Trump administration puts environmental justice funding in jeopardy

President-elect Donald Trump’s transition plans suggest potential cuts to environmental justice programs, threatening gains made under the Biden administration’s Justice40 initiative to combat pollution in vulnerable communities.

Amudalat Ajasa and Anna Phillips report for The Washington Post.

In short:

Biden directed 40% of pollution-reduction funding to disadvantaged areas through the Justice40 initiative, boosting projects like solar installations and clean buses.
Trump’s allies propose eliminating EPA’s environmental justice programs, questioning their necessity and focusing on deregulation.
Advocates fear reduced pollution enforcement and halted community grants, particularly in areas like Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley.”

Key quote:

“Environmental justice and civil rights is not something [Trump’s] administration wants to support or further or advance. They want to obliterate it.”

— Matthew Tejada, former EPA official

Why this matters:

Pollution disproportionately harms low-income and non-white communities, increasing health risks like premature death from air pollution. Rolling back environmental justice efforts could worsen inequities, leaving vulnerable populations with less protection against industrial pollution.

www.washingtonpost.com

Trump administration puts environmental justice funding in jeopardy

Water is ‘white gold’ in Baja’s drying beach towns

2 studies warn infamous AMOC ocean current is in trouble

‘Cut fossil fuel industry’s lifeline’: How subsidies and petrochemicals are propping up oil and gas

The 'age of electricity' is here. No one knows what comes next

How Canadians pay for fossil fuels with our bodies

Lebanon's beekeepers are at breaking point

Cuts to renewable energy research in Energy Department’s budget irk Senate Democrats

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Pennsylvania health advocates say Trump’s first 100 days in office have caused “100 harms” to local communities

“They're terrorizing these scientists because they want to keep them silent.”

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.