The Biden White House announced early Monday morning that outgoing President Joe Biden I ordered a huge obi the extent of U.S. federal waters in which future oil and natural gas leasing and drilling are prohibited; of Prohibitions include: The entire Atlantic coast, the Pacific coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and the northern Bering Sea.
In total, the ban would affect 625 million acres, an area larger than Texas and Alaska combined. It is also much larger than the Louisiana Purchase, which covered 530 million acres. (Related: David Blackmon: Liberals come up with a way to make climate change a little less alarming…crazy)
“My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for years: Drilling off these coasts will cause irreparable damage to the places we hold dear. “It's not necessary to meet our nation's energy needs,” Biden said. statement. “It's not worth the risk.”
Ironically, Biden's ban includes the Atlantic region. his government Billions of dollars have been spent in subsidies to build large industrial facilities. wind power generation facility. These developments are now a source of growing concern related to their impact on marine mammals, seabirds, and once thriving commercial fisheries. These are concerns that the administration refuses to adequately address in a pragmatic manner.
Dan Kish, DC-based senior researcher Energy Research Institute “It is ironic that he is proposing a wind farm in the same waters where he is seeking access to US oil and gas that will not be built,” the think tank said. The electricity they produce is so expensive that Europe's industries are being hollowed out and governments are beginning to be overthrown. The only question is who will fall first, the government or the windmills? ”
Kish characterized Biden's move as “an exasperating act of the far-left establishment to punish the 340 million Americans who have rejected the climate change religion and its call to live up to its vow of poverty.” Kish added that Biden and his White House “care less about the national security implications, as evidenced by their reckless history of starting fires around the world while trying to put out gas stoves in their homes.” “I haven't done that,” he added.
in interview On Monday, President-elect Donald Trump said in a conversation with Salem Radio national talk show host Hugh Hewitt that he would rescind Biden's order on his first day in office.
“I just found out that Mr. Biden has banned oil and gas drilling on 625 million acres of the U.S. coastline,” Trump said, adding, “This is ridiculous. I will lift the ban immediately. You have the right to lift the ban.”
Trump acknowledged that the same climate alarm groups supporting Biden's ban would challenge any attempt to overturn it in court, saying, “They will do everything they can to “We will do everything we can to make banning difficult.” They talk about transition. They always say they want a smooth transition from party to party. Well, they're making it really difficult. They are doing everything in their power to get in the way. ”
Trump ended by telling Hewitt that Biden's order amounted to “the worst abuse of power I've ever seen.”
The White House invoked a drilling ban under Section 12 of the 1953 Act. Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). It's part of the same law that past presidents, including Barack Obama and Trump himself, have used to authorize similar drilling bans.
Reading this provision, it is clear that Congress intended it to be used only for national security reasons and in times of national emergency. Unfortunately, given the prospect of a Trump reversal, the law contains no provision to rescind such a ban.
Previous presidential bans have not been challenged all the way to the Supreme Court, but a Trump Justice Department challenge to President Obama's 2017 ban led to a stay by an Obama-appointed district judge in 2019. The results were supported. Justice chose not to contest the decision.
This is clearly a political power move by President Biden and another payoff to the Democratic Party's big climate donors. It remains to be seen whether Mr. Trump and his appointees can devise an effective strategy to counter this, but if Mr. Trump's comments about Mr. Hewitt are any indication, the president-elect is ready to take on the fight. It will be fully equipped.
David Blackmon is a Texas-based energy writer and consultant. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, specializing in public policy and communications.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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