** Biden revokes drilling permits issued without approval
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Monday, February 1, 2021
Oil drilling in Wyoming, Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])

On Friday, the Biden administration revoked ([link removed]) around 70 oil and gas drilling permits issued by agency workers despite an order requiring appointee review. On day one, President Biden signed an executive order elevating the review of all permitting activities to top agency officials. However, dozens of permits were still issued by Bureau of Land Management offices across the country in the early weeks of the administration, and those permits are now invalid and must be resubmitted for appropriate review.

While the Biden administration has approved some oil and gas permits, the enhanced review process is one of the steps it is taking to assess the state of the broken oil and gas leasing system. Over the past four years, Trump's Interior Department did everything in their power to expand drilling ([link removed]) , disregarding impacts on public health, clean air and water, wildlife, and fair return to taxpayers. Charles Wilkinson, professor at the University of Colorado Law School, summarized ([link removed]) Trump administration's legacy as “the most extractive ever and the furthest from where public opinion rests... It will go down as the worst administration ever on the public lands.”

On the other hand, Biden's action on climate and efforts to hold industry accountable are popular. Polling shows ([link removed]) that Biden's initial executive orders, including those issued on "climate day" last week, are supported by the majority of the public.
Quick hits


** New study: A zero-emissions US is now pretty cheap
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ArsTechnica ([link removed])


** How environmentalism can center racial justice in 2021
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Outside Magazine ([link removed]) | NPR ([link removed])


** Opinion: A mountain-town view of why Biden’s oil and gas moratorium is good news for Colorado
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])


** Native Alaskan company involved in controversial carbon offsets project to quit logging
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Earth Island Journal ([link removed]) | KCAW ([link removed])


** Biden revokes oil drilling permits for additional review
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Bloomberg ([link removed])


** Biden's climate executive orders are underway, popular
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Time ([link removed]) | FiveThirtyEight ([link removed]) | New Yorker ([link removed]) (Opinion)


** With 287 staffers gone, should Biden return BLM to D.C.?
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Infographic: A patchwork of lands fragments wildlife migration
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High Country News ([link removed])
Quote of the day
The leadership losses at BLM are staggering. I sincerely hope the agency can get some of these people back who are committed to sustaining our public lands for everyone's benefit.”
—Steve Ellis, a former BLM deputy director, E&E News ([link removed])
Picture this


** @Interior ([link removed])
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The day's last light drapes across the snow covered landscape @GrandCanyonNPS ([link removed]) -- illuminating only the topmost buttes and cliffs #Arizona ([link removed])

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