The article critiques Donald Trump's approach to California's water issues and forest management, emphasizing the disconnect between his words and the reality of environmental challenges. Trump’s new executive order favors agricultural interests while undermining state and federal environmental protections. Critics argue this does little to address California's severe water problems or the disastrous fires caused in part by climate change. The piece underscores the importance of scrutinizing Trump's actions rather than his often unfounded assertions, as many may mistakenly accept his rhetoric as factual due to his presidential authority.
Trump's actions took the form of a new executive order that crystalized his alliance with large and thirsty San Joaquin Valley agricultural interests and his contempt for the state's fisheries.
The order calls for overriding state environmental laws and reinterpreting federal laws like the Endangered Species Act that stand in the way of water transfers.
To his credit, it includes support for displaced families in Southern California and North Carolina. But none of the clauses dealing with water have even the slightest bearing on the horrid fires.
Trump's verbal justifications for them are also worth examining, for two reasons. First, he's the president, and many Americans will accept his claims as true when they are not.
#donald-trump #california-water-issues #environmental-policy #agricultural-interests #executive-orders
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