He'll have a hard time backpedaling on his promise to kick start AmeriKa's coal mines back into production. That probably begins by eviscerating the Environmental Protection Agency, perhaps getting rid of it altogether. There are plenty of industries that would like that.
Climate scientists look at AmeriKa's president-elect and what they see is a "disaster for the planet."
Kevin Trenberth, senior scientist at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, added: “This is an unmitigated disaster for the planet.”
Trump has vowed to sweep away the climate framework painstakingly built over Barack Obama’s two terms. At risk is the Paris climate accord, which only came into force last week, and Obama’s linchpin emissions reduction policy, the Clean Power Plan.
At a pivotal moment when the planet’s nations have belatedly banded together to confront an existential threat, a political novice who calls global warming a “bullshit” Chinese-invented hoax is taking the helm at the world’s foremost superpower.
“Millions of Americans voted for a coal-loving climate denier willing to condemn people around the globe to poverty, famine and death from climate change,” said Benjamin Schreiber, climate director at Friends of the Earth US. “It seems undeniable that the United States will become a rogue state on climate change.”
Maybe not uniquely rogue. AmeriKa might find a companion, Kanada. Rona Ambrose has already used Trump's promises to attack Trudeau's feeble initiative for carbon pricing.
