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Trump's Impact On The Environment

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Globalization through free foreign trade allows for specialized goods to circulate on a global scale. This type of economic integration calls for lower tariffs, creating an economy without borders where more consumers and other markets can be easily accessed. Despite obvious economic benefits of globalization, the expansion of foreign trade clearly harms local and domestic economies. With international agreements and organizations such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), the economies become highly competitive, often disturbing the local agricultural farmers that are unable to compete with better and cheaper goods from abroad. Consequently, without taxation, large businesses are more likely …show more content…

Accompanied by Scott Pruitt, the dismantlement of environmental efforts from the Obama Administration comes at ease. The EPA is the most important domestic regulator of pollution through the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. In addition to regulation, the EPA investigates and researches the state of the environment to find tangible evidence to further prove the existence of global warming. The EPA also provides aid globally by helping other countries reduce waste and restore crucial natural habitats. Although the Trump Administration has already begun to defund the EPA, simply abolishing the EPA at once is an impossible deed. With the current legislation, the government is required by law to keep citizens safe and prioritize health. To completely abolish the EPA, Trump must first abolish the legislations that could open the government up for lawsuits. The effort to repeal these legislations require votes from Congress, which is the main reason for massive and extensive lobbying endeavors. The polluter-industrial complex spends hundreds of millions on lobbying, hiring professionals and tempting wayward Congressmen. Together, 770 companies hired over 2,240 lobbyist, or 4 lobbyists per member of Congress just to …show more content…

To overcome these great obstacles set by the polluter-industrial complex, the environmental justice movement must grow and adapt to the changes. If the environmental justice movement expands its constituency to include broader human rights campaigns, the movement will be able to strengthen its numbers. It will become much more difficult to argue against human rights platforms for it applies to every social class and race. These campaigns could also compromise less by showing increased activism through grassroots campaigning. Without extreme measures, the environmental justice movement could place more pressure through a united front, compromising to none. Another way to combat the polluter-industrial complex is by forcing politicians to make their financial statements more transparent to the public. The American people have the right to know if certain politicians are paid by individuals linked to the polluter-industrial complex. This information should be publically displayed for immediate and easy access, helping many differentiate between real and false information. Most importantly, the American people and consumers need to become more conscious of reliable sources, for not every source tells the truth. Mindful consumers that restrict the purchase of certain

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