Donald Trump’s world is on fire

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“Trump drastically shrank the southern Utah monument in 2017, as well as the nearby Bears Ears national monument, in what represented the largest elimination of public lands protections in US history. Some 800,000 acres were removed from the Grand Staircase.”

Teddy Roosevelt is rolling over in his grave. If you read this and thought, like any reasonable human, “that’s terrible,” then you’ll be especially disgusted when I tell you that apart from cattle grazing, fossil fuel drilling will be opened up in the Grand Staircase to whoever can secure a contract. All this in the midst of the increasingly rapid meltdown of the earth’s vital life-supporting systems.

As you’ve heard, the Amazon is quite literally on fire; indeed, so are enormous swathes of the Arctic Circle and Siberia. All this is releasing inordinate amounts of carbon and methane (which is about four times worse a greenhouse gas than carbon) into the atmosphere. We’re suffocating life on earth. With that, we all were blessed with the magnanimity of our dear leader to offer so selflessly help to those in need. Via Twitter:

“Just spoke with President @JairBolsonaro of Brazil. Our future Trade prospects are very exciting and our relationship is strong, perhaps stronger than ever before. I told him if the United States can help with the Amazon Rainforest fires, we stand ready to assist!”

Here’s the contrast: Firstly, on Trump’s list isn’t the preservation of earth, but a term that has become increasingly disgusting to me – “economic efficiency.” Secondly, Trump is “offering help” to Brazil to stop something that he himself is enabling back home. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, given that hypocrisy is one of Trump’s few strong suits, however, it should feel appropriately dystopian and filthy. Trump, inveterate gaslighter and conman, is well-attuned to the fact that inundating the media with messages and plans that go every which direction sufficiently overwhelm most people into not seeing the bigger picture of his nefarious agenda. Trump is in it for the money, and letting fossil fuel companies destroy the earth and what few protected areas we have is, to him, inconsequential collateral damage. Tweeting contrary messages helps him dodge accountability.

We can’t let anything enable the destruction of the earth like this, let alone one man, let alone the president. Trump wants a red planet, and I’m not talking about Mars – I mean he’s part of the evil that wants to level earth to rubble just for short-term financial gains. He must be voted out.

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