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# Trump's Return Reverses Three Decades of Environmental Momentum
- URL: https://adjacent.media/signals/trumps-return-reverses-three-decades-of-environmental-momentum/
- Published: 2026-04-23T10:01:49.000Z
- Updated: 2026-04-23T10:01:49.000Z
- Description: The article documents a shift: environmental regulation and climate action have operated as a one-directional ratchet since 1970, with each administration adding layers even when rolling back specifics.
- Author: Jonathan Greene
- Tags: #signal, theme-culture, climate, politics

Source: [The Contrarian](https://open.substack.com/pub/contrarian/p/trump-vs-earth)

The article documents a shift: environmental regulation and climate action have operated as a one-directional ratchet since 1970, with each administration adding layers even when rolling back specifics. Trump's second term threatens to unwind that accumulation—not just pause it—by dismantling enforcement agencies, gutting the EPA's authority, and signaling to state actors that environmental compliance is now optional. Permitting timelines collapse, renewable energy subsidies disappear, and corporate compliance calculus shifts overnight. The environmental movement faces an unfamiliar scenario where defending existing ground becomes the primary battle rather than advancing new gains.