The fight between Trump and California continues. 

President Trump announced that he will be revoking California’s Clean Air Act that has been in place since 1968, which allowed California to set higher air quality standards regarding emissions from motor vehicles than what is required by the federal government. Yes, our president is fighting for us to have dirtier air. His reasoning for this is for economic gain, and he states this will produce cheaper, safer cars for us to purchase. 

Millions of people agree that climate change is a serious problem that needs to be addressed now, but our president is not among those people. Even major corporations have joined in the fight to help combat climate change but instead of being praised for it they are being punished by our government. The LA Times stated, “Honda and three other carmakers (Ford, Volkswagen and BMW of North America), have agreed with California on a plan to raise average fleet mileage to 50 mpg by model year 2026. Instead of hailing the initiative as a worthy advance on the environmental front… the Trump administration has opened an antitrust investigation of the four companies…” It is shocking and disappointing that the man that is meant to be making America great again is doing everything in his power to destroy it. 

California is a heavily populated and impacted state. We suffered from heavy smog and air pollution before the Clean Air Act was enacted in 1968. We as a state are working on improving or planet by setting an example for others to follow, and they have. The Hill stated that this revocation will impact the thirteen other states that follow the air quality standards that were set by California. Trump has said from the beginning of his term that he was going to do everything he could to revoke this waiver, and he finally succeeded. 

California officials say that Trump has no legal grounds to do this, and should plan to fight this in court. The Sacramento Bee posted a statement from California Governor Gavin Newsom who said, “California won’t ever wait for permission from Washington to protect the health and safety of children and families…we will fight this latest attempt and defend our clean car standards.” It is perplexing that the president is fighting against cleaner air and higher standards regarding air pollution. Trump has had it out for California since he was elected and fights against any positive legislation that he can get his little cheeto fingers on. 

This is part of a never ending effort by Trump to undermine standards that have been put into place. Instead of helping to reverse it, he continues to blatantly refuse to accept climate change. 

He has attacked the rights of women, minorities, immigrants, as well as many others. Now he is attacking our right to breathe clean air, one of the most basic functions of life. California has and will continue to be one of the leaders in the fight against climate change and this will not deter us from our continued dedication to the wellbeing of our planet.