No, this post is not about the Russia investigation nor #MeToo, but the state of climate policy in the U.S. after President Trump's first year. Surprisingly, it's not as bad as one might think, no thanks to Trump though.
James Brasuell's blog post on President Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday dealt many aspects of urban planning, including infrastructure, immigration reform, and dismantling the federal bureaucracy.
Brad Plumer, a reporter on The New York Times's climate team, wrote the first piece for Wednesday's "Climate Fwd:" newsletter, on what an "update on the state of American climate policy after one year of the Trump administration...would it look like."
Yes, Trump has clearly been successful in undoing much of his predecessor's accomplishments on climate policy, including dismantling the clean power plan and withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement, making a clear case for "American Alone" despite his claims to the contrary at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 26.
See the Times' updated deregulation tracker for the full list, and many here on Planetizen.
But here's the good news for those who believe climate change isn't a hoax.
Mr. Trump hasn’t been able to halt many of the most important trends around the country toward lower emissions. Plenty of states, like California and New York, are still pressing ahead with their own local climate policies. The coal industry, responsible for a quarter of the nation’s emissions, continues to shrink, edged out of the energy market by less expensive natural gas despite Mr. Trump’s efforts to save it.
On top of that, the cost of wind and solar continues to drop rapidly as technology advances. Even after Mr. Trump’s recent tariffs on solar imports, more utilities are turning to renewable energy as the lowest-cost source of new power. Electric vehicles are making inroads. Other countries are still crafting an international climate treaty without the United States.
More good news — U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions fell last year, but the bad news is that this year they will rise, according to the Energy Information Administration.
It’s fair to say that those two broad dynamics — the Trump administration’s regulatory rollbacks and the stubborn march of clean energy — have fought each other to a standstill.
Sadly, this post ends on a pessimistic note. Plumer warns us that "we’ve reached the point on climate change where a holding pattern is no longer sufficient to give us a decent shot at stabilizing global temperatures this century and avoiding irreversible changes to Earth’s weather patterns."
That’s what makes climate change unlike other policy issues. There’s an unforgiving timeline dictated by physics, and the rate of change matters as much as the direction. In that context, even a temporary impasse can be hugely consequential.
FULL STORY: The State of the Climate, One Year Into the Trump Era

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

New State Study Suggests Homelessness Far Undercounted in New Mexico
An analysis of hospital visit records provided a more accurate count than the annual point-in-time count used by most agencies.

Michigan Bills Would Stiffen Penalties for Deadly Crashes
Proposed state legislation would close a ‘legal gap’ that lets drivers who kill get away with few repercussions.

Report: Bus Ridership Back to 86 Percent of Pre-Covid Levels
Transit ridership around the country was up by 85 percent in all modes in 2024.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions