The Trump Administration’s environmental agenda can be summed up in one word: deregulation.

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A number of pro-environment decisions, particularly during the Obama-era, have since been overturned, or are in the process. Some notable examples include the approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline and the shrinking of two national monuments in Utah. There has also been a decrease in Environmental Protection Agency staff throughout the country as employees retire and leave but not replaced. Trump is noted saying that deregulating environmental protections, healthcare, financial services and other industries is a “call to action,” according to the New York Times.

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“We are just getting started,” said Trump, according to the New York Times. “We have decades of excess regulation to remove.” The controversy lies in that many environmental regulations are geared towards protecting human health, such as the Clean Water Act, the Obama-era Clean Water Rule and the Clean Air Act. State attorneys and environmental groups are fighting back, arguing that lifting these regulations leaves the environment and consumers more vulnerable. Surveys of business chief executives showed a positive response, which is the reasoning Trump has used in his favor for across-the-board deregulation.

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A very concerning change to many environmental groups is dropping climate change as a national security threat. This brings to surface the dramatic difference from the Obama administration, as well as other many other nations around the world. This, coupled with pulling from the Paris climate accord, demonstrates the Trump administration’s disregard for the consequences of climate change.

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Most recently, Trump rolled back offshore drilling safety rules. The rules were established after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 which caused the worst oil spill in American history. This change is part of Trump’s plan to ease restrictions on fossil fuel companies and to encourage more domestic energy production. The Deepwater Horizon spill killed an estimated one million coastal and offshore seabirds and spewed 4.9 million barrels of oil into the sea, reported the New York Times. The spill initiated with the failure of a blowout preventer after a section of drill pipe buckled. Since the announcement of the elimination of the safety measures, environmental groups have expressed concern over the U.S. being vulnerable to another disaster.

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“Rolling back drilling safety standards while expanding offshore leasing is a recipe for disaster,” said Miyoko Sakashita, director of the oceans program at the Center for Biological Diversity, according to the New York Times. “By tossing aside the lessons from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Trump is putting our coasts and wildlife at risk of more deadly oil spills. Reversing offshore safety rules isn’t just deregulation, it’s willful ignorance.”

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A week after announcing the deregulation of drilling safety rules, the administration said that it would open nearly all U.S. coastal waters to new offshore oil and gas drilling. This includes access to areas off of California that have been closed off for decades and more than a billion acres in the Arctic and along the Eastern Seaboard. This decision has put the administration at odds against many coastal states, including Florida. After the Deepwater Horizon Spill, the tourism industry in Florida took a downward turn. Florida Governor Rick Scott has expressed his deep concern over this change in policy and is prioritizing the protection of Florida’s natural resources. The governors of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, California, Oregon and Washington have also opposed the offshore drilling plans.

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The combination of the review, reduction and, consequently, the opening up of public lands displays the administration’s overarching theme of putting economics and the interests of businesses, generally big business, before the interests of the general public. Although the fossil fuel industry is expected to be positively impacted by these changes, many smaller businesses, such as commercial fishing operations and tourism related businesses, could take a serious hit.

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The EPA under Scott Pruitt has also seen a decrease in staff. A general feeling of low morale and discouragement has caused many employees to seek retirement or to quit altogether. The past several administrations also saw employees leave, but many of them were replaced. Currently, the number of new employees is nearing a low not seen since the Reagan administration. According to the New York Times, more than 27 percent of those who left were scientists. Employees have reported that this massive departure has drained much of the knowledge about protecting the nation’s air and water gained over decades of work. This decrease in employees is also attributed to the slashing of research budgets, cutting of advisory boards and overall discouragement of science. Some employees are concerned about the EPA’s ability to respond to disasters and maintaining regulatory work with the decrease in staff.

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It has been predicted that 2018 will bring more environmental deregulation by the Trump administration. Trump has repeatedly talked about his hopes to work on infrastructure. This could introduce a host of environmental concerns, especially if regulations continue to be repealed. Although this may be the case, there are many environmental organizations and environmentally-conscious members of congress that have already spoken about fighting the administration over the reduction of environmental protection.