Since the beginning of the Trump presidency, his administration has promised to ease back on environmental policy to help bolster big business.  Last week, the Trump administration released plans to benefit both the coal and oil industry as a part of a great push to increase America’s “energy dominance.” However, environmentalists, scientists, and conservationists are saying that this push disregards many potentially negative environmental impacts. Despite this and warnings from the United Nation’s annual climate conference, Trump has rescinded many environmental protection policies.

The latest repeal the Trump administration has made was a coal law passed during Obama’s presidency that regulated how much greenhouse gas can be emitted by coal plants. These Obama-era laws caused a huge pushback from the coal industry since it made it harder to build new coal plants.  Energy analysts have already confirmed that coal will never be the dominant source of energy in America again. The coal industry is facing heavy competition from natural gas and other renewable energy industries, which means that these additional plants may not be needed.

According to “A Running List of How President Trump Is Changing Environmental Policy” by Michael Greshko, another Obama era environmental policy that is getting the ax is the protection of the greater sage grouse, an endangered bird in the western region of the United States. As a result of its decision to remove any protection for the greater sage grouse, the U.S. Department of the Interior is opening up nine million acres of land for oil companies to drill on. Even though the Interior Department insists that they are not dooming the species, environmentalists and nature conservationists are vehemently crying that it will.

Bobby McEnaney, a Western land use specialist from the Natural Resources Defense Council, spoke about the Trump administration’s decision to end protection for the great sage grouse. He explained, “With this single action, the administration is saying: This landscape doesn’t matter. This species doesn’t matter. Oil and gas matter.” The new Trump administration environmental repeals seem glaringly in favor of big business and show complete disregard for the environment. Hopefully, more measures will be taken by the Trump administration and big business to protect our environment.