Trump administration faces overwhelming public opposition to weakening bedrock environmental law
Mar 19, 2020
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Backyard Problems
Extractive industries keep leaving toxic messes across the West. Will history continue to repeat itself? The Western United States has a long history of extractive industrial activity. Since the 1800s, westward colonization has both driven and relied upon the extraction of the West’s resources, from furs to timber to gold and other minerals. Extractive activity […]
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Learn More30×30 Fact vs. Fiction: Pulling back the curtain on misinformation
The Biden administration has established a goal to conserve 30% of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030 for the benefit of all Americans. This goal, known as “30×30,” has been recommended by scientists in order to prevent the collapse of the planet’s natural systems while supporting communities across the country. Although the 30×30 initiative has widespread support from elected leaders, scientists, and the public, a number of bad actors have worked to spread misinformation on the topic. It’s time to set the record straight. Let’s take a look at the established facts.
Learn MoreThe oil industry’s public lands stockpile
The Center for Western Priorities’ digital interactive report on the oil industry’s public lands stockpile examines the millions of acres of idle leases stockpiled by the oil and gas industry. The report maps out oil and gas leases and finds that the oil industry is currently sitting on 9.9 million acres of idle leases across ten Western states—47.4 percent of all leases in the region.
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The Center for Western Priorities‘ report on The Dismal Legacy of Trump’s ‘Energy Dominance’ Agenda shows how the Trump administration magnified pre-existing problems in the oil and gas system. Led by former oil lobbyist Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, the Trump administration took full advantage of an outdated legal system that benefits companies over taxpayers. The report offers suggestions for comprensively reforming the leasing system.
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In office, Interior Secretary David Berhard raced to enact the policy priorities of the oil, gas, and mining industries at the expense of vulnerable communities across the country. Such blatant favoritism required bending laws and ethics rules, all of which led to Bernhardt’s dismal record in the courts. As Bernhardt takes years of anti-conservation baggage and blatant contempt for Indigenous communities back to the private sector, the next administration will face the tall task of undoing the damage. Here’s a look inside Bernhardt’s destructive track record.
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In 2020, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt announced his department was formally removing the gray wolf from the endangered species list, opening the door for states to allow increased hunting and trapping. An analysis by the Center for Western Priorities found that the Trump administration ignored overwhelming public opposition in delisting the gray wolf.
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After a decade of racking up immense debt and rarely turning a profit, oil and gas corporations were briefly hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic and a global oil glut. Now, oil prices have rebounded. However, the Interior Department is bending over backwards to continue bailing out the industry—lowering royalty rates and granting lease suspensions, sidestepping their responsibility to provide taxpayers a fair return for publicly-owned oil and gas.
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