Tuesday, January 9, 2018


Way back on March 4, 2017 The Waterloo Region Record published an article titled "Great Lakes restoration work faces massive cuts under Trump plan". The tentative budget plan was to cut the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) budget by 25% and lay off approximately 3,000 employees. "President Donald Trump has said he plans to pay for billions of dollars more for the military by cutting spending on domestic agencies and departments.".

President Trump's new appointee to head the EPA is Scott Pruitt a former state attorney general who has questioned the scientific concensus that human activities are contributing to global warming and climate change. The draft proposal would reduce the EPA's budget from $8.2 billion to $6.1 billion. Besides reducing the climate protection budget by nearly 70 % the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative would be reduced by 97%. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) described the cuts as "outrageous" and further stated "This initiative has been critical to cleaning up our Great Lakes and waterways, restoring fish and wildlife habitats, and fighting invasive species, like Asian carp.".

1 comment:

  1. And the purpose or point of this article was what? I could fill 3 of your blogs with things that are happening in EPA and other US Government Departments such as the National Weather Service or the US Geological Survey or the US Corps of Engineers but it is all too depressing. Canada wants to spend on our side and I am starting to ask why if the US stops their monitoring or restoration of their Areas of Concern. We are at the mercy of our southern neighbors in all the Great Lakes and Interconnecting Channels.