President
Joe Biden unveiled his new strategy to protect the environment, putting a
sharp focus on helping polluted communities.
In the
most ambitious U.S. effort to stave off the worst effects of climate change,
Biden issued executive orders Wednesday to cut oil, gas and coal emissions
and double energy production from offshore wind turbines.
The
orders target federal subsidies for oil and other fossil fuels and halt new oil
and gas leases on federal lands and waters. They also aim to conserve 30% of the country’s lands and ocean waters in the next 10 years and move to an
all-electric federal vehicle fleet.
Biden’s
sweeping plan is aimed at slowing human-caused global warming, but it also
carries political risk for the president and Democrats as oil- and
coal-producing states face job losses from moves to sharply increase U.S.
reliance on clean energy such as wind and solar power.
In a
change from previous administrations of both parties, Biden also is directing
agencies to focus help and investment on the low-income and minority
communities that live closest to polluting refineries and other hazards, and
the oil- and coal-patch towns that face job losses as the U.S. moves to sharply
increase its reliance on wind, solar and other energy sources that do not emit
climate-warming greenhouse gases.
Environmentalists
on Long Island are calling it a “a breath of fresh air.”
Leigh-Ann
Barde, of Central Islip, spoke with News 12 Wednesday saying that a waste
transfer station planned to be rebuilt in Brentwood is not wanted by the
community, especially after the illegal dumping scandal that kept Roberto
Clemente Park closed for years.
"Brentwood
is basically a microcosm of what the president is talking about - communities
that are continually dumped on with pollution. And he's calling for that
to...stop," she said.
“To have an environmental justice component to our policies now is the right thing to do - and it allows for all voices to be heard equally and fairly,” said Adrienne Esposito, of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment.
The Long Island Association also weighed in on the president's environmental agenda, saying it supports efforts to create thousands of green jobs and ban gas exploration off the coast of Long Island.
AP Wire Services were used in this report.