Part One – Climate Change &
Environmental Destruction

Greed Wins! Humanity Loses!

Trump is rolling back environmental protections and efforts to address climate change, ocean acidification and other environmental destruction. This is serious stuff. In 2023, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the burning of fossil fuels is “incompatible with human survival.” This is NOT an overstatement. Scientists have been warning us about the impending disasters posed by the burning of fossil fuels since the 1950s and 1960s, but our leaders are owned by the fossil fuel industry. Big money rules. WE LOSE!

Trump’s policies have one purpose only — to enrich himself and his cronies and consolidate power. His administration’s policies are in direct opposition to creating a strong sustainable economy and improving the quality of life for the majority of Americans. Instead of addressing the human caused existential threats that require immediate, aggressive action, he is doubling down on the stupidity of the past 175 years.

Previous U.S. presidents did not do enough to address these existential threats. I say “shame on you” to all of them. However, Donald J. Trump is actually making things worse. Going backward. BEING STUPID for the sake of short term profits and plain old greed.

TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON HUMAN STUPIDITY

FOLLOW TRUMP’S DISASTEROUS POLICIES AND ACTIONS

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has a great page that tracks Trump’s approach to existential threats. The tracker has curated the Trump administration’s actions, executive orders, and policies regarding: nuclear risk, climate change, disruptive technology, and biosecurity. You can use filters to focus on specific topics and types of activity.

Who will benefit from Trump’s policies? Cronies and loyalists who will be granted access to public lands for the extraction of fossil fuels, minerals, and timber. Extractive resource economies always suffer boom and bust cycles and are highly unstable. Profits for multinational corporations and the financial markets are gained at the expense of the general health and well-being of citizens. The clean-up costs will be paid by the taxpayers. Corporate subsidies (in the form of access road construction, etc…) will be paid by the taxpayers. The poor areas of the nation will see an increase in the dumping of toxic wastes, air pollution and water contamination.

Billionaire Bandits and kleptocrats have now been granted unfettered access to public financial assets, public lands and natural resources. The destroyers have been set loose, given free reign to pillage whatever remains in the dying empire of the United States. Like vultures, picking at a corpse. Cut that last old growth forest. Drill that last drop of oil. Tear down that mountain for its polluting coal. The race is on to extract all the nation’s non-renewable, one-time only extractible resources.

A boom is coming. A brief loud boom that will be followed by complete collapse once all these resources are gone. A few dozen obscenely rich people will become even richer. Short term jobs will be created, while the real costs of cutting more forests and burning more fossil fuels will be swept under the rug.