First Things to Fix - Early actions the Biden administration can take to restore critical environmental protections

Pollution of drinking water and the pollution of rivers, lakes and reservoirs consistently poll as the top environmental concerns for Americans in a series of Gallup polls.29 According to the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, 92 percent of sportsmen nationwide want the federal government to strengthen or maintain current standards for the Clean Water Act.30 3. [...] Coastal zones have lost thousands of acres of critical natural areas.41 From 2007 through 2017, oil production on public lands increased by 60 percent.42 Recent federal actions have eroded protections for natural lands and ocean waters.43 From the grizzly on the ridgeline to the bee in the meadow, from the wolf in the forest to the butterfly in our backyard, America’s wildlife is on the decline. [...] waters to offshore drilling, representing a drastic expansion of drilling expansion of future oil and gas leasing to the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans, as well as off Florida’s Gulf Coast.44 According to a survey conducted by the Program for Public Consultation at the University of Maryland, more than half of voters opposed the plans by the Trump administration to expand offshore oil and gas. [...] According to Gallop, as of 2018, 63 percent of Americans preferred conservation versus more production when it comes to how we approach our energy problems.50 12 First Things to Fix Additional environmental policies to prioritize in the early days of the administration The following is a list of an additional fifteen environmental protections that the Biden administration should implement in the e. [...] Tucked into the bill was a provision that requires the Department of the Interior to offer at least two lease sales for oil and gas development by 2027 in the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge, reversing decades of protection with the stroke of a pen.77 Drilling for oil in the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge would result in thousands of miles of pipelines, roads and gravel pits, and consume ma.