Reducing Regulations to Benefit the Rich
2016
2016-12-31 On his podcast, RFK Jr. warned that Trump would attempt to dismantle environmental protections, including safe-water safeguards.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/21/politics/kfile-rfk-jr-trump-critique
2017
2017-01-26 National Parks social media accounts protested Trump’s climate policies after he advanced two major oil pipelines, archived climate
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38745829
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38746608
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-record/climate
2018
2018-03-14 The Heritage Foundation called for repealing NEPA, arguing environmental reviews slow and increase the cost of infrastructure projects.
2019
2019-06-27 Ohio House Bill 6’s “Clean Air Program” was viewed as a bailout benefiting specific companies, including FirstEnergy, which had dumped arsenic-laden coal waste in 2013.
https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/133/hb6
https://www.dallashartman.com/blog/firstenergy-dumping-waste-in-beaver-county/
https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/towns-dispute-where-to-dump-coal-waste/
2024
2024-07-02 On Breaking Points, RFK Jr. said, “When a regulatory agency becomes captured by corporations, it also functions to widen corporate power”.
2025 January
2025-01-20 Project 2025 (p. 377) outlines the goal to expand coal production.
2025-01-20 Trump rescinded The Presidential Memorandum Withdrawal of Certain Areas off the United States Arctic Coast of the Outer Continental Shelf from Oil or Gas Leasing and reopened previously protected Arctic offshore areas to oil and gas leasing.
2025-01-20 Trump rescinded Executive Order 14096 Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All.
2025-01-20 Trump rescinded Executive Order 14030 Climate-Related Financial Risk.
2025-01-20 Trump rescinded Executive Order 14037 Strengthening American Leadership in Clean Cars and Trucks.
2025-01-20 Trump rescinded Executive Order 14082 Implementation of the Energy and Infrastructure Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
2025 March
2025-03-12 The EPA announced major cuts affecting cleanup projects, recycling programs, and anti-dumping efforts while reconsidering regulations on power plants, oil, gas, greenhouse-gas reporting, and toxic emissions.
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-launches-biggest-deregulatory-action-us-history
2025-03-21 The Trump administration dismantled the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22042025/epa-announces-plans-to-terminate-nearly-300-employees/
2025 April
2026-04-29 The Trump administration attempted to weaken the Endangered Species Act to expand drilling and mining but the vote was delayed over bipartisan concern.
2025 June
2025-06-23 Trump rescinded the Roadless Rule, which protected 58 million acres of national forest, citing wildfire prevention and timber production.
2025-06-29 The EPA lowered appliance-efficiency standards, consistent with goals outlined in Project 2025 (page 378).
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/29/trump-energy-star-homeowner-appliances-electric-bill-cost.html
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/07/energy-star-program-ends-utility-bills
https://static.heritage.org/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf
2025 July
2025-07-04 As outlined in Project 2025, Trump signed a sweeping reconciliation bill HR-1 that would add $3.3T (trillion) to the national debt, eliminate renewable energy subsidies, and terminate clean energy incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
2025-07-09 Trump revoked Biden’s Executive Order 14036 on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, a legislation meant to prevent monopolies and higher food prices.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/13/trump-revokes-biden-order-economy
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/statement-revocation-biden-harris-executive-order-competition
2025-07-10 Trump ended federal subsidies for electric vehicles.
2025-07-29 The Trump administration attempted to repeal a 2009 EPA endangerment finding that greenhouse gas emissions are air pollutants that endanger public health and welfare.
https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/tracker/greenhouse-gas-endangerment-finding/
https://nam.org/epa-moves-to-rescind-2009-greenhouse-gas-endangerment-finding-34497/
2025 August
2025-08-19 Trump pushed back on a court decision to temporarily block the Resolution Copper project, blaming the delay on the “radical left”. The Resolution Copper project aims to develop copper mining upon sacred and protected Native American holy sites.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/20/copper-trump-slams-anti-american-pushback-over-arizona-project.html
2025 September
2025-09-10 Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave an insightful presentation into “dark money” and systemic risk to the economy when an ecosystem declines.
2025 October
2025-10-24 Open AI announced plans to sell erotica to boost sales. AI has a massive environmental impact and is vastly unregulated.
https://apnews.com/article/ai-erotica-chatgpt-openai-sam-altman-d52e00cedf34a8120af7af66981da295
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2025/10/15/openai-chatgpt-erotica-sam-altman/86716163007/
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/15/erotica-coming-to-chatgpt-this-year-says-openai-ceo-sam-altman.html
https://news.mit.edu/2025/explained-generative-ai-environmental-impact-0117
https://hbr.org/2024/07/the-uneven-distribution-of-ais-environmental-impacts
2025-10-24 Trump removed protections from Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas drilling.
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/24/nx-s1-5584883/trump-alaska-wildlife-refuge-oil-gas-drilling
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/24/nx-s1-5584883/trump-alaska-wildlife-refuge-oil-gas-drilling
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/23/oil-gas-drilling-alaska-national-wildlife-refuge
2025 November
2025-11-07 The Guardian reported on “Atlas,” an alleged ExxonMobil-backed climate-change denial campaign.
2025-11-20 The administration expanded offshore oil and gas sales.
https://www.heritage.org/energy/commentary/new-wave-american-offshore-energy
2025-11-23 Doctors and health professionals petitioned against EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, criticizing efforts to weaken greenhouse gas regulations and the 2009 Endangerment findings.
OFFICIAL PETITION: https://www.change.org/p/petition-to-ask-epa-administrator-lee-zeldin-to-regulate-chemicals
https://www.scrippsnews.com/politics/a-maha-driven-petition-wants-epa-administrator-lee-zeldin-fired
https://www.momscleanairforce.org/epa-head-zeldin-must-go
2025 December
2025-12-03 Trump rolled back vehicle fuel-efficiency standards, reduced targets from roughly 50 MPG to about 35 MPG and claimed that lowering carbon emissions was the cause for high auto prices.
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/03/nx-s1-5630389/trump-administration-rolls-back-fuel-economy-standards
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-roll-back-biden-era-vehicle-fuel-efficiency/story?id=128080691
2025-12-19 U.S. Representative Bruce Westerman of Arkansas and Representative Jared Golden of Maine introduced the SPEED Act (Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development – HR 4776) to overhaul the National Environmental Policy Act. For context, NEPA was enacted in 1970 to force businesses to disclose their environmental impacts before they can receive funding and permits.
https://westerman.house.gov/media-center/weekly-columns/need-speed
2026 January
2026-01-14 The EPA stated they would stop calculating how much money is saved in health care costs and how many deaths were prevented by air pollution reduction measures.
2026 February
2026-02-08 Florida studies show increased glyphosate in bread products, and Florida first lady Casey DeSantis said the Healthy Florida First initiative found triple-digit levels.
https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2026/does-bread-contain-weed-killer/
https://x.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/2019508100139823520
https://exposingfoodtoxins.com/bread/
2026-02-12 Trump reversed Obama-era greenhouse-gas regulations.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/12/climate/trump-repeals-epa-endangerment-finding
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trump-rolls-back-landmark-policy-regulating-greenhouse-emissions
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-launches-biggest-deregulatory-action-us-history
https://climate.law.columbia.edu/climate-deregulation-tracker
2026 March
2026-03-31 Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz announced additional cuts that would eliminate 75% of research, reduce wildlife and climate monitoring, shrink oversight of mining and logging, close nine regional offices, and relocate headquarters from Washington, D.C.
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/4/20/forest_service
https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/reorganization
2026 April
2026-04-02 Argentina’s lawmakers, led by Javier Milei, pushed reforms to remove protections on freshwater reserves and glaciers to allow for drilling.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y72e6x554o
https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2026/04/02/argentina-reforms-glacier-protection-law/
2026-04-16 The senate voted to lift a federal ban on mining upstream from Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/news/senate-just-greenlit-mine-boundary-waters-minnesota/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIqJFcCnhkY
PAY WALL https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/16/climate/boundary-waters-senate-vote.html
2026-04-29 The Senate voted to open pristine Minnesota boundary waters in Canada for mining and drilling.
https://www.wpr.org/news/why-mining-minnesotas-boundary-waters-matters-wisconsin
https://spokesman-recorder.com/2026/04/29/boundary-waters-copper-mining-ban-lifted/
[https://www.fox9.com/news/bwca-mining-ban-ends-trump-april-2026](https://www.fox9.com/news/bwca-mining-ban-ends-trump-april-2026)
https://www.savetheboundarywaters.org/action-center
https://earthjustice.org/feature/boundary-waters-canoe-area-wilderness-photos
2026-04-29 The Trump administration proposed a rule to cut back the Endangered Species Act to allow more industry, drilling and mining. It was only after several voiced concerns from both parties that they delayed the vote.
https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/tracker/endangered-species-act-regulations/
https://www.humaneworld.org/en/blog/trump-administration-gut-endangered-species-act
2026 May
2026-05-18 The EPA proposed eliminating drinking-water limits for four PFAS “forever chemicals” established in 2024 and extending utility compliance deadlines from 2029 to 2031.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/18/trump-administration-epa-pfas-water
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCZJyiy0veE&list=WL&index=6
2026-05-21 Trump rolled back refrigerant regulations intended to reduce emissions, arguing the move would lower grocery costs.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/21/trump-epa-refrigerant-rule-grocery-costs
2026-05-27 West Virginia communities have repeatedly had to battle water contamination from mining runoff.
https://www.wvva.com/2026/05/27/water-quality-worsens-brenton-residents/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMmNRHOJ0Kk&list=WL&index=1&t=141s
2026 June
2026-06-10 SpaceX will receive 700 acres of protected wildlife refuge in Texas.
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/06/11/environmental-groups-sue-to-stop-spacex-land-deal/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KKq1b18mPQ&list=WL&index=3
2026-06-10 Data centers are seizing Georgian residents’ homes and contaminating the drinking water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV58WsALxsk&list=WL&index=5
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8gy7lv448o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=752gOFl2_p0
2026-06-22 The Interior Department introduced new guidelines to slash oil and gas fees paid by energy companies, eliminate requirements to detail plans to eliminate methane emissions, and reduce environmental protections.
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5935238-public-lands-drilling-interior/
SUB WALL https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/climate/trump-drilling-public-lands.html
2026-06-25 MAHA moms said they felt betrayed after SCOTUS ruled that Bayer did not have to warn consumers about cancer risks associated with Roundup, and that Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to boost glyphosate production.
https://www.aol.com/news/decision-sickening-maha-leaders-feel-234923560.html
2026 July
2026-07-01 The EPA quit monitoring and testing for microplastics and pesticides in drinking water.
https://www.plasticsnews.com/public-policy/pn-epa-rejects-microplastics-drinking-water-testing/
https://www.newsweek.com/epa-faces-backlash-drinking-water-monitoring-plan-12139524
2026-07-08 ExxonMobil’s top attorney Robert Levy retired and joined Trump’s newly renamed Energy and Natural Resources Division, previously the Environment and Natural Resources Division. Co-president of Public Citizen’s Robert Weissman wrote, “Big Oil’s capture of the U.S. government is now complete. The Justice Department that should be fighting to protect clean air and water and avert catastrophic climate change will now work on behalf of polluters to advance the poisoning of people and the planet”.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/cabinet/
2026-07-10 The bipartisan Road to Housing bill was expected to pass despite Trump’s attempt to veto it. The housing bill is intended to create affordable housing, yet it still loosens building regulations.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-wont-sign-housing-bill-will-become-law-soon-without-veto/
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/10/trump-housing-bill-save-act-law.html
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/10/housing-bill-becomes-law-without-trump-veto
https://www.axios.com/2026/07/10/trump-housing-bill-affordability
https://nlihc.org/resource/house-passes-amended-bipartisan-21st-century-road-housing-act
2026-07-14 Elon Musk’s company XAI installed more gas turbines without federal permits. The pollution is primarily affecting Black neighborhoods.
https://electrek.co/2026/07/14/musk-buys-gas-turbine-company-apr-energy-grok/
TIMESTAMP 11:05 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YThcfluu8f8&list=WL&index=5