Donald Trump’s climate-denying administration is already having a devastating effect on the way that our government and nation are dealing with the issues of climate change, and we’re only on the fourth day.
In response to the new administration, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has abruptly canceled their long-planned conference on climate change and human health, offering no explanation for the abrupt change of plans.
The summit was originally planned for February of this year, and the agency said that it might possible be rescheduled later in the year.
Though they have offered no official reason for the cancellation, it seems clear that they have done so thanks to the new administration’s adversarial relationship with facts and science – especially related to climate change. After all, the administration wiped all mentions of climate change from the official White House website when the clock struck 12 on Inauguration Day and selected a man who has sued the EPA several times to lead it.
From the Washington Post, one of the event’s former keynote speakers, American Public Health Association executive director Georges Benjamin, offered his own interpretation of the cancellation.
“The ran it up the flagpole and realized that it was so close to inauguration, the chances of it being canceled were pretty real with the administration that was coming in. Some might argue they should have said, ‘We’re going to do this and make them tell us no.’ But that was the decision they made. We should think of this as a strategic retreat.”
Indeed, that does appear to be what has happened, and it does not bode well for our environmental future.
There is a major difference in being actively silenced by an authority figure and self-censoring as to avoid any perceived negative response. By standing strong, the CDC could have sent a message to the Trump administration and the POTUS would have faced public backlash if he canceled the event himself.
Instead, they backed down with no public prodding, and Trump’s name is kept out of the mud of anti-environmentalism.
We know we are facing an uphill battle against this administration which has no interest in climate change or environmental efforts, but seeing another government agency buckle so readily does not bode well for our collective future.
