Trump’s Budget Targets Out Last Line of Defense Against Pandemics and Environmental Crises |
CounterPunch Exclusives
CounterPunch Exclusives
Trump’s Budget Targets Out Last Line of Defense Against Pandemics and Environmental Crises
Chemical plant, Imperial Valley, California. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair.
While Donald Trump’s request for a $1.5 trillion military budget has dominated the headlines, significantly less attention has been paid to the environmental initiatives he intends to cut to support his foreign policy objectives. Under the recently released request, Trump is targeting what he calls “Green New Scam” programs. For example, Trump’s budget would eliminate $45 million in funding for the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) renewable energy programs, shifting focus toward mineral development and opening federal lands and waters to oil, gas, and coal production.
One particular DOI program targeted is the US Geological Survey’s Ecosystems Mission Area (EMA). Founded in 2010, EMA is the biological research arm of USGS. The program is a successor of the USGS Biological Resources Division and the National Biological Survey, which were formed “to provide........