ENVIRONMENT POLICIES, ANALYSIS, AND RESOURCES
Latest Environment Posts
Cities, Companies, Universities Bypass Trump on Climate
After President Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Accord on June 1st, private and public actors have both vowed to lead the country’s fight against climate change. The coalition “We Are Still In” released a statement on June 5th declaring their intent to “ensure the U.S. remains a global leader in reducing…
US Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord
The Paris Climate Accord aims “to limit the [global] temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius” by 2100, signaling international agreement in the importance of climate change and indicating a global shift away from fossil fuels toward clean and renewable energy. The PCA was created to be nonbinding, giving ratifying countries the…
Trump’s 2018 US Budget Proposal: Effects on Environment
President Trump released his first preliminary budget, approximating budget changes for the 2018 fiscal year and showcasing the administration’s priorities. The proposed budget has severe implications for environmental and public health, calling for a 31 percent cut in the EPA budget, reducing funding for the Department of Energy…
Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy
This Executive Order issued by President Trump instructs his cabinet officials to open millions of acres of federally administered waters for energy development. The move will begin to reverse President Obama’s attempts to keep the U.S. waters from lease sales to fossil fuel companies…
Presidential Executive Order on the Review of Designations Under the Antiquities Act
On April 26th, President Trump issued an Executive Order targeting the Antiquities Act of 1906, which gives the president the power to designate national monuments on federal lands. The EO directs the Secretary of the Interior to review all presidential…
Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth
President Trump’s March 28 Executive Order, entitled “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth,” takes extensive action to eliminate federal climate policies and regulations, explicitly targeting at least 23 executive actions, federal rules, memoranda, and reports. Most notably, the directive moves to rescind…
Presidential Memorandum Regarding Construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline; Issuance of Presidential Permit
Two months after President Trump released a presidential memoranda directing the Secretaries of State, the Army, and the Interior to expedite approval for the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline the Department of State has issued a Presidential permit to TransCanada authorizing the company to “construct, connect…
Presidential Memorandum Regarding Construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline
President Trump released a presidential memorandum directing the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) to expedite approval for the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and to consider rescinding the Notice of Intent to Prepare a full Environmental Impact Statement released in the final days of the Obama…
Stream Protection Rule
Approved Legislation Approved on February 16, 2017 Summary President Trump signed a bill nullifying the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement’s Stream Protection Rule (SPR). The rule, issued in the closing days of the Obama-era, revised existing...