As news of Trump’s 2018 budget details have been revealed, one thing is clear: the environment is not a priority. As well as directly hurting students, seniors and low-income families, Trump’s proposed budget is an attack on the environment and paves the way for climate change to keep hurting us.
How the Budget Will Hurt the EPA
Trump’s proposed 2018 budget would devastate the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by slashing their funding by one third. Many of the programs that are on the chopping block are related to renewable energy, greenhouse gas reporting and other climate change initiatives.
The idea to cut the EPA’s funding by 31% was first revealed in March in a skinny version of Trump’s budget. Many environmentalists were hopeful that this number would be revised before the official unveiling of the budget. But the leak has confirmed their worst nightmare; the budget slashing appears to be here to stay.
What Programs Will Be Affected?
The government intends to reduce the size and funding of the EPA to 1970 levels when climate change wasn’t a pressing issue. To achieve this, the budget outlines programs that would see a significant decrease in funding and programs that would be eliminated altogether.
Among the programs that would see a funding decrease are air and energy research projects, which would lose 67% of their funding, and clean air regulatory programs, which would lose 47% of their funding.
The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is set to lose 70% of their budget which would severely cut research into renewable energy. The science budget for NASA would also be negatively affected. NASA is set to lose $50 million, which would affect the satellites they operate to conduct climate change research. The Department of Agriculture would lose 20% of their overall funding specifically affecting the National Institute of Food and Agriculture - set to lose $100 million under the proposed budget.
The following EPA programs are set to be eliminated entirely: Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program which collects carbon emission data from industrial facilities; the National Estuaries Program responsible for protecting coastal waterways; Environmental Justice; assistance to Alaskan villages; and a host of geographic programs focused on environmental issues in areas such as the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico and Chesapeake Bay.
What Do the Big Players Think?
While Trump’s administration may be happy with their proposed budget, there are not too many others who agree with them. Even fellow Republicans are not in agreement. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voiced her concern and hope that the administration would take into consideration feedback from their skinny budget. She said, "I think they heard a pretty strong signal after the skinny budget, not only from myself but others, weighing in pretty heavily that some of these programs are important, and if you perhaps don't understand why they are important, let me share with you why they are."
Murkowski is not alone in her opposition to the environmental budget cuts. Scott Clausen, policy and research manager at the American Council on Renewable Energy explained the negative effects of cutting the EERE funding. He said, “It would have a devastating effect, because EERE's (Office of Energy Efficient and Renewable Energy) budget largely drives a lot of critical research. About 80 percent of the NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) budget comes from EERE. NREL's doing a lot of important work into solar panels, wind turbines—a lot of important research that's going to keep costs down. Those types of cuts would really jeopardize America's leadership in developing and commercializing those technologies."
Will the Budget Pass?
Luckily, Trump’s proposed budget is not set in stone. The official budget will be released at the end of May and then it will be up to Congress to decide what stays and what goes. Many of the programs up for elimination or funding cuts have bipartisan support on the hill and are likely to be saved. We can only hope that the Senators listen to science and their constituents and don’t allow themselves to be bullied by a president with a misguided budget.