By Kaelin Rapport

The first observance of Earth Day was held 55 years ago. Originally envisioned as large-scale public protests to raise awareness of environmental threats, Earth Day now promotes environmental conservation and sustainable energy. That reminder is more necessary than ever as the Trump Administration reduces the federal budget through mass layoffs at government agencies, including those that have historically protected the environment, and pushes executive orders that will devastate the environment and marginalized communities. 

Climate Change and Environmental Racism

The actions of President Trump, his appointees, and the Department of Government Efficiency are part of a strategy to roll back regulations protecting the environment. These partisan decisions attack validated climate science and allow the federal government to evade responsibility for perpetuating environmental racism in the pursuit of short-term economic gains.

Researchers at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined racial minorities are the most likely to live in areas predicted to be adversely affected by climate change. Majority non-white communities and communities that are predominately composed of families with low incomes suffer more from storm and flood events, extreme heat, infectious disease, and disruptions to labor markets, all of which are occurring more frequently because of climate change. Immigrant families are distinctly vulnerable to being excluded from health care policies, which can make it difficult to receive assistance to address environmental hazards. Research has connected higher temperatures, humidity, and vapor pressure with increases in mental distress, visits to the emergency room, and exposure to environmental-related trauma. Black people in particular are 40 percent more likely than other racial minority groups to live in areas with the highest projected mortality rates due to extreme temperatures.

Federal Cuts and Deregulation  

Despite the depth and breadth of data signaling a need to address climate change and environmental racism head-on, the administration has taken alarming measures to accelerate global warming and extreme weather changes. On the first day of his second term, President Trump signed an executive order to initiate withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Accords for the second time. The Paris Accords represent an international climate initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Also on his first day in office, Trump signed the executive order “Unleashing American Energy,” which called for the removal of 100 environmental regulations, including limiting carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, cars, and trucks; limiting wildlife protections; and making more land available for corporations to drill for oil and gas. According to the Trump Administration, both orders removed barriers placed by the Biden Administration between the country’s natural resources and its prosperity.

The hunt for economic gains also led to the administration firing thousands of federal employees, which hit agencies like the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) particularly hard. NOAA employed 13,000 people and used advanced technology across thousands of institutions to gather data on the weather and climate. NOAA also serves as the quality control for this data and developed weather prediction models, which it used to coordinate with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, another agency expected to fire staffers soon.

Since the start of the current administration, roughly 10 percent of NOAA’s staff have been cut or taken a deferred resignation. Fewer federal employees means that less meteorological data will be collected nationwide, which in turn means forecasts will be less accurate. That also means that the Trump Administration is sacrificing the people and communities most vulnerable to climate change in the interest of presumed short-term economic gain. Even if NOAA is totally dismantled, the federal government would only save a projected 0.097 percent of the $6.75 trillion the government spent in 2024. Compared to the 27 weather or climate disaster events in 2024, each causing over $1 billion in damages and a combined 568 deaths,  those savings are inconsequential.

Needed Protections

NOAA’s official stance on climate change is that the impacts of climate change and extreme weather have reached every region of the United States. Research backs up this stance; in 2024, researchers at Yale University and George Mason University conducted a study on American sentiment toward climate change. They determined that the majority of Americans believe in and are fearful of climate change. Furthermore, they want schools to teach about global warming and for clean energy to be a priority for Congress and the president. Last year was also the first year that the world passed the 1.5°C of warming over pre-industrial levels that the Paris Climate Accord uses as a marker to avoid freefalling into an irreparable climate catastrophe.

Continuing to fight these illegal federal agency layoffs and environmental deregulation efforts will mitigate climate change and reduce human and economic costs, especially for historically marginalized communities. Other ways to help mitigate the impact are by supporting the efforts of organizations like the Center for Health, Environment & Justice, which offers organizing, policy analysis, and research training in communities hit by environmental degradation. Finally, the voices of those from communities that have been and will continue to be most affected by climate change must be included in disaster relief programming, along with the work of grassroots organizations and activists and researchers who have been in the field for decades. 

More information on environmental justice groups in your area can be found in the Environmental Justice Atlas.