On April 5, we joined thousands of Mainers at the Hands Off! rally in Augusta, one of numerous such gatherings around the state along with more than 1,000 across the country. People young and old were there holding signs in support of civil servants, veterans, educators, women, children, immigrants, retirees, the environment, LGBTQ+ rights, health care for all and so much more. These were our family members, neighbors, co-workers and elected officials. All of us.

In its first months, the Trump administration has created chaos, made many dubious and possibly illegal decisions and caused untold and unnecessary suffering to people in this country and around the world. This administration is shattering democratic norms and flirting with autocracy while threatening fundamental human rights. Rallygoers demonstrated their opposition to this cruelty and chaos.

Some of the devastating impacts of the Trump administration’s actions have already been felt, and many more are coming, as the signs at the rally warned. Here are just a couple of recent actions that we are very concerned about as scholars of environmental conservation and public health.

Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it will pause or rescind potentially life-saving rules about hazardous PFAS (“forever chemicals”), which are linked to cancer, heart and liver problems, immune suppression and other illnesses. Maine has several PFAS “hot spots” with concerning levels of these chemicals in public and private drinking water. The Trump EPA is unlikely to enforce brand-new PFAS drinking water standards that would have resulted in less exposure and fewer toxic health effects in Mainers.

Polluters have been emboldened to ask President Trump for widespread exemptions from rules like these seeking to limit toxic pollution, even for heavy metals like mercury and arsenic, also known to sicken Mainers. Pollution often disproportionately affects children and communities nearest to polluters, but the Trump administration has announced it will no longer consider vulnerable populations and will close the EPA’s environmental justice office.

The mandate of the EPA is to protect human health and the environment. In establishing the EPA in 1970, President Richard Nixon, a Republican, declared that “the Congress, the Administration and the public all share a profound commitment to the rescue of our natural environment and the preservation of the Earth.” It is not the EPA’s job to protect polluters. But in the Trump administration, the EPA is being captured by lobbyists and people from the fossil fuel and chemical industries who have egregious conflicts of interest.

As a result, anti-environmental declarations come almost daily. Just recently, the administration announced plans to remove protections on 110 million acres of national forests.  It claims that lands must be sold off and trees cut down to protect against wildfires. This is not supported by science and will destroy our forests. President Trump is circumventing democratic input and environmental protection to help the timber industry.  This is a pattern with him — he lies to cover up the real reason for his actions, which is to benefit himself or his cronies at the expense of the American people.

And the costs are great for all of us. Our national forests are vital carbon sinks necessary to stabilize the climate. They provide public health benefits, contribute to our economy and provide opportunities for recreation and the enjoyment of nature. The genius of public lands is that everyone benefits.

What is happening in our country today is not how democracy should work. A few deceitful individuals are destroying the foundations of our government while trampling human rights, threatening public health, upending our economy and causing lasting harm to our environment. It is imperative that we keep informed, look to true experts (not talking heads) and stay vigilant and energized, speaking out on issues we care about. Each of us has a part to play in challenging the audacious efforts to remake our government for the benefit of a few.

That is why it was inspiring to be surrounded by concerned Mainers from all walks of life energized in solidarity for democracy and the issues that really matter. We must continue to resist the dangerous actions of the Trump administration. This affects us all.