海角大神

Obama bans Arctic drilling. Will Trump let it stand?

The ban prohibits new exploration for oil and gas for the next five years, but President-elect Trump could take steps to reverse the decision.

The Obama administration on Friday blocked new exploration for oil and gas in聽Arctic聽waters, in a win for environmental groups that had fought development of the ecologically fragile region.

The Department of the Interior released a 2017 to 2022 leasing plan that blocked聽drilling聽in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off northern Alaska. It also limited petroleum development in the Cook Inlet off south-central Alaska.

Environmental activists have battled聽drilling聽in Alaska to protect whales, walruses, and seals, and as part of a broader movement to keep remaining fossil fuels in the ground.

The Interior Department said the plan was "balanced," and left 70 percent of economically recoverable oil and gas resources open to聽drilling, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico.

The plan focuses on the best areas "with the highest resource potential, lowest conflict and established infrastructure 鈥� and removes regions that are simply not right to lease," Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said.

Retired Major General Paul Eaton, managing director of the Vet Voice Foundation, hailed the move a victory, not only for the environment, but for US national security.

鈥淩emoving the Arctic Ocean from the five year plan is the right decision for our national security, for sensitive Arctic habitats and our climate," Mr. Eaton said in a statement provided to 海角大神. "It is increasingly clear that our energy landscape is changing- renewable energy is the future and we can bolster our nation's energy security without compromising the most sensitive landscapes. I applaud the Obama Administration and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell for making the right decision in taking the Arctic off the table.鈥�

Mr. Obama, who last year became the first sitting president to cross the聽Arctic聽Circle, has made fighting climate change and protecting the聽Arctic聽priorities in his administration.

But President-elect Donald Trump, a Republican who takes office on Jan. 20, 2017, has vowed to open resources to petroleum development and could take steps to reverse the decision.

Oil interests have pressured the administration to explore for energy in the聽Arctic. Jack Girard, the head of the American Petroleum Institute industry group, said the decision "puts the U.S. at a serious competitive disadvantage."

Russia and Norway have also explored the聽Arctic, though Exxon Mobil wound down聽drilling聽in the Russian north in 2014 due to US sanctions over Moscow's aggression in eastern Ukraine.

Fierce winds and frigid waters make the聽Arctic聽treacherous for聽drilling聽equipment. After spending billions of dollars to explore the Alaskan聽Arctic, Royal Dutch Shell retreated in 2015 after suffering a gash in one of its ships and environmentalists had uncovered details of an old law that forced the company to cut exploration there by half.

The when Shell was聽drilling聽off Alaska that it had been forced to divert resources, including a vessel that fought cocaine trafficking, to keep operations in the region safe.

Environmentalists applauded the new lease plan, which built on a similar decision in March when the government removed much of the Atlantic ocean from oil and gas leasing for five years.

鈥淲e applaud the Obama Administration for doing right by the聽Arctic聽and Atlantic for the next five years,鈥澛爏aid聽Rachel Richardson, director of Environment America鈥檚 Stop Drilling Program, in a statement provided to the Monitor. 鈥淎fter the hottest year on record, we can鈥檛 afford to keep drilling and burning fossil fuels.聽The only safe amount of drilling for our climate and communities is none at all 鈥� that is why President Obama should extend permanent protection for the Atlantic and聽Arctic聽oceans before leaving office.鈥�