President Joe Biden said on Monday he will lock up the resources of the Outer Continental Shelf, preventing all oil and gas leasing in the future off the shores of Washington, Oregon, and California, and even more the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska.
“In protecting more than 625 million acres of the U.S. ocean from offshore drilling, President Biden has determined that the environmental and economic risks and harms that would result from drilling in these areas outweigh their limited fossil fuel resource potential. With these withdrawals, President Biden is protecting coastal communities, marine ecosystems, and local economies – including fishing, recreation, and tourism – from oil spills and other impacts of offshore drilling,” the White House said.
The statement said the oil and gas from these areas would be negligible compared to the possible harm an oil spill may cause. It also came after Biden’s Department of Energy put strict new rules on gas-powered residential water heaters, which will drive up the costs of the appliances for the majority of Americans.
“Nearly 400 municipalities and over 2,300 elected local, state, Tribal, and federal officials across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts have formally opposed the expansion of offshore drilling in these areas in view of its severe environmental, health, and economic threats. Nearly every Governor along the East and West Coasts – Republicans and Democrats alike – has expressed concerns about expanded oil and gas drilling off their coastlines. In Alaska, the new Northern Bering Sea protections are consistent with a long-standing request from more than 70 coastal Tribes based on the need to help sustain a vital and threatened ocean area, and the natural resources it contains that Indigenous communities have stewarded and relied on for subsistence since time immemorial,” the president said.
Biden’s term as president expires on Jan. 20. Although his act may be undone by President Donald Trump, the authority to undo an order under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act is unclear.
Trump on Monday told the Hugh Hewitt radio show that he will, indeed, undo this action immediately.
“I will unban it immediately. I have the right to unban it,” he said.
Trump continued, saying Americans has “oil and gas at a level that nobody else has and we’re gonna take advantage of it. It’s really our greatest economic asset.”
When Biden’s actions were leaked to Democrat media last week, Congressman Nick Begich issued a searing statement:
“Joe Biden is a son of a bitch. Hundreds of thousands of Alaskans rely on natural gas from the Cook Inlet to heat and electrify their homes, churches, schools, and workplaces. Actions like this should serve as a permanent reminder that the Democrat machine is more than happy to sacrifice us all in the name of their sanctimonious, socialist-driven, climate science™ religion.”
