The Last Counsel, 23rd Day of Childwinter, 525 M.E. (Electra): On top of his announcement that the U.S. is pulling out of the Paris Agreement and order for the EPA to review the endangerment finding on greenhouse gases, Trump also announced a national energy “emergency” that could unlock authority to suspend environmental regulations and speed permits for mining, drilling, pipelines, and natural-gas export terminals.

Most of his orders, however, will require that federal agencies to repeal regulations, a time-consuming process. Environmental groups are also expected to file lawsuits, which could slow down or stop some of Trump’s agenda. However, the orders could collectively put the United States on a path to increasing production of coal, oil, and gas at a time when, due to global climate change concerns, governments need to move away from fossil fuels and their associated greenhouse-gas emissions.

“We aren’t going to do the wind thing” either, Trump announced before he signed an order that seeks not only to stop new offshore wind leases but also to “terminate or amend” existing leases. The sweeping order calls on the Interior secretary to review wind leasing and permitting practices for federal waters and lands, and to consider the economic impact of wind on wildlife (Trump thinks wind farms and not pesticides and habitat loss are responsible for loss of bird populations).

The Biden administration pushed the expansion of wind energy and approved eleven commercial-scale wind farms in the Atlantic Ocean. Industry leaders said terminating those projects or even threatening them could risk billions of dollars and throws into question the renewable energy targets that several Eastern states had set.

I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but The Guardian reports today that a recent analysis  by the environmental advocacy group Climate Power revealed that Big Oil spent a stunning $445M throughout the last election cycle to influence Donald Trump and Congress. The total includes political donations, lobbying, and advertising to support elected officials and specific policies. The report was based on campaign finance disclosures and advertising industry data, but since it does not include money funneled through dark-money groups, which do not have to reveal their donors, it is almost certainly an underestimate. 

The report found that fossil-fuel interests poured $96M into Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and affiliated political action committees and another $243M lobbying Congress. Big oil also spent some $80M on advertising to support their interests. Additionally, they spent another $25M on Republican down-ballot races, including $16M on House races and $8M on Senate races, and more than $500,000 on GOP gubernatorial candidates.

Much of the money was from megadonor oil billionaires, such as the fracking magnate Harold Hamm, the pipeline mogul Kelcy Warren, and the drilling tycoon Jeffery Hildebrand. Additional contributions came from lesser-known oil and gas interests, including fossil-fuel trading hedge funds, mining corporations, and the producers of offshore drilling ships and fuel tanks. The donors stand to profit from priorities set by Trump's cabinet appointees, such as Chris Wright, the fracking CEO who was tapped to head the Department of Energy, and Lee Zeldin, the former New York representative who has accepted more than $400,000 in fossil fuel-tied campaign donations and who will lead the EPA.