Trump Administration Offers Drilling Leases in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, but No Major Oil Firms Bid
Future oil development will be hampered by the Biden administration’s commitment to protect the refuge and lawsuits from Indigenous and environmental groups.
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As election officials in Georgia tallied votes to determine the control of the Senate and the U.S. Capitol was rocked by violent protests Wednesday, the Trump administration quickly and quietly made good on its promise to sell oil leases in one of the nation’s last truly wild places.
The coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been fought over for 40 years, as Republicans have sought to bring oil drilling to the home of polar bears and caribou, on land held sacred by the native Gwich’in people.
The 2021 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment
December 16, 2020
SEJournal looks ahead to key issues in the coming year with this 2021 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment special report. The report was formally launched Jan. 27, 2021, at an annual roundtable organized by the Society of Environmental Journalists, hosted virtually by National Geographic Society and co-sponsored by the Wilson Center. Check out the guide s various Backgrounders, TipSheets and WatchDog reports, an overview analysis and coverage of the roundtable:
2021 Guide Event Coverage
In Georgia Senate Race, Warnock Brings a History of Black Faith Leaders’ Environmental Activism
Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. once preached and Warnock is senior pastor, has been a leader in embracing climate action.
December 31, 2020
The Rev. Raphael Warnock at the funeral in July of Rep. John Lewis at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. Credit: Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images
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Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor and his funeral was held, has been a leader in a growing movement among American Black churches to embrace environmental activism.
Billion-Dollar Disasters: The Costs, in Lives and Dollars, Have Never Been So High
Fueled by climate change, extreme weather set records this year, causing close to $50 billion and the loss of at least 188 lives by early October.
December 29, 2020
San Miguel County Firefighters battle a brush fire along Japatul Road during the Valley Fire in Jamul, California on Sept. 6, 2020 Credit: Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images
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Update: The final tally, released on Jan. 8, showed that last year blew away previous annual records for extreme weather events in the United States, with 22 billion-dollar disasters that piled up $95 billion in damages and claimed 262 lives, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.