Since election day, I have been voicing my concern for Trump’s proposed actions that will unleash hell on the planet. Over and over, people responded with the statement that I need to give him time. Maybe he will prove me wrong. Others say it was all campaign talk, and he will be more balanced once inaugurated. Well, it’s the morning of his second full day in office, and things couldn’t be worse.

The facts:

• On the afternoon of the inauguration, the climate page of whitehouse.gov was promptly removed from the site and promises were issue about deregulation of environmental protections.
• This morning, Northern Dynasty announced it has the support of the Trump administration and will move forward on Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska. (More here.)
• Trump has given the green light to the Dakota Access Pipeline and also the Keystone XL Pipeline. (More here.)
• The Trump administration has promised to end the Clean Power Plan. (More here.)
• On day one, the Trump administration announced it will gut the environmental protections of the Clean Water Rule that formerly safeguarded rivers, streams, and wetlands. (More here.)
• The GOP in Congress has voted to gut the Endangered Species Act to allow more mining, drilling, and logging. (More here.)
• The Environmental Protection Agency has had grants, projects, and research halted and is now under a gag order preventing communication with the press. (More here.)

For those who have been using apocalyptic language to describe what’s to come, these immediate actions should highlight why such language might be appropriate. How much time do we need to give this administration to prove itself?

– Tim Harden