Polluted air. Toxic chemicals. Natural disasters. Drought. These are just a few of the ways Donald Trump’s attacks on science are affecting Pennsylvania, and they’re multiplying every day. Maybe that’s why 72% of Pennsylvanians say they believe in climate change — and 60% believe the President should do more about it.
But he isn’t doing anything about it. Instead, thanks to Trump and his allies, we’re going backward. It’s clear: The president is all too happy to stick his head in the sand, even if it means harming the health, safety, and economy of people across Pennsylvania.
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THE CRISIS
What does Trump’s anti-science agenda look like in practice?
He’s blocked rules that would have made polluters pay for cleaning up toxic, carcinogenic chemicals that have been found in Pennsylvania’s water supplies.
He’s overseen a rise in anti-climate policies — even as the drought has cost us tens of billions of dollars in the last decade alone.
He’s killed more than 17,000 good-paying clean energy jobs within our borders.
And across the state, communities of color bear a disproportionate burden of his climate denial.
Without bold action, the problem will grow worse: more pollution, more job loss, more injustice. 2020 is the moment. It’s time to get going.
SHARE YOUR CLIMATE STORY
Climate change touches all of us — from the air we breathe to the water we drink, to the devastating effects of extreme weather. Your story has the power to change the conversation. Share yours and tell us why you’re in this fight.
THE COSTS
President Trump’s climate denial is harmful to Pennsylvania’s health, safety, and economy — and is especially harmful to communities of color.
Here’s what we know:
- By 2050, the number of extreme heat days in Pennsylvania is expected to triple.
- In the last decade, Pennsylvania has seen 25 severe storm events which caused a total of $57.6 billion in damages and 237 deaths. And the rains are only becoming heavier — and more frequent. According to the National Climate Assessment, the Midwest and Northeast have seen a 30% increase in very heavy precipitation over the 1901-1960 average.
Pennsylvanians Want Bold Climate Action
65%
65% of Pennsylvanians believe in climate change.
60%
60% of Pennsylvanians believe the president should do more to address climate change.
55%
55% believe their local officials should do more.
- While every single Pennsylvanian is at risk, people of color bear a disproportionate burden. In 2019, nine counties in Pennsylvania received F grades for their number of days of unhealthy ozone levels, and Allegheny County earned an F grade for particle pollution. Such air pollution has been linked to asthma: a disease that kills Black children in America at 10 times the rate of non-Hispanic white children.
FROM OUR RESEARCH TEAM
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