It has been less than two months since the U.S. acquired a new president, and yet substantive political change has already began shaping the lives of its citizens and those abroad in a variety of ways. One notable result that has come from the outcome of the recent election is a sharp change in environmental policy. Last month, the Senate confirmed Scott Pruitt as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after he was chosen for the position by President Trump. As the EPA?s new Administrator, Mr. Pruitt will now be in charge of enforcing environmental statutes passed by Congress. The appointment of Pruitt as the EPA?s new head will have a significant impact on how the EPA deals with climate change and other environmental issues such as clean air and water.

Unfortunately, Pruitt does not have a history of supporting environmental protection. As Attorney General of Oklahoma, Pruitt described himself as ?a leading advocate against the EPA?s activist agenda? and repeatedly challenged EPA legislation under the Obama Administration intended to abate climate change. During his term as Attorney General, he continually supported opposition efforts of major environmental policies, notably those that aimed at limiting the release of toxic pollutants such as arsenic and mercury and reducing power plant emissions.

In addition to the appointment of Mr. Pruitt, the Trump Administration has suggested reducing the budget of the EPA by approximately 25% and firing 19% of workers at the agency as part of its budget proposal. Consequently, the implementation of this proposal would result in firing about 3,000 workers from the EPA, and would likely cause an atmosphere of funding uncertainty for many climate scientists. This could potentially happen concurrently with a sizeable decrease in funding for climate research done by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) of about 17%. This budget slash would mostly harm the satellite division of the association, which provides imagery that is critical to environmental research and data on the progression of climate change.

The future of how the U.S. will be involved in international efforts to fight climate change and improve our environment remains to be determined. However, there will definitely be tangible change that will shape American environmental policy under the Trump Administration. With a president who has denied the significance and even the mere existence of climate change through writing tweets such as ?Ice storm rolls from Texas to Tennessee - I'm in Los Angeles and it's freezing. Global warming is a total, and very expensive, hoax!? and ?The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive,? the state of political support for climate action in the U.S. will likely face many challenges in the years to come. During this time of uncertainty under a new administration, it is more critical now than ever that we as youth unite and voice that we are not alright accepting decreased protection for our environment.

Rather than silently disagree with environmentally harmful legislation, it is important that not only Americans but we as global citizens voice our dissent with politicians that deny climate science and we unite to help advance action for climate change. Regardless of who is president, we as citizens have a voice and can make a positive difference for our planet. As the U.S. heads into four years of the Trump Administration, we must unite to fight against any and all laws that might harm Earth?s natural domain.

Sources- The New York Times, The Washington Post, Science Magazine,

Image of the US Capitol (Credit: Bill Koplitz)