--- title: "Trump Suspends Enforcement of EPA Laws, Because ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯" description: "The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided to suspend its enforcement of environmental laws indefinitely in light of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, as The Guardian reports. The move sends a clear signal: pollute without impunity. It’s a move that has enraged environmental advocates. “The EPA uses this global pandemic to create loopholes for […]" date: "2020-03-27" modified: "2020-03-27" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/trump-admin-suspending-enforcement-environmental-laws" categories: - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "environmental issues" - "environmental policy" - "EPA" - "the digest" --- # Trump Suspends Enforcement of EPA Laws, Because ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯ ![The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided to suspend its enforcement of environmental laws indefinitely in light of the ongoing pandemic.]() *\Image: Image via Pixnio/Victor Tangermann\* ## All Bets Are Off The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided to suspend its enforcement of environmental laws indefinitely in light of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, as [*The Guardian* reports](). The move sends a clear signal: *pollute with impunity.* "This temporary policy is designed to provide enforcement discretion under the current, extraordinary conditions, while ensuring facility operations continue to protect human health and the environment," EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler wrote in [an announcement](). ## Outrage It's a move that has enraged environmental advocates. "The EPA uses this global pandemic to create loopholes for destroying the environment," youth climate leader Greta Thunberg [tweeted today](). "This is a schoolbook example for what we need to start looking out for." "Outrageous," tweeted Representative Mark Pocan (D-WIS). "Suspending all environmental regulations indefinitely? This has nothing to do with coronavirus. This has everything to do with protecting Big Business." ## No Laws To get around environmental laws, all companies will have to do is prove that they had to violate them due to the pandemic. Oil refineries, many of them in Texas, have already been blasting past the limits of carcinogenic benzene emissions, according to *The Guardian*. Worse air quality could actually end up making the pandemic much worse. "Excusing the potential release of excess toxic air pollutants and other pollution that exacerbates asthma, breathing difficulty and cardiovascular problems in the midst of a pandemic that can cause respiratory failure is irresponsible from a public health perspective," a letter penned by former head of EPA enforcement Cynthia Giles reads, as [quoted by *The Guardian*](). **READ MORE:** [Trump administration allows companies to break pollution laws during coronavirus pandemic]() \[*The Guardian*\] **More on coronavirus and the environment:** *[The Coronavirus Pandemic Drastically Reduced Carbon Emissions]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()