The Trump administration is turning to the nuclear option on endangered species protections in the name of national security.
What is the 'God Squad'?
A rarely tapped panel nicknamed the 'God Squad' will meet Tuesday to discuss whether overriding Endangered Species Act regulations for all federally regulated fossil fuel operations in the Gulf of Mexico is more important than preventing the extinction of several imperiled species, including sea turtles and a whale species down to its last 51 individuals.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced the upcoming Endangered Species Committee meeting last week, with no details on specific projects in the Gulf or the basis for what would constitute an extraordinary action. Only twice in the panel’s nearly half-century has it ever lifted restrictions.
Environmental Consequences
After the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block the meeting, the Trump administration told the court that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wanted all federal oil and gas activities in the Gulf exempted 'for reasons of national security'.
A federal judge declined Friday to block the meeting.
The situation puts the country in uncharted waters. No administration has ever before requested a national security exemption from endangered species protections.
Broader Context
As gas prices rise, the Trump administration announced on Wednesday that it will allow the use of higher corn-based ethanol blends in gasoline this summer.
Recently released data show how drought, paltry Western snows and unseasonable heat, all exacerbated by climate change, could be priming the nation for a long wildfire season.
As warning lights flash, U.N. Secretary Gen. António Guterres calls out a global climate emergency. 'Earth’s energy imbalance, the gap between heat absorbed and heat released, is the highest on record'.
Source / Reference: Inside Climate News