1. United States
2. Md.
3. Letter

I am writing to strongly oppose the Executive Order (EO) 14154, titled "Unleashing American Energy," Keeping our natural environment intact provides economic and health benefits far more overreaching and necessary than the prioritization of natural gas and oil, and we urge you to protect and prioritize our limited resources. Many organisms have yet to be discovered and studied to fully understand not just their significance in our ecosystem, but to uncover potential advancements to improve our society. As a species, we rely on these natural systems for an extensive list of disciplines which include, but are not limited to: agriculture which relies on the population of pollinators, the development of life saving medications, biotechnology, geography, hydrology, education, environmental science, etc. Furthermore, for many citizens, nature provides us with leisure and relaxation, and we deserve a space for us to engage in activities that can improve our mental health, foster community, exercise, expand on our existing knowledge, and engage in cultural practices without the disturbance of drilling, which will no doubt alter the landscape in ways inreparable. Lastly but certainly not least, we want to bring your attention to the climate crisis. Our natural environment has evolved since before humanity with ways to provides us with free solutions to mitigate issues such as flooding, air pollution, heat island effects, and high winds. By disregarding the services trees, soil, plants, fungi, and other organisms give us, we forfeit cheap and free ways to sustain our people. If we continue to recklessly destroy the life we have been gifted with, we will inevitably become our own downfall as we do not have the means to withstand natural disasters. We live in an age where technology to harness energy through sustainable means exists and is improving exponentially. Oil will not last forever, no matter how hard we may try to extract every drop of it. But right now we have the opportunity to explore other avenues of growth by being stewards of our land, rather than destructors of it. We urge you to consider the future generations and acknowledge our concerns as valid by vetoing and opposing this proposal that is blatantly against the best interest of our planet at large.