A few days ago, the Trump Administration’s Endangered Species Committee came together for the first time in 34 years to vote on whether to exempt oil and gas companies in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The vote, which was unfortunately unanimous, was triggered when Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to call it. Hegseth was present at the meeting and claimed that the vote was necessary “for national security reasons”.
Hegseth, the living answer to the question “what if Ken from Barbie was a real boy but lacked the himbo charm of Ryan Gosling?”, spoke at the meeting before the vote, claiming that he asked for the exemption because the war on Iran has resulted in rising energy prices and dwindling supplies. He claimed that “to be secure as a nation we need a steady, affordable supply of our own energy …” and energy companies are hampered by rules and regulations. In order to remove those rules and regulations for oil and gas companies, the Endangered Species Committee needed to meet and call a vote.
The Endangered Species Committee, also known as the God Squad or Extinction Committee, was founded in 1978, five years after the ESA was signed into law. There are seven voting members on the committee: the Secretary of the Interior (which acts as the Chair), the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Army, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), one individual appointed by the President, and a representative from the affected state. This recent meeting was the third such one since its founding, with the other two offering an exemption to a dam in Wyoming that would impact the whooping crane and another exemption that allowed logging in Oregon that affected northern spotted owls. The logging exemption was later withdrawn.
Before this exemption and as a part of protecting endangered species in the Gulf of Mexico under the ESA, energy companies had been asked by federal agencies to do things like not discarding trash into the Gulf, suspending the use of loud technology when they spot whales, or slowing down when whales or other species are spotted in the area. Noise pollution in the ocean is a huge issue in the Gulf and in many oceans and marine areas; the near constant noise that come from energy companies looking for oil and gas in the ocean has a negative impact on whales and other species. The Rice’s Whale, one of the endangered species that will be affected by this decision, communicates through unique vocalizations and calls that can be drowned out by oil company machinery. These whales, which were only recently classified as their own species, are also vulnerable to vessel strikes, climate change, and oil spills, three things that will likely increase with this exemption.
After all, this is the same body of water that was home to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010, which resulted in 200 million gallons of oil being spilled and eleven people dying. And just weeks before this meeting, another spill in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in oil spreading across 373 miles and seeping into seven nature reserves in the area. The same companies that lobbying groups want us to believe have the environment in mind are the exact same companies responsible for multiple catastrophic oil spills that have resulted in massive pollution, countless deaths, and irrefutable damage to sensitive ecosystems. It’s difficult to take energy companies at their word when they have long fought accountability, shaped urban design and political policy in their favor, and spent a lot of time and resources disseminating climate change denial.
Rising energy costs have had detrimental effects on the average American; anyone with a car can speak to how astronomical the prices have gotten recently. But to remove environmental protections meant to keep endangered species safe will have a far greater impact on Americans, the country, and the planet. The aforementioned oil spill from just last month has directly impacted fishermen in Central and South America during one of the busiest times of year, resulting in lost wages for many. Other historic oil spills have also resulted in billions in clean up and have cost hundreds of millions in economic harm. The claims of national security that Hegseth, who is less fit to run the Department of Defense than Cap’n Crunch, recently touted fail to account for the affect that climate change has on national security. There is a complicated relationship between climate and security but there are many experts who agree that climate change does, at least indirectly, contribute to increased conflict.
What can we do?
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and defeated in the face of constant bad news and terrible policies. But ‘flooding the zone’ has long been a Trump administration strategy and as someone who often runs off of spite, knowing that doing nothing because of overwhelming despair would just play into this tactic is often enough motivation. So what can we do?
Support local businesses, communities, and organizations.
The economic model that oil and gas companies thrive on is fueled by (pun intended) the myth of individualism and fractured neighborhoods. Our car-centric urban planning and lack of mixed-use areas in neighborhoods in the United States is proof of that. Without decent public transit and walkable neighborhoods filled with housing, stores, and parks, we have to drive more and thus, spend more at the gas pump. And that also applies to the businesses we support as well. When we support local and nearby businesses, we can also drive less and keep more of our money in our communities! Plus, by buying from local farms whenever possible, our food is fresher and uses fewer fossil fuels to get to us.
This also means supporting environmental organizations through donating and/or volunteering. I, for example, am participating in an upcoming fundraiser that will benefit the work that the Whatcom Humane Society does, including the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. The center sees thousands of wild animals affected by humans – whether it be being hit by a car, accidently poisoned by lead hunting bullets, or caught in fencing. And the center has been partnering with Whatcom Million Trees, another great organization, to plant native trees in one of the unused pastures on the center’s property! There are so many other groups and nonprofits doing environmental work around the Pacific Northwest and around the world that you could join or support.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Upcycle
Unfortunately, saving the world isn’t always exciting or sexy. Sometimes, it’s simply doing a bunch of small things that will eventually make a difference. A few years ago, the Zero Waste movement seemed to be having a moment, with influencers and companies trying hard to sell people on expensive and somewhat unnecessary items in the name of “saving the planet”. The truth is that sustainability doesn’t need to be perfect or fit into a beautiful aesthetic in order to work. Sometimes, it’s just using old pasta sauce jars as reusable containers, patching holes in clothes to make them last longer, and repairing technology when it breaks instead of constantly buying the new model.
Featured photo: Blue Heron standing on railing in front of Intracoastal Waterway in Pass-A-Grille South Beach, Florida By PaulMassiePhoto
