Obama-era climate change regulations

Obama’s climate change policy or the CPP was his signature policy. Its main aim as to fight climate change through cutting back of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and industries which form the largest source of pollution within the United States (Driscoll & Forest, 2017).Rolling back carbon emissions regulations as well as funding for research on public health on a federal level has the effect of America’s fight against climate change. All these steps have the effect of undermining research into climate change and measures that can be put in place to combat the phenomenon (Carpenter, 2017).

The clean power plan that has been rolled back was intended to cut back carbon pollution from already existing power plants (McGuffey & Trimble, 2017). Rolling back these regulations and research into public health on a federal level will thus witness an increase in air pollution in industrial hubs across the country (Glicksman, 2017). The effects of pollution have already been witnessed by the residents of Flint, Michigan whose water had been contaminated as a result of environmental pollution. With the rolling back of these regulations, such cases will grow more common putting public health at risk.

The CPP was geared at reducing domestic health impacts such as asthma attacks from air pollution, premature deaths amongst other morbidity occurrences that arise from exposure to PM_2.5 as well as the ozone associated with cut backs in SO₂ emissions (Percival, 2017). Doing way with research into these pollutants will therefore increase their concentration in the atmosphere leading to more preventable chronic ailments.