In October, 1969, at the UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, the well-known peace activist John McConnell suggested a single day be set aside to admire Mother Earth and the idea of peace. One year later in the spring of 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated. Flash forward to 2016 … the United States joined more than 120 other countries and signed the Paris Agreement, fulfilling the requirement of the drafted climate protection treaty embraced by the 195 nations represented at the United Nations Climate Change Conference. But our commitment was short lived. Sort of. In June 2017 President Donald Trump “ceased” participation contending that the agreement “undermined” our economy and put the “U.S. at a permanent disadvantage.”
But it wasn’t that easy.
In accordance with Article 28 of the Paris Agreement, a country cannot withdrawal from the agreement within the first three years of joining. And so … the long and short of it … the administration agreed that the U.S. would abide by the exit process and on November 4, 2020, one day after the 2020 U.S. presidential election, we were no longer part of the agreement.
And then.
On his first day in office, President Biden signed an executive order to rejoin the Paris Agreement and we were back in, February 19, 2021.
But there’s more.
After his second inauguration, President Trump signed EO, “Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements,” and once again, vowed to withdraw the United States from the agreement. The withdrawal went into effect January 27, 2026.
And so … here we are. I didn’t know about all the back and forth until I researched the timeline. And while I find it all very interesting, what really hits home, at least for me, is the international response and all the comments from foreign leaders. Which, if you do choose to read, I’m curious which one hits you the hardest. Or surprises you the most. Typically, I don’t use Wikipedia as a source and don’t allow it as an official source for reports/articles I edit (what, you didn’t know I’m actually an editor and get paid to do just that?) but in this case, it fits.
Anyway … just something I felt compelled to share.
Now go. Be like the Lorax and give a shit about what’s happening here … recycle—if you do one thing, do that! And if you don’t get the Lorax reference, Google it … I swear I didn’t make it up.
Additional Reading: A full-page open letter to President Trump in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, signed by 25 companies encouraging the administration to keep the U.S. in the Paris Agreement.
Cover image created by Google AI.
DISCLAIMER: I’m a writer and an editor. And I try my best to make sure every post is articulate and free from errors. However, being that I edit my own work—and it’s next to impossible to properly edit your own work—I admit, occasionally there may be an error or two I miss. But doing so doesn’t make me an idiot so don’t be mean. Just smile, pat yourself on the back for finding an error and be glad you’re not the only one who makes mistakes sometimes … xoxox
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