“No more drilling on federal lands, period. Period, period, period.”

That was one of President Joe Biden’s much-publicized campaign pledges before he was voted into office. But although he’s been hailed as the nation’s first ‘climate president,’ I believe that Biden’s recent actions call that title into question. 

The most striking example of Biden’s confounding actions related to the world’s climate crisis occurred in mid-March, when his administration approved the massive, decades-long Willow oil drilling venture in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, an area owned by the U.S. government which is about 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle. According to the Biden administration’s own estimates, the sprawling project could produce close to 600 million barrels of crude oil over the next three decades — enough to release 9.2 million metric tons of carbon pollution a year. (That’s equivalent to adding about 2 million gas-powered cars to the roads.) Yes, America’s ‘climate president’ just approved one of the largest oil drilling projects in America in decades. How could that be? Perhaps a better question might be, how could we, as citizens, let that happen?

To be fair, when it comes to environmental policies, President Biden has made significant progress. One example: In 2022, the World Resources Institute gave the president an overall A-minus “climate grade” (a much higher grade than his predecessor, President Donald Trump, who the organization accuses of taking a “sledgehammer” to U.S. climate action). The organization, along with many other groups that track environmental policy, have praised the president for signing the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which will help slash Americans’ energy costs and invest billions of dollars in disadvantaged communities, prioritizing projects that repurpose retired fossil fuel infrastructure and create jobs for displaced workers. The IRA has been heralded by many as the biggest step that Congress has ever taken to address global warming. And thanks to progress made in 2022, The World Resource Institute predicts that Biden’s national goal to reduce emissions by about 50% from 2005 levels by the year 2030 remains within reach. Another bright spot: Under Biden’s urging, 150 countries throughout the world signed a pledge at the United Stations Climate Summit to reduce total methane emissions by 30 percent or more by the year 2030. As an environmental studies student, I certainly viewed these actions in a positive light. Finally, I thought, we’ve got a leader who understands that climate change is the greatest threat to the planet.

But as it takes steps forward on policies to protect the environment, I believe the Biden administration has taken some significant steps backward, too. The Willow project, while a devastating blow to environmental causes, was not the first drilling project Biden has given the go-ahead to. Data released in 2022 by the Center for Biological Diversity reveals that the Biden administration approved more than 3,500 permits for oil and gas drilling on public lands in 2021, significantly more than the Trump administration’s first-year total of 2,548. Taylor McKinnon, senior advocate for the Center, called Biden’s drilling approvals “a spectacular failure of climate leadership” and accused Biden of “running in the opposite direction” from ending new fossil fuel extraction and steering clear of catastrophic climate change.

So, how to explain Biden’s actions toward environment policy? Simply put, it’s complicated. Many of the previous oil projects that Biden approved were done under the threats of court orders or congressional mandates. And while Biden wasn’t technically forced to sign off on the Willow project, he was under intense pressure from lawmakers (including members of his own party) in Alaska to do so, while also facing a looming election year and a global energy crisis. With many Alaskans supporting the drilling plan (with its promise to generate 2,500 jobs and millions in revenue) and voters complaining loudly about shortages and increased prices in oil, gas and electricity markets, the Biden Administration certainly felt pressure to weigh those constituents’ needs against voters who urged for increased environmental protections. As gas prices spiked last June, even some people who I knew to be environmentalists grumbled about the costs of filling up at the pump. But the biggest pressure to support the Willow project came from ConocoPhillips, the company that has held leases to the drilling site for more than 20 years and threatened to sue the government it it failed to issue drilling permits — an action that might have cost U.S. taxpayers as much as $5 billion, according to some predictions.

In the end, it appears that Biden’s decision to support the Willow project came down to economics: In my view, he chose to put a Band-Aid on a temporary problem — rising energy costs and a lack of jobs and property among Alaskans — instead of playing the long game and betting on environmental-friendly policies that would protect our planet for years to come. Many experts agree that the latter strategy would also increase Americans’ prosperity in the long run, too, making Biden’s decision on Willow seem even more short-sighted.

But the president isn’t the only one to blame for green-lighting the controversial drilling plan, which some environmental groups warn could devastate migratory birds, caribou, whales and other animals that inhabit the region. As citizens of the U.S., I think that too many of us also have a knee-jerk reaction to short-term problems, so much so that we, too, forget the long game. When our gas prices inch up, President Biden’s approval ratings go down, and our elected leaders pivot their platforms to address temporary economic woes rather than more critical, long-term issues like the health of our planet.

If Americans are not steadfastly focused on the long game, why should we expect Biden — or any of our elected officials, for that matter — to maintain that focus? Too often, we urge our country’s leaders to find a quick fix for whatever problem is ailing us today rather than commit to building a sustainable tomorrow. Most of us have resorted to this kind of thinking at one time or another — myself included.

Yes, the Biden administration did the wrong thing by moving forward with the Willow project. But until we shift our collective mindset, I don’t think we should expect our government officials to be consistent in their policies to safeguard our environment. As U.S. citizens, I believe we all have the responsibility to keep the long game in focus.