In times of Covid-19 the Great American Outdoors provided a safe bipartisan setting for solace, recreation and physical distancing. Wilderness isn’t just there for natural relief, but it also serves as a cost-effective and powerful solution for storing atmospheric carbon. That’s why it is important to preserve land. The more land we protect, the better chances we have to return carbon to where it came from and keep it in the ground.
To prevent the worst consequences of climate change we must do more than reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We must stop the reliance on fossil fuels and protect what’s left of natural lands. We must support Earth’s natural ability to clean the air.
The Center for American Progress reports that in the United States alone, a football-field’s worth of land is lost every 30 seconds to human development. As a consequence of habitat destruction and overharvesting, over a million species are destined for extinction in the next few decades.
Replacing President Trump with President Biden is a dramatic U-turn from waging war on nature back towards life-sustaining practices. At this dramatic inflection point, the 2020 election was essentially a choice between a degenerate society or the formation of regenerative civilization. The regenerative revolution is rooted in deep respect for nature’s intelligence — in striking contrast to the dominating, extractive mentality of digging, drilling, fracking and fouling at the expense of all living beings. Restoring scientific integrity to the process of decarbonizing the power grid and protecting our water and air, President Biden confidently stepped into action with a progressive climate plan.
During his first two weeks in office, President Biden with the most diverse Cabinet ever to serve the country has delivered an impressive and record-breaking number of executive orders in favor of climate justice. The Biden-Harris administration rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement on Day One and Biden created a new position at the White House, appointing former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy as the first national climate adviser to lead the newly formed White House office of Domestic Climate Policy. He also appointed John Kerry who ushered in the 2015 Paris Agreement as secretary of state to be a top climate adviser.
The federal government can now again be seen as an ally, not the enemy, in dealing with the climate crisis. Fox News and the fossil fuel industry may see Biden’s “radical agenda” as “killing the American energy sector,” but the rest of us are looking ahead for sane, renewable energy solutions and new, good paying clean energy jobs with transition support for workers in the fossil fuel sector. It was no secret that the Trump administration collaborated with Big Oil. In contrast, Biden has effectively blocked new leases for oil and gas drilling on federal lands. The federal fuel leasing ban is estimated to reduce carbon emissions by 280 million tons per year–the equivalent to taking 60 million cars off the road for a year.
Biden’s historic nominee for Interior Secretary, Congresswoman Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) will be the first Native American to lead The U.S. Department of the Interior in managing public land and natural resources. Well known for her leadership in conservation and tribal justice activism, Haaland exclaims she’ll be “fierce for our planet.” Protected federal land could thus become part of the climate solution by supporting biodiversity and natural carbon sequestration.
Biden has already declared strong support for the global conservation effort known as “30 by 30” or “30×30” that calls for the protection of 30 percent of land and waters by 2030 to fight extinction and climate change. This translates into at least 440 million additional acres set aside for restoration of healthy terrestrial and marine ecosystems. This science-driven plan sets the stage for the United Nation Convention on Biological Diversity vision for 2050 of “Living in Harmony with Nature.”
It’s clear that caring for the environment is equal to caring for human health and economic prosperity. Despite this, The International Union for Conservation of Nature 2020 Protected Planet Report states that only 15 percent of Earth’s land surface is protected and just 7.6 percent of the world’s oceans. The Half Earth project of E. O. Wilson’s Biodiversity Foundation makes the bold claim that we must protect at least 50 percent of Earth’s land and sea by 2050 in order to ensure the long-term health and viability of our species.
Reversing the biodiversity crisis by declaring wildlife sanctuaries enhances ecosystem health and resilience, enabling the ground to more efficiently capture and store more carbon. Back to nature isn’t just a romantic notion, but our best hope to support life as we know it.
We can all play a role in protecting life on Earth. Make sure your elected officials know about and support 30×30, with a 50×50 vision.
You can take the Half-Earth Pledge here
