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WASHINGTON (AP) â The Biden administration on Tuesday suspended oil and gas leases in Alaskaâs Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, reversing a drilling program approved by the Trump administration and reviving a political fight over a remote region that is home to polar bears and other wildlife â and a rich reserve of oil.
Biden Administration Suspends Oil & Gas Leases in ANWR But Defends Massive Willow Project democracynow.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from democracynow.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
(AP Photo/Juan Labreche, File)
When Joe Biden took office on January 20th, one of his first actions was to sign an executive order issuing a moratorium on new federal drilling permits for oil and gas exploration. This was done despite Biden’s continual statements – or perhaps we should just say lies – on the campaign trail, assuring voters that he wasn’t going to be banning fracking or otherwise creating significant damage to the nation’s burgeoning oil and gas industry. The moratorium was allegedly “temporary,” giving the White House time to reexamine various leasing agreements for “legal flaws.”
The word “temporary” is clearly going to be doing some heavy lifting in the months or years to come. As of yesterday, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland signed an order suspending all oil and gas leases in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge, located in the northeastern reaches of Alaska. Environmentalists have been trying to halt oil exploration there for decades, warnin