Just two weeks into the job, President Donald Trump threatened to fire or push out scores of Environmental Protection Agency employees in Chicago, and by August he terminated their union, a move still being challenged in court.

In that same period, Trump’s EPA boss, Lee Zeldin, launched a deregulation campaign rolling back rules governing everything from water pollution to greenhouse gas emissions.

Trump pushed out or threatened to fire scientists, inspectors, lawyers and many specialists focused on protecting air, water and land.

“It is so significantly worse than the first [Trump] administration,” says Nicole Cantello, president of the EPA employee union in Chicago representing around 700 workers.

Cantello, who has led the union since 2019, now has to conduct her union business outside of work. She’s prohibited from telling me what she does at the EPA, though her LinkedIn profile says she’s a lawyer for the agency.

When asked about changes Trump has made to the EPA, the agency often criticizes former President Joe Biden’s administration.

“EPA is focused on statutory obligations and presidential priorities, not the overreach of the previous administration,” an agency statement said.

Trump has targeted clean energy programs that Chicagoans favored.

As a reporter covering the environment, I write about these actions because they have a bearing on residents of Chicago. Sometimes these issues seem esoteric, which is why I show how they have helped average people, like Chatham resident Gerald Jones.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

“I really think it’s terrible,” retired mail carrier Jones told me about Trump’s cuts to rooftop solar funding that helped him save hundreds of dollars on his monthly utility bills.

The president also canceled almost $600 million in previously promised government grants to help energy companies and local governments reduce harmful methane gas emissions and improve the electric grid.

Trump dismantled federal programs related to “environmental justice,” a movement started on the South Side decades ago aimed at shielding poor people from excessive pollution. Trump tied environmental justice to another favorite target of his — diversity, equity and inclusion — as justification for killing the program. Environmental justice has nothing to do with DEI.

I hear from readers who either support or oppose Trump’s policies. Some see a bloated government that needs to be trimmed, while others are horrified that the health of their friends and family may be jeopardized.

The EPA has long been targeted by some politicians, who argue that the agency bullies businesses.

That’s not true, says Cantello, echoing what I’ve heard from almost a dozen other EPA workers.

Trump touts his moves at EPA as a way to spur economic activity.

In his platform as a presidential candidate in 2024, Trump said he would promote all sources of energy.

In reality, he’s pushed for fossil fuels and nuclear and even criticized newer sources of renewable energy such as wind and solar.

That’s a head-scratcher given the great need for energy to power data centers focused on artificial intelligence.

In Illinois, lawmakers are scrambling to push for new types of power as the state tries to meet goals for fighting climate change and keeping up with the enormous amounts of power needed to run AI data centers.

And there’s another environmental worry over the rapid rise of Big Data: Our drinking water may be depleted because these huge facilities need more and more water for operations.

A story in August about the threat to water sources was the most-read article I wrote this year. Readers respond to stories about their water and just about anything that touches Lake Michigan.

Readers have also been responding to stories about the price of electricity because these same data centers are driving up our electric bills. This will continue to be a problem for consumers for the foreseeable future.

Along with cuts to EPA jobs and clean energy funding, Trump also ended a yearslong civil rights investigation related to the environment.

You may recall the fight over the scrap-metal, car-shredding operation known as General Iron that was set to open on the Southeast Side.

That proposed move from white, wealthy Lincoln Park to a low-income community of color resulted in a federal civil rights finding against Chicago and ultimately an agreement that the city would try to do better.

Following an agreement with Biden’s administration, Mayor Brandon Johnson pledged to pass an environmental protection ordinance aimed at easing pollution in overburdened South Side and West Side neighborhoods.

Even though a signed agreement exists, Trump said in August that he’s not paying attention to it. And the ordinance has lingered since April when it was introduced. A Johnson spokesman says the mayor still backs the ordinance but doesn’t believe negotiations to pass it will wrap up soon.

Zubaer Khan/Sun-Times file