Trump climate health rollback likely to hit poor, minority areas hardest, experts say

The Associated Press ^ | February 20, 2026 | BY DORANY PINEDA AND SETH BORENSTEIN

[Oldeconomybuyer]

In a stretch of Louisiana with about 170 fossil fuel and petrochemical plants, premature death is a fact of life for people living nearby. The air is so polluted and the cancer rates so high it is known as Cancer Alley.

“Most adults in the area are attending two to three funerals per month,” said Gary C. Watson Jr., who was born and raised in St. John the Baptist Parish, a majority Black community in Cancer Alley about 30 miles outside of New Orleans. His father survived cancer, but in recent years, at least five relatives have died from it.

When the federal government in 2009 targeted carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases as a public health danger because of climate change, it led to tighter regulation of pollution and cleaner air in some communities. But this month, the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency overturned that “endangerment finding.”

Public health experts say the change will likely mean more illness and death for Americans, with communities like Watson’s hit hardest.

Growing evidence shows that poor and Black, Latino and other racial and ethnic groups are typically more vulnerable than white people to pollution and climate-driven floods, hurricanes, extreme heat and more because they tend to have less resources to protect against and recover from them. The EPA, in a 2021 report no longer on its website, concluded the same.

The finding’s reversal will affect everyone, but “overburdened communities, which are typically communities of color, Indigenous communities and low-income communities, they will, again, suffer most from these actions,” said Matthew Tejada, senior vice president for environmental health at the Natural Resources Defense Council and a former deputy with the EPA’s office for environmental justice.

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TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Louisiana
KEYWORDS: associatedpropaganda; bs; climate; globalwarming; hoax; press; propaganda; ripoff; scam

[Oldeconomybuyer]

[Nervous Tick]

Oh good, Joey G is back! :-)

“Poor and minorities hardest hit”. ROFLMAO

[Skwor]

“poor, minority areas hardest”

These cretins have no idea how utterly stupid they sound. Nothing but gibbering monkeys repeating the same mindless drivel.

[Sacajaweau]

“Growing evidence shows”.....means this whole thing is made up...

[KevinB]

Makes sense. It will be devastating for poor and minorities to pay less for food and fuel.

[Vision]

Hahahahaha

[yldstrk]

Oh for Pete’s sake, how on earth would rolling back woke liberal bs hit poor people the hardest? Cheap energy BENEFITS poor people.

[MrRelevant]

No it wont. It will hurt green “industry” sponges , who collect billions of govt funding, the most.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

“likely to hit poor, minority areas hardest”

My gosh. That record has a skip in it.

[lp boonie]

Lets talk about the jobs that were lost due to the environmental regs. There is a reason they are poor. There is a lot of excitment down here because of all the new jobs with the LPNG plants and oil ports being built. Cajun country is booming job wise. Also, environmental regs, not laws. Rules made by bureaucrats, not legislation. I guarantee what’s good for burueacrats is rarely good for the people.

[Resolute Conservative]

Of course, same as always.

[Blennos]

Is this a double-secret Babylon Bee parody in disguise?

[sima_yi]

World to end tomorrow. Women and minorities to be hit hardest.

[hal ogen]

It it is ecological Hell there...move away. Problem solved. If you are poor...walk away.

[Ex-Con777]

> “Growing evidence shows”.....means this whole thing is made up...<

All of this evidence has been compiled since Trump took action on Feb 12, 2026. There’s mountains of it.

The funeral parades have been endless.

EC

[Flavious_Maximus]

As if the climate monster says to itself, hey look over there, a bunch of poor people, so let me cause drought and health conditions at that specific location (only because there are poor people living there, I’ll skip the wealthy areas).

Typical democrat claptrap. Yes, the crap always flows from democrats. /spit

[Pontiac]

Growing evidence shows that poor and Black, Latino and other racial and ethnic groups are typically more vulnerable than white people to pollution and climate-driven floods, hurricanes, extreme heat and more because they tend to have less resources to protect against and recover from them.

What else happens in poor neighborhoods.

Poor nutrition, higher illegal drug use, higher use of tobacco and alcohol use.

All of those things lead to higher incidence of cancer and early death.

“Most adults in the area are attending two to three funerals per month,” said Gary C. Watson Jr., who was born and raised in St. John the Baptist Parish, a majority Black community in Cancer Alley about 30 miles outside of New Orleans. His father survived cancer, but in recent years, at least five relatives have died from it.

Hmm, what happened in "recent years" that caused a lot of people to go to a lot more funerals than usual?

OH Yeh!

COVID-19 and the DEATH JAB!

[nesnah]

[Parley Baer]

Experts say.

[Eli Kopter]

Thanks for the Bullsh*t article.