WildEarth Guardians: Senate Confirmation of Interior Secretary Zinke Is Climate Disaster

DENVER, March 1 -- WildEarth Guardians issued the following statement by Executive Director John Horning on the Senate vote to approve the nomination of Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke to lead the Interior Department:

Today the U.S. Senate voted to approve the nomination of Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke to lead the Interior Department. In response, WildEarth Guardians' Executive Director John Horning issued the following statement:

"Today's U.S. Senate vote confirming Congressman Zinke as our nation's Interior Secretary is an unmitigated climate disaster. At a time when our nation needs bold climate leadership and a vision for keeping fossil fuels in the ground, we instead have someone whose head is in the sand about the real causes and devastating consequences of the climate crisis.

"Our country desperately needs an Interior Secretary who recognizes that the warming climate presents the single gravest threat to our parks, forests, rivers and wildlife. He must grasp the critical need to advance clean energy solutions and confront our addiction to fossil fuels by establishing supply-side and demand-side energy policies on our public lands that mitigate and adapt to a warming world.

"At a time when the climate crisis threatens to destroy or irreparably damage our National Parks' and public lands' iconic glaciers, waterways and landscapes it is critical for Secretary Zinke to do everything in his power to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

"Thus today WildEarth Guardians is renewing our "Not one ounce, Not one acre" pledge by committing to prevent the sale by Secretary Zinke of new coal, oil and gas reserves that underlie America's public lands. We will be resisting Secretary Zinke's efforts to sell off the shared birthright that is our nation's public lands to the billionaire tycoons that run the oil, gas and coal companies that want to privatize profits while ruining our climate and lands.

"We are similarly concerned about the Trump Administration's proposal to privatize tribal oil, gas and coal resources by giving greater discretion to the fossil fuel industry. We respect tribal sovereignty on these matters and we will align with Indigenous communities in fighting any efforts by Secretary Zinke that would harm tribe's land, air and water.

"Moving forward WildEarth Guardians is also prepared to resist any efforts by Secretary Zinke to weaken the Endangered Species Act and further undermine protections for our nation's imperiled plants and animals. We will hold Secretary Zinke accountable to the laws of our land and to the will of the American people who treasure our lands and wildlife as a unique birthright."

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