Racism remains alive and well in the United States, at least partly because a tree-planting program that was approved under Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (yes, you read that right) has now been canceled.
Or at least, that's what the Associated Press says.
According to the vaunted AP, black Americans in New Orleans' 9th Ward must now face far more difficult lives … because taxpayers won't be paying for new trees to be planted … or something.
When Hurricane Katrina roared through two decades ago, it wiped out 200,000 trees across the city, including many in Johnson's neighborhood and several in his own yard. The city has struggled ever since to restore its tree canopy.
Those efforts will be set back by the U.S. Forest Service's decision in mid-February to terminate a $75 million grant to the Arbor Day Foundation, which was working to plant trees in neighborhoods that might not otherwise be able to afford them. The program is the latest victim of a drive by President Donald Trump's administration against environmental justice initiatives.
Yes, you heard it straight from the AP — that dastardly Donald Trump and his common sense plan to stop the government from wasting so much taxpayer money is really just a nefarious attempt to harm inner-city communities.
In New Orleans, part of the money was going to the environmental group Sustaining Our Urban Landscape (SOUL), which has planted more than 1,600 trees in the historically Black community but has now paused plans for another 900.
But Dan Lambe, the Arbor Day Foundation's chief executive, said the projects weren't just going to serve disadvantaged people. They were going to benefit every member of the community...
'This was an opportunity to make a really meaningful impact on people's lives, so it's been disappointing,' Lambe said.
Or maybe … just maybe … an even greater impact can be made on people's lives by doing something more important than planting some trees.
The organization reportedly described its loss of funding as a "tremendous burden."
Want a look at another thing that could be described as a "tremendous burden?"
Check out the national deficit.
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