National Review
Disclaimer: This article may contain the personal views and opinions of the author.
Depending on which side of the climate situation you stand, you’ll view President Biden’s action as either “protecting” 16 million acres or “blocking” 16 million acres.
You’ll find headlines of either stance all over the internet following the announcement that his administration is indefinitely blocking 16 million acres of federal land and water in Alaska from future fossil fuel drilling.
The Department of Interior (DOI) set out to make rules related to 13 million acres of land that was side aside by Congress for resource development.
The DOI wanted to “establish maximum protection” for the land across the National Petroleum Reserve (NPR) located in North Slope Borough, Alaska.
President Biden withdrew another 2.8 million acres from oil and gas leasing off the northern Alaskan coast in the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic Ocean, making it a total of 16 million.
“With these actions, President Biden continues to deliver on the most aggressive climate agenda in American history,” the DOI said in a statement. “He has made the United States a magnet for clean energy manufacturing and jobs. He secured record investments in climate resilience and environmental justice.”
“And his economic agenda has put the United States back on track to reach its climate goals for 2030 and 2050, all while reducing America’s reliance on oil and protecting American families from the impact of Putin’s war on global energy markets,” the statement added.
The DOI says the addition of the 2.8 million acres off the northern Alaskan coast “ensures this important habitat for whales, seals, polar bears, as well as for subsistence purposes, will be protected in perpetuity from extractive development.”
“It’s a totally political decision, it’s not based on science, it’s not based on climate change, it’s not based on biological resources,” a former senior Bureau of Land Management official said in an interview with Fox News Digital on Sunday.
“They’re pandering solely for political purposes and not paying attention to the science.”
Opponents of the move say that the Biden administration is trying to appease climate activists and get ahead of the blowback expected when they announce the approval of three out of five drilling sites in the NPR.
It’s a 30-year drilling project proposed by ConocoPhillips years ago and according to Fox News, “ConocoPhillips has projected that Willow [Project] would produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day, create more than 2,500 construction jobs and 300 long-term jobs, and deliver as much as $17 billion in revenue for the federal government, Alaska and local communities, many of which are Indigenous.
“Overall, it could have a total output of 600 million barrels of oil over its three-decade lifespan.”
So on one hand, the administration is placating the members of the climate crisis religion and on the other hand, dealing with the reality that our country runs on fuel.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. expressed his objection to the Willow Project. He said it cannot go forward and “we must build a clean energy future — not return to a dark, fossil-fueled past.”
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., called the expected approval of the Willow Project a “complete betrayal.” It’ll be interesting to see how the president’s base reacts.
