• Animals

Climate Change and Arctic Drilling Threaten Polar Bears’ Extinction

• Arctic
• climate change
• drilling
• endangered species
• oil and gas
• polar bears
• science

The Trump Administration finally released the results of a long-awaited study on the cumulative impacts of oil and gas development in the Arctic on the endangered polar bear population and, not surprisingly, it was bad news for the bears. 

Why This Matters: The head of an agency should review a major work product before it is released to the public.  But delaying the release of a scientific report for months because it does not square with the administration’s policy viewpoint is another matter altogether.

• Forests

Trump Administration Will Open Millions More Acres of Public Lands to Oil and Gas Drilling

• Bureau of Land Management
• drilling
• federal land
• Forest Service
• leasing
• oil and gas

The Trump Administration announced that it intends to open millions of acres of national forest land for oil and gas drilling, and they will not evaluate whether the areas being opened will cause any environmental impacts, nor will they give the public advance notice, The Hill reports.

Why This Matters:  The Trump team seems to be speeding up their desperate efforts to help fossil fuels as the first (and hopefully only) term nears an end.  There is no economic or national security rationale for this.  

• Land

Trump’s In A Rush to Drill in Alaska Even When It Risks Iconic Species

• Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
• caribou
• drilling
• oil and gas
• polar bears

This week, the President’s Interior Department moved forward with a plan to allow oil and gas drilling in one of the most pristine areas remaining on the planet — the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  The Refuge is home to numerous iconic wildlife species such as caribou, polar bears, waterbirds, arctic foxes, black and brown bears, […]

• Land

CA Federal Court Invalidates Trump Rollback Allowing Methane Pollution on Federal Lands

• drilling
• environment
• methane
• NEPA
• oil and gas
• rollback
• science

A federal court in California on Wednesday tossed out the Trump Administration’s rollback of an Obama administration rule that limited wasteful venting, flaring, and leaking of gas from drilling operations on federal and tribal lands. The Judge re-instated the prior Obama Administration rule beginning in 90 days.

Why This Matters:  Once again, the Trump Administration’s flagrant disregard for democratic principles of government and the rule of law came back to bite them.

• Politics

Lawmakers Attach Environmental Provisions to “Must-Pass” DoD Bill

• #ForeverChemicals
• Department of Defense
• DOD
• drilling
• Florida
• leasing
• offshore oil and gas
• PFAS
• PFOA

The annual bill authorizing all activities and purchases by the Defense Department is a popular “vehicle” to advance environmental provisions on banning and cleaning up “PFAS” and “PFOA” toxic “forever chemicals” that have contaminated water all across the country, particularly on military bases.

Why This Matters:  These issues are not new, nor is using this DoD legislation to advance important DoD-related environmental objectives.

• Energy

Oil and Gas Lease Sales Go On Even Though There Are Few Takers and Lots of Litigation

• drilling
• Gulf of Mexico
• oil and gas

Between coronavirus economic meltdown and the excess oil supply thanks to the Russia and Saudi Arabia price war, bidding on the latest oil and gas leases for sale in the Gulf of Mexico yesterday was lower than any sale since 1993 for the highly productive central Gulf, according to the Associated Press.

Why This Matters: Cheap sales like this are good for the industry but they are selling our national shared assets for pennies on the dollar.