|
The Biden administration just announced it will launch a new review of oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, after suspending the leases earlier this year. The leases were issued under former president Donald Trump, and were the first ever to be offered in the Arctic refuge. The area is home to endangered polar bears, as well as the Porcupine caribou herd, whose calving grounds were included in the sale. Alaska’s Gwichʼin people, who depend on the caribou for subsistence, decried the move.
The Trump administration pushed the lease sale through anyway, completing a rushed environmental analysis on the 1.1 million acre area and holding the lease sale just two weeks before he left office. The Biden administration has previously raised concerns about the legality of the sale, and, in a notice published yesterday, the Interior Department said it will carry out a comprehensive review of the sale’s environmental impacts. The analysis could result in additional restrictions on drilling in the refuge or nullify the leases altogether, Politico reported.
That’s good news, given that drilling in the Arctic refuge is both destructive and unlikely to be successful. An oil project started under Trump in the nearby National Petroleum Reserve is facing issues due to warming permafrost, and thawing permafrost is also threatening Alaska’s largest oil pipeline.
Clearly, drilling in the Arctic refuge is not worth the costs.
Podcast: Legendary public lands photographer Bob Wick, Pt. II
Bureau of Land Management wilderness specialist Bob Wick has taken some of the most iconic outdoor photos of the last 30 years. In the second part of his "exit interview" with CWP's podcast, The Landscape, Bob shares the secrets behind his incredible photography. You can also watch this episode, complete with photos, on YouTube or Facebook.
|
They are drilling like crazy in the basin where the governor’s office has been claiming things would be at a standstill.”
