As President Donald Trump today removed the United States from the Paris climate agreement, he rightly called it a “reassertion of America’s sovereignty,” and pointed out he was “elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.” By boldly breaking ranks with more than 190 countries, Trump rejected a deal that was arguably unconstitutional, given the U.S. Senate must ratify treaties. Former President Barack Obama’s unilateral decision to enter the Paris Climate Accord fundamentally altered the trajectory of America’s economy without proper democratic channels. America’s CO2 emissions have already declined in recent years, some 12.5 percent since 2006, the administration reported, and that was in large part due to economic forces driven by America’s innovation in the cleaner energy areas of shale and natural gas. This domestic energy boom also helped free America’s debilitating dependence on foreign oil and weakened the juggernaut of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Trump has signaled he wants to enact policies that would continue to support this trend–a boon for the environment and the economy. Trump’s decision to leave the Paris Climate Accord sets the United States on a path toward renewing and protecting American jobs in areas like cement, iron, steel and yes, coal. As much…
See original post: Trump Drops Paris Accord, and America Gets Her Groove Back