By Kobi Schneider (he/him), Federal Policy Lead for Youth v. Oil
Since taking back the White House in January, President Donald Trump has wasted no time launching a mind-boggling flurry of human rights violations, unconstitutional executive orders, and environmental rollbacks. No green initiative has been spared from his unholy crusade against Mother Earth; he threatens to hinder any progress towards a sustainable future.
As of April 2025, Trump has launched a series of environmental rollbacks- he helped the coal industry by relaxing carbon reduction requirements, allowing plants to emit dangerous quantities without facing consequences. He also rolled back vehicle emission rules, permitting automakers to produce high emission vehicles. His EPA redefined America’s waters to include only lakes and rivers, endangering wetlands and small streams that are essential to America’s ecosystems. The EPA may also eliminate environmental justice offices, which mitigate pollution for low income Americans (Ahmed). Just recently on April 8th, the administration waived environmental rules to expand Trump’s infamous border wall on the Southern border (AP News). Clearly the nation must stand up to these dangerous rulings.
Progressive politicians and organizations have wasted no time fighting against Trump’s anti-green, tyrannical policies. Since January, they have notched up the fight, holding rallies that attract thousands. Progressive congress members Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have launched a ‘fighting oligarchy’ tour, attracting tens of thousands of people to inspirational assemblies (Mason). On the weekend of April 5th, anti-Trump demonstrators organized ‘hands-off’ protests in more than 1,200 locations in all 50 states; in San Diego, over 12,000 fighters came together, including many SanDiego350 activists. (Menezes). If we come together, we can defeat Trumpism and restore common-sense and sustainability to our desperate planet.