Climate Change: Under the Biden Administration

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Maggie Razo

This once living tree is now burnt and dead due to a raging fire.

If you have been anywhere besides under a rock during the past 60 years, you are probably aware of our warming climate and dying earth. Climate change is the biggest threat humanity has faced thus far. It is immensely important now more than ever that our politicians take action against big corporations polluting and destroying our earth.

One person, in particular, is in the hot seat right now––President Joe Biden did a lot of climate change advocating along the campaign trail, but is he all talk?

I’m here to break down what president Biden has done for climate change in his first three months in office so you don’t have to.

According to conservationco.org, Joe Biden has made huge steps starting on his first day in office. In just his first 24 hours as president, Biden did the following:

Re-joined the Paris climate agreement, halted the Keystone XL pipeline, paused oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and directed federal agencies to review all new and proposed regulations that passed in the final days of the last administration, including federal fuel economy standards for cars and trucks.

Let me explain what all that means. The Paris Climate Agreement is essentially the United Nations and various countries around the world saying we are going to lay a framework on combating climate change. The Keystone Pipeline is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States. If the pipeline were built, it would destroy habitats that many species rely on. Pausing the oil and gas leasing in the arctic would save hundreds of species and the beautiful place they call home.

Biden is not only enacting new policy, but he is also doing away with all of the former president Trump’s environmental rollbacks. Trump recklessly repealed and weakened 125 environmental regulations such as protections for endangered species and environmental risk assessments for infrastructure. Not only that but he also opened protected wilderness areas for fossil fuel development and logging.

In the words of Barry Rabe, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan who studies environmental policy “It could actually take much of an entire term in office to reverse that reversal.” Biden is up against two big tasks, as of now I would say he’s doing a pretty good job.