When things like highways and pipelines are built, they don’t exist in a vacuum — they take over land that may have otherwise been used or occupied by any number of flora and fauna. These human-made pieces of infrastructure may be essential to our lives, but they also can have adverse effects on other creatures and the planet itself. Unfortunately, President Trump and his cohorts don’t appear particularly interested in that. According to the New York Times, a new rule proposed by the Trump administration would allow for ignoring potential environmental damage — including contributions to climate change — that federal agencies’ major infrastructure projects would have.
If Trump has his way, projects like the Keystone XL oil pipeline and other major fossil fuel projects will no longer be required to take into account potential environmental impacts prior to construction. Additionally, the administration intends to narrow the types of projects that even require an environmental review before going forward. That would allow federal agencies to skip vital steps of the construction process, including disclosing plans for waste disposal, if the project will cause any harm or disruption to surrounding ecosystems or if construction may contribute to air or water pollution. Continue reading “Trump administration could roll climate change assessment guidelines back for infrastructure projects”