On December 2016, there was an oil spill in North Dakota, and almost no one cared.
The pipeline which caused the spill, owned by True Companies, was originally thought to have released only 4,200 barrels of oil into the state’s water supply. However, recent reports show that the spill is actually three times bigger than originally thought, spilling around 12,615 barrels of crude oil into North Dakota’s water supply.
This new estimate could make this the biggest oil spill in the state’s history.
This news comes at a time when, only months ago on Jan. 24, Donald Trump signed an executive order to approve the construction of the North Dakota Access Pipeline and forced protesters camped out on the site to be removed. According to Trump and those who supported the project, “pipelines are safe.” Clearly, they are not.
The spill needs to serve not only as a reminder that the fight against pipelines isn’t over but as a reminder that our current president is incompetent and refuses to listen to expert opinions.
America has had presidents in the past who promised big changes but had no clear solutions, such as Franklin Roosevelt, who had the tremendous task of saving America from the Great Depression. The difference, however, is that Roosevelt relied heavily on expert advice and was able to rebuild this country, while Trump relies on his own uneducated opinions and appoints dubious members as his advisors.
While many people know of Betsy DeVos and Steve Bannon, two of his most controversial picks, Trump’s environmental advisors are not any better. Myron Ebell, the man who leads the transition of the Environmental Protection Agency under the new presidency, is a known climate change denier, believing climate change to be a “myth” and defending the use of fossil fuels. Kevin Cramer, Trump’s Energy Advisor, calls himself a “climate skeptic.”
As Trump surrounds himself with people who only reflect his own opinions on the environment and refuses to listen to the majority of the scientific community, which says that climate change is not only real but a severe concern, it becomes clear that Trump wishes to continue being incompetent on such issues.
It’s thus no surprise that he has already taken the first steps to moving the United States away from being eco-friendly, as he has already signed an executive order lessening the federal government’s enforcement of climate regulations and declared an end to the “War on Coal.”
Still, it’s not as if all hope is lost. While America might pull away from environmental regulations for the next four to eight years, other countries around the world will continue to battle climate change. There are also things that each individual can do to help lessen the destruction of the environment, such as buying electric cars and recycling.
As long as the people of America do not forget that while the president may be incompetent, they do not need to be too. There is still hope.