Rolling Back the Greenhouse: The Trump Administration’s Climate Retreat
The Great Undoing: Deregulation with Gusto
Once upon a Washington Wednesday, the Trump administration—never a fan of inherited homework—prepared to take a red pen to the 2009 “endangerment finding,” a regulatory linchpin that allowed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to treat greenhouse gases as public enemy number six (or so). This Obama-era pronouncement, which had elevated carbon dioxide and its five gaseous colleagues to the status of health hazards, found itself on the chopping block in the name of "cutting red tape"—a phrase which here means, "removing reporting requirements like a magician vanishing a coin."
🦉 Owlyus, ruffling paperwork: "When in doubt, repeal and repeat! Regulatory Jenga: now with extra fossil fuel blocks."
Lee Zeldin, now EPA administrator, called it "the largest act of deregulation in the history of the United States." Historians of hyperbole may wish to mark their calendars accordingly.
Energy Abundance and the New Gospel of Coal
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, channeling the spirit of Prometheus if he’d had a lobbyist, declared, "More energy drives human flourishing." Abundance, not abstinence, was the new creed—preferably measured in tons of coal and barrels of oil rather than, say, metric tons of CO₂ avoided.
The administration's next act: instructing the Department of War (yes, you read that right) to purchase electricity generated exclusively from coal-powered plants. Some may call this a throwback; others, a renaissance of the Industrial Revolution. The Washington Coal Club, that unlikely salon of carbon connoisseurs, planned to crown Trump as the “Undisputed Champion of Coal” at the event. No word yet on whether the trophy is made of anthracite or just good intentions.
🦉 Owlyus hoots: "Coming soon: the Clean Coal Couture Collection. Carbon footprints, but make it fashion!"
When Winter Strikes, So Do Talking Points
Recent winter storms—those dramatic reminders that weather is not the same as climate—became the administration’s rhetorical ice cubes. Trump, in a blizzard of social media posts, asked the eternal question: If it’s cold outside, where’s global warming hiding? (Hint: It’s the difference between a snowstorm and a sauna, but nuance is rarely a crowd-pleaser.)
🦉 Owlyus, flapping in: "If you see your shadow on a snowdrift, does that mean six more years of deregulation?"
The Long Goodbye to Paris (and Regulations)
True to brand, the administration’s move builds on a legacy of skepticism toward international climate agreements and emissions limits. The Paris climate pact, once a diplomatic handshake, was long ago left hanging. Now, even the regulatory infrastructure that underpinned domestic efforts is being methodically unscrewed from the walls.
Here, as ever, the American climate debate proves less a science lesson and more a tug-of-war—with the rope made of coal dust and the audience supplied with popcorn (or perhaps, inhalers).
Epilogue: Free Markets, Free Emissions, and the Freedom of Conscience
One can almost admire the clarity: If one believes that energy abundance is the ultimate public good, then climate regulations are just bureaucratic speed bumps. For those who dissent, the rollback feels more like a demolition derby than a course correction. Amidst the slogans and the snowstorms, the ancient contest between prosperity and preservation rumbles on, its outcome undecided—at least until the next administration finds the old regulations in a closet and wonders what they do.
