Trump, not just duties. His wicked policies of dismantling any environmental rule also continue. In the last few hours, in fact, has also announced radical changes for Encourage even greater deforestation in the country’s national forests.
A new urgency decree (Lemercy Pituation Determination) which actually requires the reduction of environmental protections on almost 60% of national forestsmore than 112 million acres of earth mostly west, eluding the rules to protect the species in the street and raising the perspective that the chainsaws gather to the ground some of the historically most important trees in the United States.
Issued by the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States Brooke will thus allow the forest service of circumvent many of the existing environmental rulesin order – reads from the first lines of the act – also of Create protection against forest fires and relaunch the timber industry.
A decision that actually follows to another act, signed on 1 March last, aimed at strongly intensifying it exploitation of the forest areaswith the aim of produce multiple timber and consequently reduce the dependence on Canadian imports.
Because changing is not a good idea (and does not stop fires)
The decision to reduce forests has enormous impacts, which go far beyond climate change. It is well known that the decrease in the wooded areas reduces the ability of the planet to absorb excess carbon, thus accelerating global warming. But the action undertaken by Trump also puts biodiversity at risk, threatening in particular the species already vulnerable and in the process of extinction. Furthermore, it could increase the risk of fires, although al tycoon may seem counterintuitive.
One might be tempted to believe that the intensification of deforestation activities can actually reduce the risk of fires, lowering the amount of “fuel” available. However, experts such as Chad Hanson, a scientist specialized in forest fires, explain that the changes in microclimates caused by deforestation rather contribute to increasing local heat and dryness of the vegetation, creating favorable conditions for the spread of the flames. This is exactly what happened in Los Angeles in the past months, where the alteration of ecosystems has facilitated the expanding of the bonfires.
What is worse, the executive order is built on a lie, since Trump falsely states that greater deforestation will brake the fires and protect the communities, while the overwhelming weight of the tests shows exactly the opposite, says Hanson.
The Trump Administration Has Made a Move to Log 112 Million Actres of Our National Forests! Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins Issued An Order Toray That would open up 112 Million ACres of Our National Forests to Logging by Private Corporations. The Order would also gut … pic.twitter.com/wuqo2wxiya
– Sierra Club (@sierraclub) April 5, 2025
And in any case, despite the serious environmental implications, the law signed by Trump is now in force. Among its effects, there is the impossibility for civil society, local populations and local authorities to oppose the deforestation projects through administrative appeals. This measure reduces the possibility of blocking these activities, even when they represent a threat to the environment. In addition, the legislation limits the alternatives that federal officials can take into consideration during the evaluation of the projects.
About 455 thousand square kilometers of forests, a larger area of California, which mainly covers the western and southern areas of the United States, the most vulnerable to large fire fires will be expected.
