President Donald Trump has never actually said the words “pollution has zero cost” – but he might as well have. His administration’s relentless campaign to slash environmental protections speaks volumes about his real stance. Who needs clean air when you can have deregulation, right?
Throughout his presidency, Trump repeatedly downplays pollution’s economic impact, pushing the narrative that environmental regulations were simply unnecessary burdens on business. He boasted about America having the “cleanest” air and water – a claim that conveniently ignores reality. Because facts are just, you know, optional these days.
The truth? About 15% of Americans breathe air exceeding WHO pollution guidelines. Places like Fresno, California have pollution levels double what’s considered safe. But hey, breathing is overrated.
Trump’s environmental rollbacks were breathtaking – and not in the good way. His administration reversed 28 federal rules protecting air quality and 8 safeguarding water. A 2020 rule stripped Clean Water Act protections from a quarter of wetlands and a fifth of streams nationwide. Thirty percent of watersheds supplying drinking water were affected. Gulp.
Meanwhile, studies from the EPA and WHO estimate pollution costs hundreds of billions annually in the US alone – and trillions globally. These aren’t liberal fairy tales; they’re documented economic impacts from healthcare costs, lost productivity, and premature deaths. The devastating reality is that fossil fuel use directly contributes to 3.6 million deaths worldwide each year, a staggering human cost Trump’s policies consistently ignored.
Trump’s environmental “accomplishments” were mostly inherited trends he falsely claimed credit for. The Environmental Performance Index contradicts his claims by ranking the U.S. just 10th for air quality and 29th for water and sanitation. He highlighted Superfund cleanups while misrepresenting yearly totals compared to previous administrations. Despite his claims of record cleanups, data shows 2018 had only 17 full deletions, significantly fewer than several years during the 1995-2001 period. Classic.
The majority of Americans disapproved of Trump’s environmental record, sensing something wasn’t right about dismantling decades of progress. Turns out people actually like breathing clean air and drinking clean water. Shocking.
References
- https://www.factcheck.org/2019/09/trumps-false-facts-on-the-environment/
- https://www.factcheck.org/2019/07/trump-twists-facts-in-environmental-speech/
- https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/08/fact-check-trumps-environmental-claims-1573352
- https://atmos.earth/fact-checked-trump-and-bidens-climate-claims-at-first-presidential-debate/
- https://www.factcheck.org/2024/11/harris-vs-trump-on-climate-change/
