Two Los Angeles city councilmen Tuesday introduced a resolution to show support for any action taken by the incoming Biden administration that would reverse the Trump administration’s environmental rule rollbacks.
The resolution was introduced by Councilmen Paul Koretz and Bob Blumenfield, and was seconded by Councilman Mike Bonin.
“The incoming Biden administration must take significant action to address the rollbacks from the Trump administration in order to address the threat of climate change, mass biodiversity loss and to protect human health and safety now and in the future,” the resolution stated.
The resolution is in response to the Trump administration’s “104 environmental rule rollbacks, of which more than 84 are complete, related to air pollution, emissions, drilling and extraction, infrastructure and planning, animals, water pollution, toxic substances and safety, and a variety of other environmental and climate issues.”
The resolution cites data that says worsened air quality could result in thousands of extra deaths each year due to the rollbacks.
“Trump took a bludgeon to the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act,” Koretz said in a statement. “Today we’re calling on our level-headed new President, Joe Biden, to rebuild the same bipartisan protections that were put in place in a strong conservation-minded partnership between Republican President Richard Nixon and a Democratic-led Congress.
“No matter what political party you belong to, we all breathe the air, drink the water, and co-exist on the same beautiful fragile planet. Trump’s auction house is now closed and it’s time again for sane, practical and future-oriented thinking, for the sake of us all.”
Blumenfield said the environmental damage was avoidable and an insult to those who care about the planet.
“But there is hope on the horizon. The new administration has made it clear that environmental progress is a top priority and I’m proud to join Councilmember Koretz in calling for immediate reversal of over 100 environmental detrimental rollbacks,” Blumenfield said.