Trump's First 100 Days are a Climate and Environmental Nightmare

Trump's first 100 days have been a dismal failure. Trump failed to deliver on almost every single one of his promises leading many to conclude that the self-proclaimed deal-maker can't seem to close. True to his word he is making progress on one front, depriving Americans of clean air and clean water.

Trumps Muslim ban failed, his attempt to pass health-care legislation also failed. Congress will not finance his wall and nor will Mexico.  Rather than drain the swamp he has made the swamp bigger. The president has rewarded the wealthy on the backs of the poor and the middle class. His one-page reward-the-rich tax plan does not have a snowball's chance in hell of passing and if it were ever enacted by Congress it would trigger economic ruin.

Republicans Trying to Kill the EPA Quickly

Trump drew first blood with an Executive Order that enfeebled some of the EPA's activities, now Republicans are going in for the kill. They recently proposed a bill that seeks to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Known as H.R.861, the bill has the following self-explanatory title: "To terminate the Environmental Protection Agency."

While this bill is unbelievably destructive for the American people it should come as no surprise when you consider Republican obstructionism for the last eight years and the man who is now President of the United States. Within his first two weeks in office, Trump signed an Executive Order that targeted the EPA.

The EPA's New Tier 3 Standards Offer Environmental, Economic and Employment Benefits

The Obama administration has unveiled a proposal that will benefit the environment and the economy. The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) historic new rules, known as the Tier 3 standards, will reduce sulfur in gasoline and tighten car and truck emission standards. The rule is still undergoing a White House budget office review, but it is expected to come into effect nationwide in 2017, except for California where it is already in place.

The new rule is part of a global trend that will bring US sulfur content in gasoline closer to current norms. Tier 3 will see a 60 percent reduction in the sulfur content of gas which translates to content reductions from 30 parts per million (ppm) down  to 10 ppm.

Tier 3 standards will also reduce vehicular emissions including nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds. The rule is expected to reduce nitrogen oxides by as much as 80 percent, which would eliminate 260,000 tons of the pollutant, or the equivalent of taking 33 million cars off the roads.