Change didn't take long to come to the official White House website with the inauguration of Donald Trump as the new President. Almost immediately upon Trump's swearing-in on Friday at noon, the White House website was scrubbed of all references to climate change and global warming, with new pages unveiled outlining the Trump Administration's priorities. The old page containing the Obama Administration's plans to combat climate change has now been replaced with a page outlining President Trump's "America First Energy Plan."
The swift and abrupt changes to the White House website were alarming to many environmentalists, but Luke Metzger with Environment Texas says website design is among the least of their worries. "The President has said he will try and back out of the Paris climate accords and unravel the Clean Power Plan which cuts pollution from power plants so, so far we are very alarmed by what the President has done," he tells KTRH. "It is concerning that the President has not yet articulated a plan to help protect the country and the planet from global warming."
Indeed, the new White House website says, "President Trump is committed to eliminating harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the U.S. rule." However, the same page does acknowledge the need to protect the environment, as well. It reads, "our need for energy must go hand-in-hand with responsible stewardship of the environment. Protecting clean air and clean water, conserving our natural habitats, and preserving our natural reserves and resources will remain a high priority."
Metzger will believe it when he sees it. "We'll be watching very closely to see what steps they take to protect our air and water, instead of weakening and gutting environmental laws, as the President said on the campaign trail he intended to do," he says.