Department of the Interior

Peter Dykstra: Revisiting ghosts of the Interior's past

Remembering some villains, and a hero to many, at the helm of the U.S. Interior Department.

I'm almost certain that Bruce Babbitt is the only Interior Secretary—past, present or future—to appear on Saturday Night Live.

He appeared in a skit to drop a little self-deprecating humor on his brief 1988 presidential campaign. Prior to his 1993 to 2001 stint as Bill Clinton's Interior boss, he served as Arizona Governor and Chair of the National Governors Association.

After the Department of the Interior work, he joined a private law firm, arguing both for and against environmental activists in various water rights and land development cases. Babbitt also chaired the League of Conservation Voters and served as a Trustee of the World Wildlife Fund's U.S. chapter.

In 1999, Babbitt was investigated for allegedly killing a proposal by three Indian tribes to build a casino near Minnesota's Twin Cities, favoring some better-heeled tribes in the process. A grand jury failed to indict in what a vaguely racist press called "Wampumgate."

The Top Scout

Ryan Zinke

Credit: Ryan Zinke/Twitter

What made Ryan Zinke memorable for me in his less than two years as Donald Trump's scandal-plagued Interior Secretary? This bizarre photoshoot with Zinke in an Eagle Scout costume. Zinke, a real-life Eagle Scout back in the day, was only too happy to don the threads as a backdrop for Trump's visit to the 2017 National Scout Jamboree.

In the meantime, Zinke labored to open up public lands to oil and gas drilling and gin up sweetheart deals for cronies in his native Montana. Trump cut him loose at the start of his third year, elevating his #2, David Bernhardt, to the (interim) top job. Bernhardt, a veteran oil, coal and gas lobbyist, retained Zinke's policies but at least kept his big boy pants on.

As Zinke decamped, the Center for Biological Diversity called him the worst Interior Secretary in American history.

Well…maybe. Or maybe one of the Top Three.

God loves oil 

I'm old enough to remember James Gaius Watt, who served from Ronald Reagan's 1981 inauguration to Watt's 1983 political self-immolation. Watt was a devoutly religious man whose spirituality drove his political ideology. He was offended that the bison symbol of the Department faced to the left, so he turned it around.

Watt felt it was destiny that the U.S. was entitled to every drop of oil it could find. He plotted to sell drilling rights to the entire coastal shelf, oil or no known oil.

But knuckleheaded policy wasn't Watt's downfall. Knuckleheaded statements were. He canceled a July 4 concert on the Washington Mall featuring the squeaky-clean Beach Boys, not knowing that First Lady Nancy Reagan was part of "the wrong element" they'd attract.

The final straw came in September '83, when he let loose an unfunny joke about diversity on a coal leasing advisory panel: "I have a Black, a woman, two Jews and a cripple. And we have talent."

Wah? Watt was quickly swapped out for Judge William Clark, a man given to Watt's rapacious policies but not his cringeworthy "jokes."

Oil bribes and the Fall guy 

I'm not old enough to remember Albert B. Fall, nominated by President Warren G. Harding a century ago. When New Mexico achieved statehood in 1912, Fall was one of its first two elected Senators.

In 1921, DOI's domain grew when Harding gave Fall oversight on the Naval Petroleum Reserve sites in California and at Teapot Dome, Wyoming. Fall awarded leases to oilman Edward Doheny, but was accused of taking $386,000 in bribes. Doheny was never convicted, but Fall spent a year in jail.

Can you say "Fall Guy?"

Peter Dykstra is our weekend editor and columnist and can be reached at pdykstra@ehn.org or @pdykstra.

His views do not necessarily represent those of Environmental Health News, The Daily Climate, or publisher Environmental Health Sciences.

Banner photo: Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in 2019. (Credit: Gage Skidmore/flickr)

Polluting smoke billows from smokestacks of a power plant.
Credit: Photo by Hanlin Sun on Unsplash

Local communities push back against hidden pollution from fossil fuel and AI sectors

As the Trump administration slashes environmental oversight, local groups are battling state laws and tech industry deals that hide pollution data and energy demands.

Sharon Kelly reports for DeSmog.

Keep reading...Show less
A neighborhood lies in charred rubble after a fire burned it.
Credit: Leonard Zhukovsky/BigStock Photo ID: 39217630

A broken system keeps stalling U.S. climate action

The U.S. keeps recognizing the climate crisis but can't seem to commit to a plan that survives the next election.

Zack Colman, Benjamin Storrow, and Annie Snider report for Politico.

Keep reading...Show less
EV charging with wind turbines silhouetted in background against an evening sky.
Credit: Es sarawuth/BigStock Photo ID: 478376029

Trump administration blocks California’s plan to ban gas-powered car

In a move sure to inflame environmental tensions, Donald Trump has blocked California’s landmark plan to ban gas-powered car sales by 2035, setting up a legal clash over the state’s authority to fight air pollution.

The Guardian reports.

Keep reading...Show less
Home damaged by a hurricane.

Trump announces plan to begin shutting down FEMA after hurricane season

President Trump announced plans to begin shutting down the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after the 2025 hurricane season, raising concerns about how states will cope with mounting disaster costs.

Gabriela Aoun Angueira reports for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
Woman in business attire standing on stairs in front of a building with a box of personal items next to her.

Trump administration fires climate.gov team, leaving federal climate science site in limbo

A key federal climate education website may soon cease operations after the Trump administration terminated nearly all of its staff, raising fears the site could be shut down or repurposed.

Eric Holthaus reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
Smokestack with smoke emitting from it.
Credit: TF3000/Pixabay

EPA claims power plant emissions aren’t harmful, contradicting climate science

A new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposal dismisses the climate dangers of carbon emissions from power plants, drawing sharp criticism from scientists who say the claim defies decades of evidence.

Seth Borenstein reports for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
Group of people in a city conference room shaking hands.

Trump allies pressure Europe to weaken corporate climate rules

A coordinated U.S. campaign led by MAGA-aligned groups and officials is pressuring the European Union to roll back climate and human rights regulations targeting large corporations.

Sam Bright reports for DeSmog.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.