Climate change has been a hot topic in the news these past few years, but the popularity of the issue has blown up during the 2016 presidential election. Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January, many Obama-era policies have been changed. One of which was aimed at America’s efforts towards environmental protection. This has been dismantled.

On Tuesday of last week, Trump signed an executive order that greatly pulled back the country’s policies on fixing the emission problem. Policies that Trump called, “government intrusions”. Obama’s “Clean Power Plan” will no longer be in effect and, because of the well voiced opinions on the matter that President Trump made during his campaign, it was to no surprise.

The main goal of these changes are aimed at bringing back the coal industry, restoring jobs of miners and other coal workers. After signing the order, Trump said, “My action today is latest in steps to grow American jobs.”

This particular action by president Trump directly showed the differences between President Obama and Trump. The two have completely different views on the matter of climate change; Obama’s previous policies immersed  the United States in helping to combat the issue, while Trump has placed jobs over a very critical concern of not only the US, but of our world as a whole.

The signing of this order has already been destructive to the Paris Agreement that Obama and 131 other countries signed back in 2016. This agreement, aimed at dealing with greenhouse gas emissions, the huge contributor to climate change, was said to be effective because of America’s inclusion in the agreement. Now, there is no telling what will happen to the agreement.

This dismantlement of our efforts towards change displays how our own president is siding with the business industry over our own health and well being of our planet and citizens of it.