"It has been a long, long time since environmentalists in the United States won so much in a single day. Even during the Obama Administration, when we made significant progress, congress held back many opportunities to solve climate change and at times even the executive branch was slow to act. The first time the Keystone XL pipeline was canceled, it was only the result of many grueling years of direct action campaigns. Incremental improvement to the Clean Power Plan came only after the tireless work of advocates, only to be caught up in legal battles and ultimately rendered null under the Trump Administration.
The Trump administration’s policies dealt environmental progress blow after blow, as everything from clean car initiatives to mercury protections to wildlife refuges came under fire. States, nonprofits, and regular citizens fought these rollbacks with energy and not infrequent success, but we can’t deny what these four years of struggle have taken from us. The past four years represent precious time we could have spent reducing emissions and that we’ll never get back. The oil is burned, and with it more planetary heating is now baked-in.
The executive orders are just a start to be sure – we need to go hard and fast on the policy front to prevent catastrophic climate change, but many signs in the new administration are pointing towards hope. Biden’s proposed COVID-relief programs would kick-start the economy by investing heavily in renewable energy, clean infrastructure, and emissions-reducing research and development. Now that Democrats also hold Congress, further climate bills are no longer outside the realm of possibility. Then there’s the environmental track records of Biden’s agency nominations, from Deb Haaland to Jennifer Granholm.
None of yesterday’s wins happened in a vacuum. They’re the result of years of fighting for the integrity of science, smart get-out-the-vote efforts, public pressure campaigns, and boots-on-the-ground protests. They prove that if people who care about protecting the planet speak out, we can win."
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