiency investments already in place.”  This directly opposes what Trump had said in regards to how America “needs” to use fossil fuels even though we are seeing the negative impacts on our planet. The report  illustrates how energy efficiency fuels the economy, stating:  “The majority of states are implementing energy efficiency resource standards and have seen 4x energy savings compared to states without a standard.  States that invest in utility energy efficiency programs have also been shown to save more for customers.  On top of that, building energy codes have reduced energy use in new buildings by more than 40% over three decades.”   Even in a report by The Natural Resources Defense Council, they talk about how harnessing technology to help reduce carbon emissions, it seems confusing why more people aren’t more aware of these statistics, to answer that, it is because of Trump’s ideas of trying to deny and abandon the people who are affected by climate change.

(Above), Image of an individual using a more energy efficient setting on their washing machine.

[Photo credit: StockX]

 While observing the objectives written by authors of Project 2025, the climate crisis is completely denied and ignored, as it claims that America has   “No reason to transition away from fossil fuels. Instead, they doubled down on oil and gas, long the federal government’s most incentivized “winner” of energy subsidies. Domestic fossil fuel production is to be encouraged still further, while federal support for cleaner alternatives is to be curbed or eliminated.”  This alone should be cause for alarm, as creating and maintaining sustainable forms of energy is already way more difficult as it is, and now these resources will begin to disappear. In another section, specifically, Unnameable Challenge #3–Scenic and Ecological Preservation, it is illustrated that oil extraction is going to be heavily prioritized, which could damage the habitats of endangered species. There are already over 1,000 endangered species in the United States alone, and that number will slowly increase, especially with the increasing amount of natural disasters. 

(Above) Statistics of the costs from climate-related natural disasters from 1980-2021.

[Photo Credit: Climate.gov]

Despite the fact that climate change is becoming more and more impactful, The Trump Administration has tried to sweep things under the rug as if the climate crisis is nonexistent, determined to ignore warnings in order to feed their immense desire for money. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency was forced to retract information which determined that climate change is a threat to public health and welfare in 2009. They were also forced to eliminate clean vehicle standards, which would’ve cut down the amount of carbon emissions significantly. According to Manish Bapna, the president & CEO of NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council): “This is the single biggest attack in history on the federal government’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis. Nearly 20 years after the Supreme Court confirmed the EPA’s authority to act, the Trump Administration is leaving American families on their own to deal with the consequences. With millions of Americans facing stronger storms, hotter heat waves, and more dangerous wildfires, the Trump administration is trying to pretend it’s all a hoax and there’s nothing to be done about it. But the impacts of climate change are right here, right now.” In turn, Trump is essentially abandoning the people that will be left behind at the mercy of our planet’s rising heat. On the other hand, all the billionaires would be living it up without worry since the people’s money will pay for their survival. The whole point of the Environmental Protection Agency is supposed to protect people, but it is crystal clear that Trump is ultimately trying to erase resources intended for the sole purpose of educating people on the climate crisis.





According to the U.S Geological Survey, there are effects such as loss of agriculture, increased heat waves, natural disasters, and species loss. Despite the abundance of resources people can use, they are slowly being deleted, as detailed in an article published by E&E News, the Trump Administration has been deleting billions of dollars worth of climate research from Climate.gov, which makes accessibility for educational resources extremely difficult. E&E News states how: “Meanwhile, the government itself has become an antagonist to many of the groups trying to preserve its vanishing resources. The Trump administration has promoted a variety of scientific misinformation this year, researchers say, including widely discredited theories about vaccines and climate change.” proving that it is important to educate and preserve resources illuminating the climate crisis.

(Below) EPA employees take part in a national march against actions by the Trump administration last March in Philadelphia.

[Photo Credit: Matt Rourke]