My, my. The hypocrisy around here is getting so thick that you can cut it with a knife. The Trump administration has rolled back at least 85 environmental rules - so far. There are plenty more that will be revoked soon in order to ensure that America's water is too contaminated to drink, that the air in our cities will be more polluted and harder to breathe and that coal and other mining companies will no longer be responsible for cleaning up their own toxic messes.
Whatever the state of California may or may not do regarding environmental regulations pales by comparison with what Trump is doing nationwide by dismantling 50 years worth of environmental progress.
If Trump is an "environmentalist" then Stormy Daniels is a librarian. The one and only reason you bring up California's supposed environmental sins is because Trump and the republican party - and you especially - have gone to war with California because it is a highly prosperous, highly Democratic blue state and California's very existence is seen by conservatives as an existential threat.
Here's a sampling of what the "big believer in clean air and water" has done to our environment so far:
Scaled back pollution protections for certain tributaries and wetlands that were regulated under the Clean Water Act by the Obama administration.
Revoked a rule that prevented coal companies from dumping mining debris into local streams.
Withdrew a proposed rule aimed at reducing pollutants, including air pollution, at sewage treatment plants.
Withdrew a proposed rule requiring groundwater protections for certain uranium mines.
Weakened federal rules regulating the disposal and storage of coal ash waste from power plants. (A second phase of this rollback is still under way.)
Proposed a legal justification for weakening an Obama-era rule that limited mercury emissions from coal power plants.
Made significant cuts to the borders of two national monuments in Utah and recommended border and resource management changes to several more.
Rescinded water pollution regulations for fracking on federal and Indian lands.
Scrapped a proposed rule that required mines to prove they could pay to clean up future pollution.
Rejected a proposed ban on chlorpyrifos, a pesticide linked to developmental disabilities in children.
Narrowed the scope of a 2016 law mandating safety assessments for potentially toxic chemicals, like dry-cleaning solvents and paint strippers. The E.P.A. will focus on direct exposure and exclude air, water and ground contamination.
Canceled a requirement for oil and gas companies to report methane emissions.
Revised and partially repealed an Obama-era rule limiting methane emissions on public lands, including intentional venting and flaring from drilling operations.
Loosened a Clinton-era rule designed to limit toxic emissions from major industrial polluters.
You and the rest of the republican party gang of environmental terrorists actually couldn't care less about any of this. Stop pretending otherwise.
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