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The Environment

The Sierra Club, one of the foremost environmental protectionist groups, recently published a summary of the Trump administration's attacks on safeguards established for our limited natural resources. While there is room for debate on how to balance the need to protect the environment with the demands of those who seek to impact it for commercial and other purposes, the current administration threatens to roll back common sense regulations that have been hard won. Following are some excerpts from a recent missive published by Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club.
Among the 29 Rules Overturned

Flood building standards
Proposed ban on a potentially harmful pesticide
​Freeze on new coal leases on public lands
Methane reporting requirements
Anti-dumping rule for coal companies
Offshore drilling ban in the atlantic and Arctic
Royalty regulations for oil, gas and coal
Mining restrictions in Bristol Bay, Alaska
Endangered species listings
Hunting ban on wolves and grizzly bears
Protections for whales and sea turtles
Reusable water bottles rule for national parks
Mine cleanup rule
Sewage treatment pollution regulations
Restrictions on fishing

Among the 24 Rollbacks in Progress

Clean Power Plan
Paris climate agreement
Wetland and tributary protections
Vehicle fuel efficiency standards
​Status of 10 national monuments
Status 12 marine areas
Limits on toxic discharge from power plants
Emission rules and standards for power plants
Fracking regulations of public lands
Oil and gas drilling regulations in national parks
​Regulations for offshore oil and gas exploration
Drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge
Hunting regulations in Alaska
Permitting process for air-polluting plants
​Offshore oil and gas leasing

 "The Trump administration has been unrelenting in its attacks on public lands, clean air and water, threatened wildlife, and climate change policies," Brune reports. Several rollbacks are still in limbo.

"It's almost too much to comprehend. We fought back, hard, this year -- and we're going to keep fighting in 2018. We're mobilizing our grassroots, heading to Capitol Hill, and joining with groups across the country to protect our public lands, vulnerable communities, and clean air and water," he concludes.

For more information on the Sierra Club and its activities, click here.

12/19/17

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