Biden Admin Caves to Radical Environmentalists, Reverses Decision That Would Have Saved Lives
The Biden administration is succumbing to the pressure of radical environmentalists and making a decision that will have an adverse effect on the lives of many Americans.
According to Fox News, the Biden administration announced on Tuesday that it was backing out of a Trump-era land exchange deal that would facilitate the construction of a life-saving road in Alaska.
The road would cut through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge to connect the small town of King Cove in southwestern Alaska with an all-weather airport in Cold Bay, which would allow materials such as food and medical supplies to be transported to the mostly indigenous population of King Cove.
Under the Trump administration, the federal government reached an agreement with King Cove Corp. to swap land owned by the company with refuge land to construct the road.
The project is supported by Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, as well as leading Native American groups such as the National Congress of American Indians and the Alaska Federation of Natives.
However, despite all the definite benefits that the road would bring, and the support from lawmakers and tribal leaders, radical green nuts have been opposed to the project. They claim it would threaten the wilderness and wildlife in the refuge.
Now, the Biden administration has caved to the increasing pressure from the green activists.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said that there were procedural flaws in the agreement and that the administration would be conducting another environmental analysis of the situation.
In a statement, Haaland said, “I am a lifelong conservationist, and I believe deeply in the need to protect our lands and waters and honor our obligations to Tribal Nations. Respecting Tribal sovereignty means ensuring that we are listening — really listening — to Tribal communities.”
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Naturally, she and her department have received fierce criticism from many in Alaska who argue that the road is a life-saving necessity for the residents of King Cove.
In response to Haaland’s announcement, Dunleavy said, “The fact is her decision to halt the land swap increases the likelihood that a resident in King Cove won’t be able to receive life-saving medical treatment in time due to bad weather at the village’s airstrip.”
This is once again an example of radical environmentalists being so obsessed with protecting the environment that they forget to take other important things into consideration, such as how their policies will actually affect people.
This plan has almost universal support in Alaska, including from the Native American communities that the left always claims to care so much about. The Biden administration’s decision will also adversely affect the indigenous communities the most, as King Cove is largely composed of Native Americans.
Plus, it’s not as if this is a five-lane interstate freeway — it’s just a small, one-lane gravel road connecting the town to the airport. The environmental impact of this road would not be very significant.
Of course, we can easily find other examples of leftist environmentalist policies that have adversely affected people. Just look at alternative energy, which has proven time and again to be completely inefficient and unreliable.
There’s also the left’s promotion of electric vehicles, which have a lot of potential, but are unaffordable for most Americans and have several challenges to overcome before they can be considered a viable alternative to gas-powered vehicles.
In this case, the environment in Alaska may be protected, but it will come at the cost of not being able to provide necessities to people in an isolated part of the country.
The left and the environmentalists really need to stop and think about all the factors at issue when it comes to protecting the environment. Conservation is important, but even more so is saving lives.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
