Everyone is waiting for an appointment Donald Trump as the new president US government. It is impossible to ignore the power this country wields around the world and the impact that the decisions of its highest leader can have on the rest of the planet. Therefore the first Trump’s measures on science They have greatly worried many experts around the world.
Some of these measures were already taken during his previous mandate. between 2017 and 2021. This is the case, for example, with the US withdrawal from Paris Agreement. This represents, as then, a huge step back in fight against global warming, but he doesn’t seem to care. In fact, he went even further in this case, announcing his decision to block many other environmental measures.
But Trump’s measures in the field of science are not only environmental. He also announced some decisions in healthcare field which pose a great danger to their citizens and which, in addition, may spread to other countries. The most important, without a doubt, is the decision to leave the list of countries cooperating with World Health Organization (WHO). His argument for this is that the 2020 pandemic was not handled properly. In fact, at that time he was already the president of the government. tried to leave of the specified institution, but the appointment Joe Biden He arrived in time to block the ongoing process. Now he is doing it at the beginning of his mandate, so there will be no turning back. The biggest problem is that, unfortunately, this is just the beginning.
Farewell to the United States in the Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement was signed in 2015. It contains a list 200 countries committed to take the necessary measures to prevent the global temperature of the planet from exceeding 2 ºC relative to pre-industrial data. In addition, if possible, an attempt will be made to further reduce this maximum to 1.5°C.
The United States is the second largest country after China more greenhouse gas emissions. It is estimated that 25% of these gases that have accumulated in the Earth’s atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution came from this North American country. Therefore, US participation in the Paris Agreement was vital.
Unfortunately, upon entering government for the first time in 2017, Donald Trump decided to withdraw from this agreement. He was always skeptical about existence of climate changedespite all the scientific evidence behind it and the obvious fact that we already have it. In addition, he believes that the measures of the Paris Agreement could affect the economic prosperity of the United States. This was the reason for the decision, which initially took three years of intense bureaucracy. The United States withdrew from the Agreement in 2020; but, fortunately, not for long. One of Joe Biden’s first actions upon arriving at the White House in 2021 was re-sign your entry.
Now, since some of this bureaucracy was carried out before, it will only take a year for it to become part of Trump’s measures regarding science. The entire planet will suffer from the consequences of this. In fact, in 2020 it was already estimated that his decision could block the 30% reduction in CO2 emissions that would have occurred in 2030. Again, this decision will have a major impact on global emissions. And this is not the only thing that affects climate change.
Other Trump science and energy measures
Donald Trump also announced that he would launch national energy emergency plan. He believes that the country is failing due to the advent of renewable energy sources, so he will green light many energy projects based on fossil fuels. They were previously vetoed. Also, as in 2017, it will abandon the decision to increase the energy efficiency of vehicles. At the time it was estimated that it might be worth the release 30 million tons of CO2 by 2030. Now things may be heading down the same path.
In this sense, fortunately, there is still an aura of hope. And as stated in Nature researcher Mark Maslinfrom University College London, it is much cheaper today to invest in renewable energy, so the economy may take precedence over Donald Trump’s decisions.
Donald Trump says goodbye to WHO
In May 2020, Donald Trump attempted to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization. He gave two reasons for this. The first one, and mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic. From his point of view, of course. The second reason, however, focused on economic issuesbecause he believes that the United States pays excessive fees compared to other smaller countries.
Leaving the WHO requires a year of bureaucracy, so, as with the Paris Agreement, Joe Biden came in to stop the process. Unfortunately, this time, unless it is an extreme situation, there is no way to avoid it.
Other large countries such as Chinahave already begun to express disagreement with this measure and support WHO. This is good news, but it does not compensate for all the economic support that the Organization will lose with the departure of the United States.
Anti-vaccination health secretary appointed by Donald Trump
Trump’s controversial handling of science also involves hiring and firing. First of all, the purpose Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Minister of Health. This nephew of the famous John Kennedy began his career as environmental lawyerfacing large multinational corporations such as Monsanto. However, over time, he changed his speech, focusing it much more on the health sector.
In recent years, he has shown his support to numerous anti-vaccination associations. He has also spread many conspiracy theories related to the pharmaceutical industry. One of the most striking is the one in which he is accused taking antidepressants shootings in American schools. Although his statement that exposure to pesticides will lead to an increase in the number of transgender people in this country is also attracting a lot of attention.
It is logical that none of his theories has the slightest scientific evidence. Despite this, he will be an important person in reviewing new drugs, food products and research protocols. He will also be in charge of running America’s health care system and, as Trump himself has said, will fight against the use of additives in the food industry. It is true that there are additives that are not entirely healthy, but others are necessary for food safety. His decisions can be very dangerous, although this is not strange considering that he is an ardent advocate of consuming raw milk and eliminating fluoride from drinking water.
Layoffs amid Trump’s scientific moves
In addition to alarming hiring practices like Kennedy’s, Donald Trump also announced some layoffs. Among them is chef José Andrés, who until now held the position Advisor to the President on Sports, Physical Fitness and Nutrition. His role in this area was important, but so was his support for the most disadvantaged, something that did not seem to please the new President of the United States, who was already bragging about the sacking on social media.
Confronted with such publications, José Andrés began to point out that he was in fact the one who resigned. Regardless, it’s a sad departure from the government team, leaving a hole that, given Kennedy’s hiring, could have been filled horribly.
Source: Hiper Textual
