In fifth grade, I decided to enter the science fair with one of my closest friends. It was 2012, and a misinterpretation of the Mayan calendar led many to think the world was ending (which I totally believed because of all those apocalyptic movies). The global surface temperature made that year the warmest on record, and Disney’s “Friends for Change” campaign had me feeling like I was literally saving the world every time I threw paper in the recycling bin. (I mean … you kind of are, right?)
Our project was to explore the harmful effects of global warming and the controversy behind the terminology. This was around the time when Obama was running for re-election, and just like basic human rights, climate change became a politically charged debate—rather than a collective call-to-action.
We made it a goal to interview all the adults in our lives on whether they believed in global warming, first starting off with our local librarians. To my surprise, the children’s librarian said no, which has stuck with me ever since.
April 22, 2025, marked the 55th observance of Earth Day, and we are seeing the peel-back of key regulations that go all the way back to 1970, when Earth Day came to be.
Although all the executive orders the Trump administration has signed leave room for concern, our current leaders’ stance on the environment is the most threatening.
On April 8, the president signed the Protecting American Energy From State Overreach Executive Order with the goal of “unleashing American energy.” The administration is essentially encouraging and promoting the use of energy as if it’s our God-given right.
One particularly harmful line is when Trump describes climate-change policies as a threat. “Many States have enacted, or as in the process of enacting, burdensome and ideologically motivated ‘climate change’ or energy policies that threaten American energy dominance and our economic and national security,” he said in the order.
Trump has canceled funding for programs that reduce and clean up pollution, as well as grants for programs that improve air and water quality. The Trump administration also plans to cut the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s budget by 65%. Although a federal judge has temporarily blocked the EPA from canceling $14 billion in climate-change grants, this threat is still very alive.
This agency will NEVER again waste any of your hard-earned tax dollars.
— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) March 11, 2025
I made a pledge to cut 65% of @EPA total spending this year. Here’s how we are going to do it: pic.twitter.com/ry5Oqxdm2W
Let’s crunch the numbers, shall we? Last year was the hottest year on record, carbon emissions are at an all time high, and the U.S.’ use of fossil fuels is downright criminal.
The acts of the current administration are faulty and questionable at best, but eliminating environmental protection to push fossil fuels for the sake of capitalism is reprehensible.
Regardless of the debates on who is responsible for the plight of Mother Earth, there’s no denying that we are in an environmental crisis, and this crisis harms marginalized communities the most.
Jackson’s water crisis is a reflection of this phenomenon and is a record of what generational neglect can do to a community.
In 1985, Jackson prepared a Water Master Plan—which laid out recommended maintenance and repairs—a plan to be updated in 1997 and 2012.
Fast forward to 2012 when the City of Jackson was found to be violating the Clean Water Act. In 2013, the master plan was updated, finding that updates and repairs would cost $600 million and that the distribution system had been degrading since 1997.
Nearly a decade later in 2021, when I was a freshman at Jackson State, a winter storm right after Valentine’s Day left many within Jackson without water for a month, and those who had water fell under boil-water notices.
For a month, students and residents alike had no water to take showers, to drink or to flush the toilet—while surrounding suburbs like Pearl and Flowood were fully equipped.
So, I wonder what repealing back key climate protections will do to a city like Jackson?
If you haven’t already experienced the harmful effects of this current administration, trust me, you will. As we’ve seen from myriad natural disasters, city-wide pollution and our local water crisis, the environmental crisis does not discriminate. No amount of money and power can protect you.
This MFP Voices opinion essay reflects the personal opinion of its author(s). The column does not necessarily represent the views of the Mississippi Free Press, its staff or board members. To submit an opinion for the MFP Voices section, send up to 1,200 words and sources fact-checking the included information to voices@mississippifreepress.org. We welcome a wide variety of viewpoints.
