President Donald Trump will roll back regulations on environmental protection and Internet privacy. A move that might help other nations to take the lead on climate change and green technology

President Trump won the 2016 election in part because of his populist pledges to improve the lives of all U.S. citizens. However, an executive order and a Congress approved bill that came across his desk this week threaten to undo climate change regulations and Internet privacy laws that safeguard Americans. The rollbacks would be a boon for Big Business while the citizenry will suffer from invasions of the natural and virtual environments. 

On Tuesday President Trump signed an executive order that will start the process of dismantling the Obama administration’s legacy on climate change. Trump’s appointee at the Environmental Protection Agency will now begin to pick apart federally mandated standards for carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and reverse rules that incentivize the use of cleaner-burning fuels by U.S. utility companies. 

The removal of environmental regulations on businesses are meant to increase corporate bottom-lines and boost the U.S. economy. Many American and multinational corporations though are opposed to the executive order. For example, the CEO of General Electric Co. reacted with a message to his employees that “We believe climate change is real and the science is well accepted.” He went on to say he hopes the U.S. will continue to play a constructive role in the international community’s efforts to find solutions to climate change. Even ExxonMobil sent a letter to Trump recommending that the U.S. stay on track with the Paris agreement, as it is “an effective framework for addressing the risks of climate change.” 

A turn away from clean energy back towards fossil fuels of the twentieth century will not necessarily return American jobs in the coal and oil industries. US Representative John Yarmuth of Kentucky, a coal mining state, summed up the situation when he said “the idea that coal jobs can ever come back is one of the most cruel deceptions being played in politics right now. The jobs still won’t come back to places like eastern Kentucky because coal is too expensive to mine.” The environmental policy rollback by the Trump administration may even have the unintended consequence of allowing China or the European Union to take the lead on climate change and develop the latest green technology that creates new jobs and industries. 

Another new battlefield beyond the natural world on which the Trump administration seeks to obliterate laws put in place by former President Obama is the Internet. Republican majorities in Congress this week swiftly voted to repeal a rule that prevents giant telecommunications companies from selling information about consumer browsing behavior. President Trump is expected to sign the Internet privacy roll back into law and allow corporations to access browsing histories, app usage and location and engage in data mining to adjust advertising and marketing strategies. Telecommunications firms could conceivably package and sell information about customer online habits and preferences to the highest bidder. Although some backers of the Trump repeal claim that consumers could simply choose a different Internet provider, which doesn’t collect private data, the truth is that in many small towns or rural areas across the U.S. there is only one Internet Service Provider and they would be left with no options to protect themselves. 

Americans are told that if Big Business is given freer reign then jobs, money and prosperity will eventually trickle down and reach the masses. With former employees and lobbyists of the oil and gas industries and telecommunications companies in position now across the new U.S. administration it is hard to see how they will look out for the humble interests of the average American. What good is the promise of future jobs and open Internet when the environment is polluted and every move in the virtual world is tracked, packaged and commoditized?