ita Robles’s life is ruled by allergies, the worst effects from which can last for months at a time. She uses rescue inhalers, a nebulizer, and a maintenance inhaler — on top of a slew of other medications. Even then, it’s often not enough.
“There are times when I’m outside just walking to the driveway and it’ll feel like something catches in my throat, and it causes me to go into a choking fit,” Robles told Truthout. “It’s miserable.”
Robles lives in a Houston, Texas, neighborhood suffocated by heavy industry — Denver Harbor, the largest petrochemical hub of the U.S. Robles, 56, calls the neighborhood a “disaster.”
She’s just one of millions of Americans, however, living in communities where people’s quality of life is secondary to the hum of big business — communities at the front line of the government’s regulatory rollbacks and budget cuts.
Since Donald Trump came back into office in January 2025, the federal government has either succeeded in, or is attempting to, weaken and roll back many of the country’s key environmental regulations and other broader programs. Things could get worse if the proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) budget is approved, with its 52 percent cut in funding under the latest agency head, former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin.
Hellbound and Down 