The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
April 24, 2023

Biden Establishes White House Office of Environmental Justice
-------------------------------------------------------------

President Biden has signed an executive order establishing an Office of
Environmental Justice within the White House. Biden unveiled his plan at
a ceremony in the Rose Garden Friday.

President Joe Biden: "Environmental justice will be the mission of the
entire government, woven directly into how we work with state, local,
tribal and territorial governments. This is an order that directs the
federal agencies to address gaps in science and technology. For example,
there's a lot we still don't know about the quality of people's
wastewater or the air they're breathing."

Environmental groups welcomed the announcement but cautioned that Biden
remains a major supporter of fossil fuels, having approved drilling
projects on federal land faster than Trump did during his first two
years in office. The Center for Biological Diversity said in a
statement, "If the president wants to distinguish himself from oily
Republicans, let's see him reverse the Willow project, stop approving
massive Gulf drilling and gas exports, and phase down public lands
drilling."


.