Biden protects US forests

The Democrat has often advocated for environmental protection and US leadership in the fight against global warming.

Amidst tall trees and spring blossoms, signed an executive order recognising the value of America’s old-growth forests in reducing climate change, but also their fragility in an era of increasingly catastrophic wildfires across the West.

In the order, Biden instructed federal land managers to survey all mature forests within a year and identify hazards to the trees, including fires.

“We have to move quickly and with this executive order on Earth Day we’re also showing this moment of maximum threat and urgency can also be a moment of enormous hope,” Biden said.

Considering how much of the US’s original forest has been cleared, Biden proposed that Washington help save Brazil’s Amazon jungle, which is under constant threat from miners, loggers, and farmers.

“We should be paying the Brazilians not to cut down their forest,” he added.

“You know, our forests are our planet’s lungs. They literally are recycling and cycling the CO2 out of the atmosphere.“

The White House calls mature and old-growth woodlands on federal lands “critical carbon sinks” because they absorb carbon dioxide equivalent to over 10% of yearly US greenhouse gas emissions.

Electric or fossil fuels?

Throughout his presidency, Biden has set ambitious environmental goals, beginning with promptly withdrawing the US from the Paris climate agreements.

However, with a shaky majority in Congress, Biden has seen significant environmental policy measures collapse.

In several cases, Biden has used executive orders, which are not subject to congressional approval but can be rescinded by the future president.

It also reinstated Trump-weakened environmental regulations, such as a requirement to study the climate consequences of infrastructure projects.

This will be important in the flood of public works planned around the country under the White House’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

The law provides billions of dollars to develop public transportation, such as rail. Promoting solar panels and electric vehicle charging networks are also funded.

However, the Senate rejected a second budget plan that included $555 billion for clean energy development.

That loss threw a shadow over the administration’s loftiest aspirations of achieving net-zero US emissions by 2050 and a 100% renewable energy grid by 2035.

In addition to Republican congressional opposition to his ideas and dissent from certain party members, Biden faces the political realities of inflation, aggravated by Russia’s Ukraine war.

Petrol prices have become a big electoral risk for Democrats in November’s midterm congressional elections.

By releasing a million barrels of oil per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for six months, eliminating ethanol-based fuel restrictions, and reopening federal lands for oil and gas exploration, Biden has run the risk of offending environmentalists.

In green Seattle, Biden said development away from fossil fuels is unstoppable.

“Last year, with all the disappointments we faced, the United States deployed the most solar, wind and battery storage in American history and we made record-setting investments in clean energy in rural America.” he said.

Biden said he was a car buff and that his 1968 Corvette “does nothing but pollute the air.”

“I did suggest that if I’m out of office and they had the first electric Corvette I’d want to buy it.”

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