As Americans marked Earth Day with calls for environmental stewardship, the Trump administration’s rollback of climate protections cast a dark cloud over what is typically a celebration.
Since April 1, the administration has reinstated coal mining expansions, moved to redefine what constitutes harm to protected wildlife, and launched a review of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. The flurry of changes has drawn sharp criticism on college campuses like Columbia.
“It also makes me feel really frustrated, because if he was able to implement these policies in the span of two weeks, it also means policies that support the opposite could be implemented just as quickly if the Senate and the House could actually be representative of what people want,” said junior graphic design major Angie Belloso.
Trump’s pick for energy secretary was CEO of Liberty Oilfield Services Chris Wright. Former secretary Republican congressman Lee Zeldin is the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s AR6 Synthesis Report found that as of 2023, 3.3 to 3.6 billion people already live in vulnerable climates. These people are most at risk of food and water shortages.
The AR6 assessment determines a high confidence in the near-term possibility of mortality and morbidity, as well as a very high confidence in there being a risk of mental health challenges.
Senior music business major Emily Cruz-Tello said she worries about the possibility of climate change reducing the lifespan of current and future generations.
“It’s, in a way, kind of like [we are] killing ourselves,” Cruz-Tello said.
Cruz-Tello said that the main problem is that President Donald Trump is making policy actions that will not uphold the environment in the long-term.
“I feel like at this point, he’s really just trying to do whatever it is just to keep the country running, but not in a very, like, sustainable and efficient way,” Cruz-Tello said.
Cruz-Tello said that she worries for her future children and how they may be impacted by climate change.
“It just makes me think how much longer we will have to see our future generations grow up or if our future generations will even be given the opportunity to live a long life,” Cruz-Tello said.
Belloso said she feels the administration is making decisions with their wallets.
“It just feels like he’s just trying to do as much damage as possible to make a quick buck and put it under this disguise of ‘it’s an emergency, we’re running out.’ But I feel like that really just means like we’re running out of cash flow,” Belloso said.
Senior fashion merchandising major Sassy Dougherty, who said she uses public transportation such as the CTA rather than driving to lessen the effects on the environment, said the administration does not seem to have the environment’s best interest at heart.
“I feel like he’s just making all these decisions for him, he’s not thinking about the outcome of everything, these things are a trickle down effect,” Dougherty said, referring to the effects of energy consumption and climate policy.
Before Trump appointed him Energy Secretary, Wright ran a company known for fracking, which can lead to water contamination.
“I think having someone who is in the business of causing more harm to climate change and being in a field where you’re basically emitting more fossil fuels, you shouldn’t be in charge of the whole department,” Belloso said.
At the EPA, Zeldin announced on X in March that the agency would be rolling back 31 previous climate actions, including the 2009 scientific finding labeling greenhouse gas emissions as dangerous to public health.
The next decade is the world’s last chance to reduce the effects of climate change, according to The European Geosciences Union. However, this administration’s policies were already projected to increase greenhouse gases 36% higher than the Biden administration the day after Trump took office, according to The Center for American Progress based on Trump’s proposed policies and day one actions.
On campus some groups are aiming to help do their part for the environment. Student Government Association is hosting their third annual Earth Day Clean-Up at the Student Center on Friday, April 25 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m..
Copy edited by Patience Hurston
