In case you were unsure where the Trump administration stands on fossil fuels: The Bureau of Land Management took multiple actions this week that could open up massive areas of California and Alaska to new, industrial-scale oil development. On Tuesday, the BLM announced it would prepare a development plan and study for increased oil drilling in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, following ConocoPhillips’s request to build five new drill pads and 250 more wells, along with roads and pipelines to support the expansion. This ecologically sensitive region is the largest parcel of public land in the country and supports threatened polar bears, caribou, and migratory birds. A day after their first announcement, the BLM asked for public comment on opening up more than a million acres of public land and mineral estate to oil drilling and fracking in central California, which would be the first oil lease sales in the state since 2013. The Trump administration must be unfazed by the recent apocalyptic weather or the alarming new study warning of the inevitable “hothouse” effect if we refuse to curb carbon emissions.
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Expert BlogMeleah Geertsma
In another attack on the Interior Department’s common sense measures to cut pollution from oil and gas operations on the nation’s public lands, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is trying again to stay the Bureau of Land Management’s Methane and Waste…
Expert BlogSharon Buccino
The Interior Department is the caretaker of America’s public lands, wildlife and natural resources. Unfortunately, Interior Secretary Zinke is proving to be a steward for just a few of us—the oil, gas and coal companies who seek to dig and…
Fact SheetUnited StatesAmanda Jahshan
Expert BlogNRDC
The Obama-era regulations were focused on protecting water supplies.
Expert BlogRhea Suh
The administration’s new five-year offshore drilling plan puts polluter profits over the public good—and risks another BP oil spill–style disaster.