BIDEN’S CLIMATE contradictions
As we reflect on the anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico this Earth Week, it is essential to recognize that our oil and gas appetite is continually sacrificing ocean ecosystems, human communities, and biodiversity, which every human depends upon.
Earth Month is always a complicated time, and this year is no different. It is hard to wade through the corporate greenwashing (cough cough oil and gas companies) and governments touting their environmental credibility to find the actual truth. Clearly, the Biden administration has made significant strides in addressing the climate crisis, environmental racism, and conservation efforts. The administration's Ocean Climate Action Plan, the protection of special places (on land and in the ocean), and increasing access to nature are positive steps towards mitigating the ecological damage we have inflicted upon the planet.
However, the Biden Administration’s continuing approval of fossil fuel infrastructure and subsidies threatens any progress from these efforts. This back and forth can feel a bit like a yo-yo and requires that we acknowledge and hold space for the frustrating duality of federal ocean and climate governance. Approving projects such as new offshore oil and gas leases, the Willow project in the Alaskan Arctic, and Alaska LNG will saddle our children with a carbon bomb just as we come to grips with the reality that have less than a decade to reign in and slash greenhouse gas emissions to avert catastrophic climate instability. This poses the questions, how do we reconcile the good and the bad? Is the good outweighed by the bad, or does the bad negate the good things?
In all of this up and down, it is important to understand that you can feel both excitement and disappointment at the same time. Holding opposing, complicated feelings for the Biden Administration’s actions is valid. We can applaud the Biden Administration's positive efforts to encourage continued progress, while also calling them out for their reckless disregard around new fossil fuel infrastructure that move us further away from a just transition. As advocates and community members, we must hold the administration accountable for their actions and demand more significant efforts that increase conservation, preservation, and environmental justice.
In conclusion, as we celebrate Earth Month, we can celebrate progress while calling for the necessary transformative change. For government and corporations ultimately won’t be what saves us. It will be us, working together to co-create a new, just future for ourselves and future generations.
ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TODAY!
CALL ON BIDEN TO RETRACT HIS APPROVAL OF WILLOW!
CALL ON BIDEN TO BAN NEW OIL AND GAS LEASING ON FEDERAL LANDS!
CALL ON BIDEN TO DEVELOP A STRONG MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE ONLY MARINE MONUMENT IN THE U.S. ATLANTIC OCEAN!
PLEDGE TO TAKE OCEAN CLIMATE ACTION EVERY MONTH THIS YEAR!