September 8, 2020: The Worst President for the Environment in History

 

9/8/20: They say a leopard can’t change its spots. But if a leopard is like Donald J. Trump, he can always deny he has spots.

 

With the election fast approaching, the leopard in the Oval Office decides to pretend he’s a great environmentalist.

Devastation in Oregon.

 

____________________

 

“Trump is the worst president for the environment in history.”

 

The Sierra Club

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Apparently, most people who care about the environment, including scientists who know that climate change is a threat to the planet’s future, would disagree. The League of Conservation Voters, for example, graded Trump on his first year in office, as is their practice. “If there was anything worse than an ‘F,’” they wrote, “Trump would get it.”

The Sierra Club recently offered pungent assessment: “Trump is the worst president for the environment in history.”

 

It was only two months ago, when a coalition of 20 environmental groups sued Trump for wrecking bedrock environmental laws.

 

Meanwhile, an increasingly hotter, drier climate means fire season in the West is longer than ever. When fires do break out, they burn ever larger chunks of real estate, including whole towns. This past weekend, Los Angeles County recorded its highest temperature ever, 121°, creating “kiln-like” conditions for fires. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reports:

 

Firefighters across the western states are seeing extreme fire behavior on many large fires. Seventeen new large fires were reported, bringing the national total to 96 large fires [which] have burned more than 3.4 million acres. Fires in California, Oregon and Washington burned tens of thousands of acres yesterday, causing evacuation orders for many nearby residents.

 

Trump likes to blame state officials in California for their growing problems. Someone should spray him with fire retardant. Currently, there are fires burning in:

 

Alaska: 4

Arizona: 7

California: 24

Colorado: 6

Idaho: 10

Montana: 9

Nevada: 1

New Mexico: 1

Oregon: 14

Utah: 4

Washington: 12

Wyoming: 3

 

According to my calculations, based on NIFC figures, in the last ten years just under 90,000 square miles have burned in this country.

 

For sake of comparison, that would be the same as burning up every inch of Minnesota and then burning down Delaware for good measure.

 

Trump’s grade from environmentalists (and people who actually followed the news):

 

F.

 

FUN WITH STRAWS: Trump did focus on the “main issue,” environmentally, during a recent campaign rally. Climate change? No. Oil spills? Nah. Plastic straws!

 
Trump campaign now selling plastic Trump straws.

 

He told his fans he had to save them. Democrats wanted to ban those beauties. “They want to ban straws,” he warned. “Has anybody ever tried those paper straws? They’re not working too good. I’ve had a couple of meals at McDonalds, et cetera, over the years. Wendy’s, a friend of mine owns Wendy’s, I’ll give it a plug,” he added. 

The guy’s a moron. (See: 7/27/18 for the dangers of plastic waste in the world’s oceans. Trump doesn’t know about it, because he’s an incurious oaf.)