Data Shows Decrease in U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions During Trump’s First Year - Sensationalist Headlines

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/data-shows-decrease-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-during-trumps-first-year-office WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released 2017 greenhouse gas (GHG) data collected under the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), showing overall decreases across sectors and that total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions reported decreased by 2.7 percent from 2016 to 2017. “Thanks to President Trump’s regulatory reform agenda, the economy is booming, energy production is surging, and we are reducing greenhouse gas emissions from major industrial sources,” said EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “These achievements flow largely from technological breakthroughs in the private sector, not the heavy hand of government. The Trump Administration has proven that federal regulations are not necessary to drive CO2 reductions. While many around the world are talking about reducing greenhouse gases, the U.S. continues to deliver, and today’s report is further evidence of our action-oriented approach.” Key Findings: Reported total GHG emissions declined by 2.7 percent since 2016. Reported emissions from large power plants declined 4.5 percent since 2016, and 19.7 percent since 2011. This is the seventh year of full data collection for most sectors under the Program, and more than 8,000 large facilities reported 2017 GHG emissions to EPA. President Trump’s regulatory reform agenda is spurring continued innovation in the energy sector. Under the proposed Affordable Clean Energy Rule, carbon dioxide emissions from the U.S. power sector would continue to decline, with a decrease projected of 34% below 2005 levels. EPA will be holding an informational webinar Wednesday, October 24th, to demonstrate its greenhouse gas data publication tool known as “FLIGHT,” including new features and a tutorial on common searches. FLIGHT allows users to view reported data by region, industry, or greenhouse gas; and download lists. Background As directed by Congress, EPA collects annual, facility-level emissions data from major industrial sources, including power plants, oil and gas production and refining, iron and steel mills, and landfills. In addition to collecting detailed emissions from the largest GHG emitting facilities, EPA’s GHGRP also collects data from upstream fossil fuel and industrial gas suppliers.

Andrew Wheeler is a former coal lobbyist, I kinda doubt these numbers aren't fudged up.

Honestly mate, here's a spoiler, pretty much all government figures are fudged up.

I don't see that remaining true, even if the numbers aren't fucked with

Not surprising. Emissions have been lowering for a few years now, mostly driven by coal generating less and less demand and cleaner-burning liquid natural gas becoming more prevalent. If anything, Republican attempts to subsidize coal in an effort to buy votes is possibly stimying further drops in emissions but without data that's just conjecture. The numbers are believable, what's not is the spin. I wonder why OP decided to cite propaganda instead of an actual news source. http://www.google.com/ .

Came in to say this. It's pretty easy for a nation to knock off a lot of emissions by going from coal to gas. It's not sustainable though.

Gas should be a stopgap for nuclear, and renewable. People need to stop being scared of nuclear, it's just a way to generate heat for turbines like coal and gas, the reaction's buried behind feet of concrete and building.

I always snicker to myself whenever someone points at a picture of the steam coming out of a generator and says it's bad and polluting the environment

The Trump Administration has proven that federal regulations are not necessary to drive CO2 reductions. We are nowhere NEAR the emissions reductions that are necessary.

its deeply ironic that the GOP are seemingly the champions of nuclear but at the same time are the champions of the luddites that have killed nuclear in this country. The sad part is that confronted with this contradiction the gop instead wants to make plants less safe and operators less liable by slashing regulations and giving operators more immunities.

The Trump Administration has proven that federal regulations are not necessary to drive CO2 reductions. Don't pat yourself on the back for this shit, we're atleast fortunate emissions haven't gone up due to some rogue companies skirting regulations as much as they can get away with. Regulations are always needed to prevent rogue bullshit.

Regulate capitalism, save the planet.

This headline and article is genuinely misleading and uses complete fallacies to takes conclusions that could be devastating for everyone. Governement policies are needed. A small drop in greenhouse gas emissions doesnt take us out of the "humanity has that many decades left" zone. The efforts of republicans to make climate change a partisan issue could lead to the end for all of us.

>world is coming to an extinction event due to greehouse gas levels being an an extremely dangerous level >lower greenhouse gasses by 2.7% >we saved the world everyone, thanks to trump!

I hope I'm not the only one that momentarily went into a tailspin of misery, at the realization of the truth in the statement that a US-government .gov site like epa.gov is now nothing more than glorified propaganda. State propaganda is something that's something to belong to places like the vestigials of Soviet Russia. Not the United States. Jesus Christ I don't think I've ever felt quite so hopeless in a long time. I've had no faith in our government for a long time now, but I don't think I've ever felt quite so despondent as I did right then.

LMAO. What about the epa.gov website is propaganda? How exactly is the current government failing by any means? Just because Trump is in control everything is terrible and the world is ending? Also, you realize Trump is (possibly) half way through his presidency and the US, to the average person, is no worse than it was 2 years ago.

Environmental policy of the Donald Trump administration What are Donald Trump's policies on climate change and other environmental issues? "Clean coal" "Trump nominated long-time climate denier Rick Perry for Energy Secretary, and the CEO of ExxonMobil Rex Tillerson as his top diplomat, in the Secretary of State role. Tillerson, who urged Trump not to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, was soon replaced with former CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who opposed the US ever joining the Paris Agreement in the first place. Pompeo has accepted well over a million dollars  from oil and gas industries in campaign contributions since 2009. Trump's original administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Scott Pruitt had previously fought against the agency's clean air regulations and sued it to overturn President Obama’s Clean Power Plan. One EPA scientist is reported to have called Pruitt's appointment an “unprecedented disaster ” for the natural world and public health. A Judge has recently told the EPA  to release the evidence behind Pruitt’s claims that climate change has nothing to do with human activity. Pruitt resigned in July 2018. Other top EPA officials have strong links to the fossil fuel industry, such as William Wehrum . Trump’s Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is a big advocate of coal who has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from the industry." You know, his EPA picks are just climate change deniers paid by the fossil fuel industry and he reduced funding of renuwable energies by 72%. Republicans are paid to make the future of the planet a partisan issue.

I remember when climate change was abruptly scrubbed from the EPA. The Trump administration is fundamentally opposed to any honesty or transparency. That much should have been obvious on the first day of his presidency.

You may not be seeing it now but the effects of climate change are going to be catastrophic for every country on this planet, the Trump administration's massive deregulation on environmental standards and laws is going to greatly decrease quality of life in your country and majorly contribute to global ecological disasters. Make no mistake, climate change is the single greatest threat humanity is facing and this measily 2.7% reduction in emissions isn't going to cut it for much longer.

NPR cited the exact study I posted

The whole NPR article is scientists citing the EPA study to explain why they're full of shit and why this is a misleading headline.

Wtf Trump was Bernie after all https://files.facepunch.com/forum/upload/716/fa1b6d45-fb35-4c58-8caa-0d353b286784/image.png

They reported it objectively, not masturbating over the brazen regulatory capture taking place at the EPA and lying about Trump's hand in this.