Carbon emissions reductions, curbing plastic pollution, managing forest fires, and protecting public lands. Oh, and enthusiastic support for solar energy, too.
All these topics and more were discussed at length Monday during President Trump’s first environmentally focused event since his inauguration. Yes, you read that right: Trump held an event at the White House focused on the environment, with stakeholders in the audience like my organization, the youth-led American Conservation Coalition, as well as outdoor recreation companies and associations, and numerous Cabinet officials. Although this event will fly under the radar for many, it was a landmark for an administration that hasn’t prioritized the environment often enough, especially with regard to messaging.
Despite this, the president has quietly spearheaded some important environmental efforts. Earlier this year, for instance, the president signed the largest public lands measure in U.S. history, protecting 1.3 million acres of land — more than the state of Rhode Island in area. He’s also made meaningful waves by pushing for forest management and enacted policies that involve federal, state, and local leaders.
Thanks to Congress, Trump also signed bills to protect our precious oceans and enhance nuclear energy to reduce carbon emissions. He’s embraced American energy dominance, which is incredibly beneficial to the global environment, since we produce energy cleaner than almost anywhere else in the world.
President Trump’s administration, primarily through Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, has also worked hard to clean up Superfund sites, designed areas contaminated by hazardous waste. The Trump administration cleaned up more Superfund sites in 2018 than any year since 2005. Meanwhile in Florida, President Trump allocated $500 million toward Lake Okeechobee restoration.
Almost more importantly, President Trump held this week’s event, in part, to showcase how the United States has led the world in emissions reduction and clean air, all while exiting the Paris Climate Accords and not hampering the American economy. Every country in the Paris Accords has been missing their targets, yet the United States has led the globe in emissions reductions seven out of the past 10 years. This is, in large part, due to innovations within the energy and transportation sectors, corporate leadership, and clean capitalism.
Despite that, this administration still has work to do around certain environmental issues. This is proven by President Trump’s approval rating on the environment, which is one of his lowest of all areas — thanks to a lack of prior messaging and some policy faults.
Climate change is important to young people across the country, including many young conservatives. It should be prioritized by the Trump administration through free-market reforms that can spur dramatic emissions reductions and keep the economy booming. President Trump’s outright climate denial has not helped the political dialogue or benefited policy discussions.
He’s also made several concrete policy missteps.
On the issue of conservation, President Trump’s administration recently suspended the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s bee data collection that had proven successful for rebounding bee populations. And for his Fourth of July celebration last week, President Trump used $2.5 million in National Parks funding, even though the parks are underfunded by nearly $12 billion already. Often, it seems as if President Trump goes to environmentally minded agencies and funding structures when he’s looking to cut funding, which needs to change going forward.
On the issue of emissions and climate change, while United States emissions fell during President Trump’s first year in office, they rose again last year for the first time in a few years. Numerous reports have shown that although our air quality in the United States is fantastic, it has been gotten worse during President Trump’s time in office.
While there’s room for improvement under the Trump administration on these issues, it’s obvious positive steps have been taken too. Throwing an event at the White House to showcase his environmental accomplishments is a large step that shouldn’t be overlooked.
This week’s event was a strong step in the right direction. Let’s all hope the Trump administration follows through on this positive momentum.
Benji Backer is the president of the American Conservation Coalition and a rising senior at the University of Washington.
