I was going to start by trying to figure out how the hell we got here. How Donald Trump became the person so many Americans trust above almost anyone else. How people I know—people who work hard, love their families, and would help a neighbor—ended up defending things I cannot imagine them accepting from anybody else.
We’ll get there. But before we go back, let’s start with now.
On September 13, reports indicated that the Environmental Protection Agency was preparing to repeal carbon pollution standards for coal- and gas-fired power plants. Reuters relayed Bloomberg’s reporting and said it had not independently verified it. So, as I write this, expected does not mean completed. That distinction matters, even when the headline pisses me off. Reuters
I hunt. I shoot guns. I work the land and raise chickens. I want my children to have places to walk, grow things, hunt, and get their hands dirty. I also want electricity that works and a bill I can afford. I don’t think any of that makes me particularly unusual.
Which is why I want someone to explain this to me.
Why is Trump doing it? What problem is he solving? And who gets the benefit?
There is an answer beyond “because he’s Trump,” and we should take the time to understand it. His April 2025 coal executive order argues that expanding coal production will support jobs, lower electricity costs, strengthen the grid, and meet demand from manufacturing and artificial intelligence data centers. It explicitly directs agencies to identify policies moving the country away from coal and consider revising or rescinding them. White House executive order
That is a declared policy choice: support coal and remove obstacles to its use.
When the EPA proposed the power-plant rollback in June 2025, Administrator Lee Zeldin argued that it would save the energy industry billions. The administration also disputed the basis for regulating these plants’ greenhouse-gas emissions, arguing that their contribution did not meet the threshold for significant contribution to dangerous air pollution. Associated Press
I understand why a power company would welcome avoiding an expensive requirement. I run businesses. Costs matter. Bad regulations exist, and writing a rule does not automatically make it a good one.
But saving an industry money and making life better for the rest of us are two claims. You have to demonstrate the connection.
How much reaches my electric bill? Over what period? What happens to emissions? What benefits are we giving up, and what would an alternative approach cost?
“Trust us” is a pretty weak business proposal.
The likely beneficiaries are not mysterious. Operators relieved of compliance obligations gain flexibility. Coal producers stand to benefit if the policy keeps customers burning their product longer. That is an inference from the policy’s design, not evidence of a secret deal.
The political benefit is my interpretation: Trump gets to present himself as the defender of an industry he has chosen to champion, while treating the removal of climate rules as a victory over his opponents. The policy and the political story reinforce each other.
I cannot tell you what is in his head. I can read what he signed, examine what his administration proposes, and ask whether the promised results hold up. I don’t need to invent a conspiracy to question the priorities sitting right there on the page.
And here is where it gets personal for me.
I teach my kids responsibility. Take care of your things. Think about how your actions affect somebody else. Clean up your mess. Those expectations shouldn’t disappear when the person making the mess has a corporate legal department.
I want energy workers to have good jobs. I want businesses to succeed. I want reliable power. I also want the government to explain why protecting those things requires removing these protections—and why that choice is better than the alternatives.
What exactly are we conserving if we aren’t conserving the place our children have to live?
We can argue about Biden. We can go back through decades of decisions and failures. Shit, there is plenty to discuss.
But this decision deserves an answer on its own.
Tell me how this makes life better for my family.
And show your work.