You Can’t Make America Healthy by Letting Polluters Off the Hook

One might think, from President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of his administration’s plan to gut federal methane protections, that he was doing everyday Americans a huge favor. He claimed that this action was a win for consumers, but the real winners are polluters. They’ve been handed yet another free pass to keep emitting harmful air pollution without the protections that safeguard our health. The gutting of oil and gas protections should be shocking, but it was to be expected following closely on the heels of his administration’s actions a few weeks ago to repeal limits on climate pollution from fossil fuel power plants. Each one is an attack on climate protections and our children’s health at the very moment these protections are most needed.As mothers who care deeply about the well-being of our children and the only planet they can call home, we are frightened. Trump’s plans come as data center expansion is rapidly increasing power demand across the country, and the many utility companies and developers are responding with plans for additional fossil fuel generation, including old jet engines and heavily polluting methane gas-fueled turbines. This growing reliance on meth...