It is an exhaustive chronicle of the actions that Trump’s corporate flunkies at Interior, led by Zinke, have taken to intentionally destroy or sell off our natural environment over the past two years. The report shows that the installation of Zinke has already resulted in far-reaching and potentially irreparable harm to our public lands, for the singular purpose of engorging the corporate profits of oil and gas drilling companies and their top executives, who are now afforded an unprecedented opportunity to profit handsomely from the plundering of our nation’s national resources. As the report describes it, the pillaging that is taking place right now by these companies—without any input by the public and scant evidence that they will actually serve the public interest--- will have far-reaching, long-term health and environmental consequences for all of us.
The report is divided up into four major sections, each detailing a specific pattern of systematic abuse at Interior. These include the suppression of science-based research that traditionally underlies the Department’s activities (such as eliminating studies to determine the health impact of mountaintop coal removal, or to assess the safety of offshore drilling rigs), the silencing and intimidation of thousands agency scientists and staff (of whom Clement is an example), the unchecked and eager sale of public lands to satisfy corporate demands, and the deliberate failure to act on or plan for the effects of climate change to the country’s resources and environment.
