On November 23, the federal government released a new climate report with a frightening bottom line: the effects of climate change are already clearly visible in the US, and catastrophes caused by natural disasters will only worsen in the future.

Growing up in beautiful southern Maine, you would be hard-pressed not to appreciate the natural environment’s intrinsic value and beauty. In fact, I wrote my college admissions essay on the impact that living in this environment had on my development as a young adult. At the time, I was writing from the mature perspective of “get me out of here!” Now, exactly four years later, I return home at any opportunity that I can.

The day after Thanksgiving, as many Americans were lulled into a turkey-induced slumber or out checking items off of their Christmas lists, a climate report created by 13 federal agencies was released by the White House. The report concludes that if significant steps are not taken to mitigate climate change, the resulting damage will reduce the size of the American economy 10 percent by the end of the century. The report includes precise calculations about the economic costs and tangible impacts of climate change.

Those findings directly contradict President Trump’s deregulation agenda.

Unfortunately, as presidential administrations shift, so do the environmental values of the federal government at large. One of President Trump’s campaign promises was to roll back environmental regulations, which he argued would be good for the US economy.

According to the report, northeastern states have already seen some of the biggest changes in the nation. Even worse for Mainers, New England climate conditions are changing more rapidly than the entire northeast region that extends down to Maryland and Delaware. Annual average temperatures in New England have risen 1.2 degrees more than the rest of the United States since the beginning of the last century.

Temperature changes, shifts in levels of precipitation, and extremely fast warming in the Gulf of Maine all add up to major impacts to the health, economy, and infrastructure of New England. Already, fishermen in Maine have begun to see species of fish that used to only be found off of southern states. Oceanic species that are the foundation of Maine’s economy are in increased danger as the ocean’s acidity level continues to rise from the absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

While I believe that our environment has its own value, it also provides humans with very important services like purifying the air we breathe. Even for those conservatives who prioritize industry over the health of the environment, the impacts of climate change go far beyond ruined landscapes. The federal report estimates precise costs to the US economy due to impacts of climate change. $141 billion from heat-related deaths, $118 billion from sea level rise, and $32 billion from infrastructure damage over this century. How can anyone ignore these numbers?

This late in the game, action to slow climate change needs to come from the top down. The US government, the leaders of the most powerful democracy in the world, need to take dramatic action first to catch up with actions taken by other nations, and then to go even further than what has already been done. We already have the necessary guidelines of our nation’s previously implemented environmental regulations that we can follow to create impactful climate change policy. The next step comes when the government actually works to create and put these new laws into action, instead of increasingly rolling back our existing environmental protections.

The newly released federal climate report provides economic incentive (and political reason) for the Trump administration to guide its federal agencies to stop weakening our established environmental policy. New policies that would act to slow climate change can be created following the guidelines of our established environmental laws. Taking action now would not only benefit my beloved environment in Maine, but the national economy too.