'Shameful': Trump's EPA accused of prioritizing big business over public health

[douglas9]

After a tumultuous year under the Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has adopted a new, almost unrecognizable guise – one that tears up environmental rules and cheerleads for coal, gas-guzzling cars and artificial intelligence.

When Donald Trump took power, it was widely anticipated the EPA would loosen pollution rules from sources such as cars, trucks and power plants, as part of a longstanding back and forth between administrations over how strict such standards should be.

But in recent weeks, critics say the EPA has gone far further by in effect seeking to jettison its raison d’etre, forged since its foundation in 1970, as an environmental regulator. The EPA is poised to remove its own ability to act on the climate crisis and has, separately, unveiled a new monetary worth assigned to human lives when setting air pollution regulations. The current new value? Zero.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/28/trump-epa-environmental-rollbacks?CMP=share_btn_url

[pfitz59]

1. 60 years ago the stream in my hometown

was full of raw sewage, industrial and agricultural waste. It stunk. The fish and aquatic life all dead. Then the EPA was formed and cleanup began. A few years later the stream 'woke up'. Fish, frogs, salamanders and waterbugs returned. The smell went from oily waste, turds and death to algae and native flowers. Birds and small mammals flourished. The town built a walking path with benches and viewpoints. It was nice. Kids could splash in the water without getting a rash. Now the Trumpanzees will destroy all of this. I hate them with a burning passion.