Just a week after a chemical plant explosion killed one worker and spewed thousands of pounds of dangerous pollutants into the air in Crosby, Texas, President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to visit that city Wednesday to sign executive orders to speed up approval of pipelines and other fossil fuel projects.
“With oil industry cronies and swamp monsters filling the ranks of his administration, it’s no surprise that Trump is once again taking an action championed by climate deniers and fossil fuel companies.”
—Rachel Rye Butler, Greenpeace USA”In coming to the location of a deadly fossil fuel-related explosion to sign an order that would gut states’ power to protect residents from the hazards of oil and gas pipelines, Trump is adding tasteless insult to the injury he is inflicting on our planet,” Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, said in a statement.
“Trump’s support for the fossil fuel industry reflects a real disdain for public safety and a livable climate for generations to come,” Hauter continued. “Expediting pipelines means more petrochemical buildout in places like Appalachia, and more disasters waiting in the wings—not to mention climate catastrophe.”
According to the Houston Chronicle, Trump will appear at the International Union of Operating Engineers International Training and Education Center in Crosby, where he will deliver a speech about “how he plans to aid the United States’ booming domestic oil and gas production.”
While the full details of Trump’s forthcoming executive orders have not yet been made public, a White House official told the Chronicle they will be geared toward helping oil and gas companies avoid “red tape.”
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