Trump Freezes the EPA

The Trump administration has put a freeze on the billions of dollars of grants that are given to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This could possibly affect the climate research, and areas trying to improve their air and water quality.

It was only hours after President Trump was sworn into office did the EPA’s agency’s Office of Acquisitions Management employees receive emails about how they are prohibited from posting updates on any new climate information.

The email mentioned everything below (this part letter comes from The Huffington Post),

“No press releases will be going out to external audiences. No social media will be going out. A Digital Strategist will be coming on board to oversee social media. Existing, individually controlled, social media accounts may become more centrally controlled. No blog messages. The Beach Team will review the list of upcoming webinars and decide which ones will go forward. Please send me a list of any external speaking engagements that are currently scheduled among any of your staff from today through February. Incoming media requests will be carefully screened. No new content can be placed on any website. Only do clean up where essential. List servers will be reviewed. Only send out critical messages, as messages can be shared broadly and end up in the press.”

Trump also ordered a temporary suspension on any new projects inside the department, including giving any orders, and to give any newly discovered information to the contractors that for the EPA. This has already given an immediate effect on the EPA program, and could ruin the research process any current or future event.

Trump has been very clear about how he is going to remove U.S. environmental regulation to help promote oil drilling in the United States, even if that goes along with allowing drilling on federal property that has been banned in the past. It was announced that President Trump signed two executive actions on Tuesday, January 31st to continue the construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, which goes against Obama’s administration completely.

The EPA receives and annually awards more than $3.8 billion in funding for grants that is given to them by the government. This freeze is causing lots of worry to the people who take part in the EPA program such as scientists, state and local officials who are in need for the grants.