Of all the greed-driven, soulless mischief that tempts the human psyche, none is so irredeemably short-sighted as the casual degrading of our planet.

Today is Earth Day, an observance that enshrined the term "tree-hugger" and struck some as touchy-feely when it started in 1970. It turns out that the granolas were just ahead of their time, like all prophets, when they sounded the alarm about the planet's livability.

Now, with polar ice melting and coral reefs disintegrating, it is clear Earth has a problem that one day per year cannot fix. Nations, states and some private industry have responded with measures to reduce waste, pollution, ozone and carbon emissions. Connecticut, in spite of its debilitating fiscal problems, is a role model.

It's good all these players are in the game, because the Trump administration, in the name of removing burdens on business, is scything through the federal regulations that enforce sound environmental practices. National Geographic is keeping a running list of the recissions and decisions on its website .

Under Administrator Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency has a new "Back to Basics Agenda," described on its website as "refocusing" EPA and returning power to the states while creating jobs.

All government regulations need review from time to time. Revisiting rules would make sense, except that the EPA agenda dismisses them with undisguised hostility as "burdensome," "unjustified," "premature," and "misaligned." How likely is an impartial review based on facts and science?

Connecticut needs to work with the EPA when it can and take its own steps, including legal action, when it cannot. The agency agenda includes returning control of local waters to the states, which is apt to mean loosening of standards in some places. Here it could mean continuing the 22-year partnership between Connecticut and New York to restore Long Island Sound's water quality — except that the Trump budget proposal cuts EPA funding for the states by 44 percent.

Recognizing that the federal Clean Power Plan may not be there to buttress the state's efforts, Connecticut and eight other Northeast states have once again petitioned EPA to force "upwind" states to lower their emissions, which Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said make Connecticut "the tailpipe of America." But in spite of the EPA agenda item of helping states achieve their air quality targets, the administration is signaling its intention to gut the Clean Power Plan.

State government still has its allies and potentially some strong legal cases, including endangerment of public health from out-of-state air pollutants Connecticut can't remediate on its own.

As it must, the state attorney general's office is readying its arguments. After heavy lobbying from the automotive industry, EPA rescinded greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards for model year 2022-2025 vehicles. Connecticut had been building its clean air plans around those, since the so-called mobile sector — boosted by Interstate 95 — produces nearly half of the state's greenhouse gas emissions. 

Untouched so far is the "California waiver," a provision that allows that state to set its emissions standards higher than the federal rules and permits other states, of which Connecticut is one, to adopt those standards. Environmental watchdogs are keeping the issue before the state's congressional delegation. An EPA ruling against the waiver would mean picking a fight with many states.

No outside help is required for the General Assembly to pass Senate Bill 973, which will expand the scope of Connecticut's innovative Green Bank. This ingenious legislation would allow homeowners to purchase solar panels, insulation and other energy-saving equipment through low-interest loans payable along with their property taxes. It would likely result in growth of town grand list values. The Green Bank already operates a highly regarded Property Assessed Clean Energy program, C-PACE, for commercial properties.

The bank, invented in 2011 at the same time as the metamorphosis of the old state DEP into the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, is being copied across the country and abroad. It is a quasi-public institution that uses public funds, ratepayer fees and private investment to modernize and reduce energy consumption in homes and businesses. Its track record impresses environmentalists and investors alike. Budgetmakers must, however, keep their hands off, because raiding its appropriation to balance the budget would short-circuit its ability to make loans and work with municipalities that want in.

It makes no sense to say that states should take charge of the environment, and the Supreme Court has said so. But Connecticut can be depended on to do its best.