Trump V.S. Harris on the Environment

Good morning, everyone. This week I’m heading to back to Alaska to cover the transport and delivery of the 2024 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. Working in collaboration with the U.S.D.A. Forest Service and the Society of American Foresters I’ll report on the long journey of the People’s Tree from the Tongass National Forest near Wrangell, Alaska to the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C. It’s going to be an amazing trip, so I hope you’ll follow along. This means I’ll be on the road through election day on November 5th. So, before I go, I’m making a stop at the Madison, Wisconsin city clerk’s office to hand deliver my vote for the next president of the United States. After 16 years of production, the Joy Trip Project has worked hard not to endorse political candidates. With a single exception in the last Wisconsin Senate race, I’ve intentionally kept my opinions to myself. As a professional journalist, it is my obligation not to reveal my personal bias regarding any political party or partisan issue. Instead, it is my job to report on the events of our world in as objective a manner as possible. Even in this incredibly divisive and polarizing campaign season, I have recounted few details on the respective candidacies of former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Although I’ll vote for one candidate, based on my personal beliefs, publicly, I've remained silent on these matters. That’s not going to change. As a news organization it is our duty to convey to our audience the facts of any story with neither bias nor prejudice so that one can draw their conclusions, and cast their vote based on the information we’ve gathered. Since we tend to focus on issues of environmental preservation, I believe that I believe that a detailed summary of each candidates history of protecting the natural world can best serve the interests of our readers and listeners. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have strikingly different records on the environment. I’m James Edward Mills and you are listening to the Joy Trip Project. As president, Donald Trump rolled back numerous environmental regulations, prioritizing economic growth over environmental protections, particularly for the benefit of the fossil fuel industry. His administration weakened air and water pollution standards and pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement. His administration also expanded oil drilling, even in previously protected areas like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reversed or weakened over 100 environmental rules, including emissions standards for vehicles, and protections for endangered species. Trump viewed environmental regulations as a hindrance to ...