Trump: now it begins

Yesterday President Trump tweeted the following:
"Economic growth is the best way to protect the environment..."
These are not just empty words. In support of this thesis, he has authorized the building of an enormous oil pipeline in Alaska, which has been successfully stymied by environmentalists for the last 8 years. He plans to revive the ailing coal industry in the US by re-opening scores of uneconomic coal mines. And to make sure any opposition to his plans withers on the vine, his appointee as boss of the EPA has been shutting down office after office within the organization and laying staff off. Sure, we all want clean water and clean air, says Trump, and the best way of securing it, apparently, is to start using coal again big time, and to remove all the environmental protection the US has enjoyed in the past.

Saying economic growth is good for the environment is like saying the best way to protect elephants and rhinos is to keep a few in zoos and kill all the rest. Or that Brexit is the best way to ensure the unity of Europe. I could keep going, but I think you get the point. Trump could do more damage to the environment in 4 years that was done in the 200 years preceding it, and there seem to be few voices crying out in protest. Or if there are, they're shouted down as peddling fake news. Poor America. You're in deep shit right now, and it's going to get worse.