What Will Be The #TrumpEffect On Climate Change Be?

Climate change is the result of global warming. And the problem is real. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Earth's average temperature has risen 1.5°F  over the last century. Over the next 100 years, the temperature is projected to rise another 0.5 to 8.6°F.  Though President Obama has been an advocate for green initiatives, president-elect Donald Trump has been very critical of the EPA and doesn't believe that climate change is actually happening. 

So, will he or won't he listen to environmentalists like Academy-Award winning director Fisher Stevens? If his recent nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as head of the EPA, a climate change skeptic, is any indication of the direction the Trump administration is heading, climate change advocates may be in for a fight.

In a "Fox News Sunday" interview with Chris Wallace on Sunday, December 11, 2016, Trump expressed concerns that President Obama's efforts to cut carbon emissions may have undercut the country's ability to compete in the global economy. He is continuing his campaign rhetoric about creating jobs, manufacturing, and supporting domestic oil and gas companies:

"I'm still open-minded. Nobody really knows," Trump said. "Look, I'm somebody that gets it, and nobody really knows. It's not something that's so hard and fast. I do know this: Other countries are eating our lunch."

There is a broad consensus that climate change and global warming are the direct result of deliberate human action via greenhouse gas emissions. The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report concluded that it is "extremely likely" that, since the 1950s, this has been the "dominant cause" of the planet's warming trend.

Trump went on to say in the Fox interview, when asked about the fate of the Keystone Pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), that "a decision about it will be made very quickly" if those problems are not solved before he takes office.  It is likely that he will work to find a way for both of those projects to resume construction. He is also researching the possibility of pulling out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

In an effort to get the message out about climate change, Fisher Stevens and Academy-Award winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio teamed up to produce "Before the Flood." The documentary examines the effects that environmental practices have had on the planet. They and other climate change advocates believe that there is a small window of opportunity to implement clean and green energy programs like China and others have already done.

The next four years could make all the difference in the fate of the planet. Perhaps science will win out over economics. Perhaps the incoming president will decide to compete for the title of best environmental program in the world. Perhaps the people will take a stand. Perhaps America will be made great again...