In 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revised its website as the Trump administration and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin took office. The website was quietly altered to no longer include human activity as a cause for climate change, along with censoring language related to environmental justice. For some Menlo students these alterations have raised concerns over government rhetoric, as well as skepticism over the decision to move away from environmental justice initiatives.
The revisions themselves have followed an ideological shift regarding the environment within the federal government, moving away from conservation and promoting an initiative of “Unleashing American Greatness,” which encourages natural resource exploration according to the EPA. In addition, the Trump administration declared a national energy emergency in Jan. 2025, citing “an active threat to the American people from high energy prices.”
According to the White House, by declaring a national emergency, the administration hopes to “unleash American energy” through a focus on exploring fuels and minerals on federal land, and rescinding agency regulations on abundant natural gas and oil resources. (“Unleashing American Energy – The White House”). For Menlo students, this heightened resource extraction could risk more prominent wildfires and worsen air quality statewide.
Climate Coalition club co-leader Tess Vogel feels as though prioritizing American energy is essential to maintaining Menlo’s campus. “We have a beautiful campus that would probably not look the same if we had other values regarding nature and water quality [and] food production, things that couldn’t be produced if we didn’t have access to very specific [resources],” Vogel said.
History Department Chair and teacher Katharine Hanson noted that California has a particular inclination toward environmental initiatives. “Being a Californian, we’re steeped in the importance of the environment and the coastal communities and the effects that they’re seeing with climate change,” Hanson said.
According to Hanson, the national focus on climate change and the importance of environmental policy has diminished in recent months. “Five years ago, [environmental values] were top of mind, and it’s kind of remarkable how the Trump administration has just really moved that to the back burner,” Hanson said.
According to the EPA, the ongoing national energy emergency has justified the shift away from environmental justice policies, reasoning that with electrical and gas prices being too high, the government cannot focus on sustainability initiatives. To this line of reasoning, Hanson is skeptical that trying to increase the abundance of natural resources would actually resolve the emergency.
“[The costs of] natural gas [and] electricity, are based on things besides just the supply. I think that corporations make decisions about prices.” Hanson said, “There’s rhetoric about the need to secure more for the United States, and that’s something that determines fracking and whatever else we’re doing to [extract] natural resources. I’m skeptical about that reasoning.”
As dialogue surrounding environmental justice continues to shift over time, Vogel says that students should be mindful of what information they consume and how it impacts their perspective on climate change. Being cognizant of opinionated or unfounded claims can form better perspectives. “Misinformation itself might not seem directly harmful, but if you’re looking to progress forward and understand the world and how you can assist it […] we need to bear it in mind,” Vogel said.
