In short because it's an easy to people who are acutely harmed by this stuff (even while experiencing unseen long-term benefits). I have an early-90s Volkswage

In short because it's an easy to people who are acutely harmed by this stuff (even while experiencing unseen long-term benefits). I have an early-90s Volkswagen van. It came with a very underpowered and fuel-thirsty gas engine. Eventually it could barely make it up the hills around here, and was prohibitively expensive (not to mention unreliable) to use practically. I replaced the old engine with a modern TDI that gets ~33mpg and is undoubtably cleaner than the 80s-era technology that powered it before. It gave the van a renewed life, keeping it from being crushed and precluding the environmental cost of building a new car. And above all, it solved my problem in a mentally engaging way. For this I have been rewarded with constant red tape from the state department of air quality and EPA. They test tailpipe opacity while driving it on a set of rollers (if I can find a tech that knows how to drive stick shift). The standard to beat is 20% opaque, which would choke out the room. Despite the LED/opto pair usually measuring less than 1% opaque, it once measured 100% opaque. Think about that for a minute. I am not the only one to have done something like this, much less the only one to have EPA-mandated portable gas container designs break & spill, EPA-mandated sensor systems break and cost hundreds, etc. I'm not the only one who's been annoyed by land closures (despite having a permit) due to the EPA's concerns of dust entering the air. This is to say nothing of e.g. the farmers who have had increased compliance costs and fines for operating on their own land. A politician coming out against the EPA is an immediate emotional appeal to many people who are somewhat likely to support Trump's ideas to begin with. These people feel they have been hamstrung by the man, and apparently think that mining for uranium in the Grand Canyon is a reasonable price to pay to beat back the EPA a little. The answer, of course, is to be more sensible in the way that the environment is regulated. No, people should not mine the Grand Canyon (at least not in any way mining is currently conducted). No, a yearly tailpipe opacity test is not an effective way of regulating diesel emissions. But unfortunately, politics turns everything into an emotional appeal that leads to both sides talking past one another. I think the best thing we can do as individuals is honestly try to be better.