Trump Attacks California’s Carbon Standards as Global Heatwave Sweeps across the Globe

APTOPIX CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
Firefighters monitor a backfire while battling the Ranch Fire, part of the Mendocino Complex Fire, on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018, near Ladoga, Calif. AP Photo
APTOPIX CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
Firefighters monitor a backfire while battling the Ranch Fire, part of the Mendocino Complex Fire, on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018, near Ladoga, Calif. AP Photo

Trump Attacks California’s Carbon Standards as Global Heatwave Sweeps across the Globe

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July 2018 has been an unfortunate month for the planet’s climate. Severe heatwave has caused dozens of wildfires and deaths in Europe. As a result, France shut down several nuclear plants and banned driving of some high carbon producing cars. In Norway, motorists are being warned of potential collisions with reindeer and sheep taking shelter in tunnels. The Middle East and Asia have also been hit by an inordinate number of wildfires. In the U.S., President Donald Trump recently unleashed a tweet barrage at California for its push to aggressively lower carbon emissions. California suffers from blazing fires, due to rising heat and drought. Trump said this is a result of California’s bad environmental laws that are diverting river waters into the Pacific Ocean. These fires have reportedly killed nine people, destroyed more than 1,000 homes and forced residents to evacuate. Research points to global warming as the cause of increasing temperatures. Trump once tweeted, “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese.” Joining us to discuss the current global heatwave and U.S. climate policy is David Wallace-Wells, deputy editor for New York Magazine. His landmark 2017 article “The Uninhabitable Earth,” “broke the internet” and sparked broad conversation on our response to climate change. Joining him is Howard Learner, president and executive director of the Chicago-based Environmental Law & Policy Center.