I recently read that Trump is suing California over its clean air rules for cars and trucks. I’m not exactly sure what his logic is and don’t really care. I do know that this man is the antithesis of President Theodore Roosevelt who put protections on place for national monuments like Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monument among others well over 100 years ago. I also know that given his way, Trump would take tribal lands away from Indigenous people to whom it was “given” more than 150 years ago. Has he no shame?
When I was a child growing up in the ’60s, I had a lot of family living in the LA area. When we often went to visit them, the smog was so bad, we could not inhale the air safely or without pain. Guess what, it’s better now, and it is because there are still some people in charge who care about clean land, air, and water.
Greg A. Klein
Santa Maria
This article appears in March 26 – April 2, 2026.