The recent United States election is historic, controversial, and "roller coastery" to say the least! Donald John Trump became victorious, but some community organizers and environmental justice advocates are unhappy and frightened by what a Trump Administration might mean for the country's environment and public health. Several confirmed and potential Cabinet picks are quite alarming. As the current Attorney General of Oklahoma, Scott Pruitt sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a couple of times unsuccessfully in objection to "burdensome" regulations. Ironically, the generally anti-EPA Pruitt is expected to be President-elect Trump's Administrator to the EPA. Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson may be Trump's Secretary of State. You and I might conjecture that the impact of climate change around the world as well as the importance of environmental justice around the world will not be issues of concern for Tillerson. Tillerson (if chosen) and Pruitt will require the Senate's advise and consent, meaning a formal questions-and-answers process to determine if they will be fit for carrying out their duties.
Also, could the Trump transition team's questionnaire (New York Times) — a list of 74 Department of Energy wide-ranging questions delivered to Dept. of Energy officials — indicate an interest in "efforts to promote nuclear power" as well as undermine research related to protecting the environment? As Nuclear Waste Concerns discussed in multiple posts, promoting a stronger reliance on nuclear power could lead to more radioactive waste being disposed in locations where environmental injustice against underprivileged populations (especially impoverished, Native-American, and African-American people) is an alarming concern for many activists and underprivileged people. Two questions from the Trump transition team stood out to me, considering that they pertain to a topic I previously discussed:
28. Are there statutory restrictions related to reinvigorating the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM)?
29. Are there any statutory restrictions [against] restarting the Yucca Mountain project?
The colloquially named Yucca Mountain project refers to a proposed nuclear waste storage site in southern Nevada. Managed and supervised by the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, this controversial project was temporarily stopped and defunded by the Obama administration. Officials took into consideration the health concerns that might affect Western Shoshone Native Americans and also wondered if that site was safely capable of holding the country's nuclear waste. Retiring Senator Harry Reid vocally criticized the Yucca Mountain project. Did the Trump team know about Reid's strong stance against this site? Do they therefore hope this projection gets a second chance, given that Reid will retire? Trump's future presidency is arguably a case of "only time will tell." We would have to wait until his presidency actually starts in order to truly understand the consequences of his administration's policies and actions. In the meantime, though, environmental justice advocates will need to revitalize, organize, and support the organizations, activities, and actions related to environmental justice, making sure we "hold Trump's feet to the fire" so that the next administration will think about everyone in their decisions. It is unfortunate to realize that Dr. Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for President, was the only after-Primary candidate to (1) visit Standing Rock* in solidarity with Native American protestors and (2) talk about the importance of remedying environmental injustice and environmental racism concerns.
* If you hadn't heard, this was the site for an extremely controversial Dakota Access pipeline, which has been halted for now until other sites are considered for evaluation.
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