Rolling Back Climate Rules Will Cost Americans Bigly

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Q. How can you tell someone in the US government is lying? A. Their lips are moving. Last week the government made a big show of blowing up all climate and exhaust emissions regulations, a move which the Moron of Mar-A-Loco said would cause prices of new cars to come tumbling down.

But according to the government’s own analysis, those actions will actually drive up the cost of new vehicles. Does that mean the president lied? Yes, it does. According to The Guardian, he blustered and bloviated about how the rollbacks, which included the repeal of the endangerment finding that is the central component of all climate action in the US, will save Americans $1.3 trillion by 2055. In fact, the government’s own analysis suggests those rollbacks will increase the cost of gasoline and cancel out those supposed benefits.

The EPA Didn’t Read Its Own Announcement

The Environmental Protection Agency on February 12, 2026, published a regulatory impact analysis to “prove” the savings it touted. It said $1.1 trillion will come from reduced vehicle prices while another $200 billion will come from a reduction in electric vehicle purchases and lowered spending on charging infrastructure.

But a chart within the analysis indicates that, through 2055, the US will incur $1.4 trillion in additional costs because drivers will need to purchase more gasoline for those thirstier automobiles. In addition, vehicle repairs and maintenance, insurance, traffic congestion, and noise will also increase the cost of driving. An additional $40 billion in costs will come from reduced energy security, increased refueling time, and lowered “drive value” — other ancillary costs associated with operating a vehicle.

In total, this means the repeal of the endangerment finding will impose estimated costs of $1.5 trillion — $200 billion more than the projected savings. The Guardian points out that all this slicing and dicing of the numbers does not take into account the huge social and climate costs of pumping more crud into the air, the ground, and the water.

“Their own analysis shows that the costs outweigh the benefits,” said Kathy Harris, who leads clean vehicle programming at the environmental nonprofit the Natural Resources Defense Council. In an emailed statement, an EPA spokesperson said: “The Trump EPA is following the law, ending the bogus overreach of previous administrations done by agenda-driven climate zealots.” So we should be content to accept the protestations of agenda-driven fossil fuel zealots, apparently.

The Word Assume

The case for lower fuel costs is based on a report from the Energy Information Administration that was included in the document to properly account for the other “policies being implemented by President Trump that are intended to drive down the price of gasoline,” the authors write.

But those other policies are “not really realistic,” said Harris. “That EIA’s low oil price [scenario] was never meant to show the effect of any policies that Trump would implement,” she said. “It’s designed to showcase the uncertainty and the volatility of domestic oil prices due to international forces on the global oil market that drives gas prices in the US and abroad.”

Furthermore, the EPA didn’t even provide evidence to support claims that fuel prices could be driven down to the extent envisioned in that scenario. “They’re cooking the books here,” Harris added. Oh, no! Donald Trump is lying? Say it isn’t so! Who could imagine such a thing?

The High Cost Of Lower Gas Prices

Trump has repeatedly pledged to lower gasoline prices for Americans, but when the analysis compares a case study in which vehicle regulations continue versus one in which they are repealed, it does not appear that promise will be met. Eliminating the greenhouse gas standards, the regulatory impact analysis shows, will increase gasoline prices by some $0.75 per gallon by 2050, The Guardian maintains. “That’s about a 29 percent increase in gasoline prices compared to if we maintain the policies that are in place,” said Harris.

The administration’s analysis also fails to examine the additional costs that deregulation could create due to increased global warming.

Repealing the endangerment finding could increase the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent by 2055 — at a time when every other nation on Earth except Russia is working to lower its emissions. But since the official policy of the US government now is that there is no such thing as too much carbon dioxide or methane, a rise in emissions will be treated as something to be celebrated.

According to the Environmental Defense Fund, those extra emissions will result in up to $4.7 trillion in additional expenses to US citizens, mostly because of diminished health outcomes associated with breathing more crud. Outside the US, people are wondering what kind of government refuses to protect the health of its citizens, but among the MAGAlomaniacs, making people sick is seen as a reason for celebration. Yeah, RFK, Jr.!

Taking Care Of Friends

Critics of the administration say the repeal of the endangerment finding will benefit Trump’s wealthy fossil fuel donors while harming the working class and vulnerable Americans. “Like most actions within this administration, this decision lacks any regard for everyday people and seems to be a play to deepen its loyalty to fossil fuel companies and billionaires who have proven that they are willing to take actions that endanger human life,” said Abre’ Conner, the director of climate and environmental justice at the NAACP.

Gen 6 V-8s From GM

General Motors has already announced a new sixth-generation V-8 engine will go into production in 2027, signaling the company plans to power lots of vehicles with the new 8-cylinder design — everything from the Chevy Silverado pickup truck to the mighty Corvette.

According to CarBuzz, the next-generation engines will be more fuel efficient than the existing engines GM relies on, but will be larger, at 5.6 and 6.5 liters. The current engines are 5.3 and 6.2 liters, respectively. There is no official word whether the new engines will have lower exhaust emissions than the existing engines, but since there are no limits on tailpipe pollutants anymore, the company has no incentive to bring cleaner running engines to market.

CarBuzz enthuses, “With buyers still wary of EVs, especially when it comes to trucks and large SUVs, GM is charging ahead with its Gen 6 small block V8 family. Recent regulatory shifts have made the timing perfect. 2025 saw the federal EV tax credit eliminated and automaker fines for missing emissions targets wiped out, and this month’s repeal of the 2009 Endangerment Finding, which concerns dangers associated with certain greenhouse gases, has further eased the pressure.

“It all adds up to customers being able to enjoy the raw performance they crave without the steep depreciation of an EV or the complexity of a hybrid, while dealers get in-demand, high-margin V8 machines that practically sell themselves — and GM isn’t wasting any time introducing its new V8.”

Engines normally have a 10- to 15-year lifespan, so your grandkids will be inhaling crud from these engines until long after they graduate from high school, thanks to Emperor Donnie. If you are happy about that, thank a MAGA voter. Make sure you tell them how much you appreciate your family being made to breathe polluted air so the Grifter In Chief can gorge himself on payoffs from oil, methane, and coal companies. Ain’t capitalism grand?