CLIMATE CHANGE/ENERGY/EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration will reverse an Obama-era coal emissions rule as part of its effort to loosen restrictions on the coal industry, just days after a US government report warned that aggressive action is needed to curb greenhouse gases and ease the impact of global warming. The reversal won’t lead to the immediate construction of new coal-fired power plants, but it does send an immediate political signal that the Trump administration is intent on shoring up the coal industry and other energy interests..The rule change would lift restrictions on coal emissions that effectively limited the construction of new plants. Wheeler argued that the Obama administration was requiring power plants to use costly carbon capture and sequestration technology and that by reversing the rule, businesses would have a greater ability to innovate and invest…On the Friday [11-23-18] after Thanksgiving, the Trump administration released a congressionally mandated Climate Assessment which warned the planet is getting warmer, human activity is contributing to that warming and that it is approaching a point of no return in terms of the damage to the climate.”
–Nicole Gaouette and Rene Marsh, “EPA rolls back coal rule despite climate change warnings,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, December 6, 2018 7:47 am