This is the fifth installment in our “Cost of Ignorance” series: a set of campaigns that highlight how the Trump administration is jeopardizing our future, and encourage more people to speak out.

This week, we’re focusing on the Department of the Interior, which is opening up coastal waters to oil and gas drilling, canceling major clean energy projects without explanation, and proposing damaging revisions to Endangered Species Act regulations.

The Department of the Interior has been busy, and not in a good way.

They’ve introduced stricter requirements for clean energy projects, canceled the largest solar project in North America, and announced plans to open up part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and over a billion acres of U.S. waters to oil and gas drilling.

All that in just three months.

They’re not making any effort to hide their complete allegiance to the fossil fuel industry or complete disregard for the natural wonders the department is supposed to protect—and with the Endangered Species Act on the chopping block, it’s clear that they’re not planning to reverse course any time soon.

Here’s the situation.

Earlier this month, the Interior Department announced four revisions to existing Endangered Species Act regulations. These changes would largely re-establish the framework adopted during Trump’s first presidency, aiming to reduce “regulatory overreach” and bolster energy independence, i.e., energy dependence on the fossil fuel industry.

Here’s exactly what they’re proposing:

• Introducing economic considerations to listing, delisting, and critical habitat determinations. This change would make commercial data a key consideration in listing and habitat decisions, giving the Trump administration the power to walk back or avoid establishing protections if the economic harms outweigh the ecological benefits.

• Removing blanket protections for threatened species. Currently, the Endangered Species Act prohibits, by default, killing, harming, trapping, or trading any threatened species. This change would remove these basic protections, instead requiring agencies to develop specific rules for every threatened species they want to protect.

• Narrowing the definition of “critical habitat”. This change would exclude currently unoccupied historic habitat from protection, making it harder to safeguard lands that could support species survival, recovery, and longevity.

• Requiring fewer consultations with expert wildlife agencies in the federal decision-making process. To minimize harm to species and their habitats, federal agencies must consult with expert wildlife agencies before approving projects. This proposed rule would limit the scope of these consultations, allowing mining, logging, and other development projects to proceed before their impacts have been fully assessed.

Implementing any of these rules would be a massive mistake. Implementing them all together?

Completely devastating.

There’s a reason why the Endangered Species Act is hailed as a landmark law and supported by more than 4 in 5 Americans. In its more than 50-year tenure, it has helped safeguard beloved species and preserve critical habitat. It’s the reason why 99% of listed species are still with us today, and why a number of threatened species remain much closer to recovery than the brink of endangerment.

Of course, the Trump administration doesn’t care about that—and there’s every likelihood they choose to see these changes through.

But that won’t stop us from doing everything we can to prevent that outcome.

The Endangered Species Act is more than just a landmark conservation law. It’s an acknowledgement of our impact on the world around us and our duty to protect it. A recognition of how all species contribute to the health of our ecosystems and communities, from the tiniest insect to the most charismatic megafauna.

Join us as we fight to preserve this landmark law and challenge everything the Interior Department is doing to jeopardize our collective future!