On June 30, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority issued an unsurprisingly devastating ruling on West Virginia v. EPA that severely limits the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to make power plants cut the toxic pollution that is driving the climate crisis. Climate advocates and scientists have been watching this case anxiously since 2021, knowing that failing to cut fossil fuel emissions would lead to increasingly destructive climate events such as wildfires, and would hit the most vulnerable communities the hardest.
Despite the clear consequences of hamstringing the EPA, right-leaning U.S. news and politics pages on Facebook characterized its enforcement of environmental protections as regulatory overreach and inaccurately framed the ruling as a win for small government and the economy rather than what it actually is: a victory for the fossil fuel industry and its right-wing allies.
Media Matters compiled and analyzed Facebook posts about West
While Democrats hope abortion will be a major issue in the upcoming midterm elections, high inflation and the economy remain the top issue for voters with an overwhelming – and growing – majority of Americans say the U.S. is heading in the wrong direction.
As too many American families know from firsthand experience, there’s a baby formula shortage in the United States. While some politicians will surely view the situation as “not letting a crisis go to waste,” this is a time for immediate and thoughtful solutions that address the actual problems.