Fans of summer one day then snow the next will rejoice in President Trump’s newest executive order. The order was signed on March 29 and removes the clean power plan and other emission regulations of businesses in hopes to end the war on coal. This is in addition to his plans to lower and cut funding on climate change research and emission regulations in order to bring back jobs and remove government bureaucracy within the power industry. Another objective is decreasing reliance on imported fuel; the Environmental Information Administration reported that U.S. imports an average of 10,106.83 thousand barrels of crude oil and products a day over the the past six years. The State Department budget proposal “eliminates the Global Climate Change Initiative and fulfills the President’s pledge to cease payments to the United Nations’ (UN) climate change programs by eliminating U.S. funding related to the Green Climate Fund and its two precursor Climate Investment Funds.”

This decision is very controversial; hundreds protested outside the White House when he signed his order. His order reverses former president Obama’s actions to decrease climate change and protect the environment.

“It is foolish to be in denial of the well established research on climate change, and any money put into climate research and protection is well spent,” Eric Horchheimer, an Earth and Space teacher at Neshaminy, said.

The executive order comes at a bad time. The recent months, particularly February and March, have had some severe weather patterns and the creation of what some scientists are calling the new normal winter if nothing is done about it. Weather.gov has reported heavy precipitation in California and Nevada, record winter heat to the Midwest, record low ice covering on the great lakes and the earliest growing season by 20+ days in the the southeast in 30 years in some places. These severe weather patterns stem from the phenomenon of arctic amplification. Arctic amplification is the rapid heating arctic causing melting of the polar ice cap and changes in the climate. The heating of the poles affects the movement of wind currents like the jet stream which then can feed warmer air and smog higher into the poles reports the Scientific American. Although the poles ebb and flow their heat causing ice to melt naturally, the increase in greenhouse gases and warmer air reaching the poles will cause more weather problems and more melting than normal.

President Trump’s executive order has positive effects for business and trade but may have some severe environmental impact. The process of Arctic amplification on top of the other global warming issues will play a part in our weather for the foreseeable future, unless something is done to redact Trump’s redaction of Obama’s implementations, and continue environmental efforts.

“All the classics need to be done: recycle, check your carbon footprint, save water, all the hallmarks of a responsible global citizen,” Horchheimer said, “but mostly what needs to happen is the government regulation for business to truly protect [the environment]. We as a society all need to agree to do something to minimize the adverse effects. There is loss in money now but we can pay now or pay in a bigger way later; our investment in the environment is something that will always pay off. It’s all just crazy man.”