In the 2022 Feb 10 email with The Guardian’s Down to Earth, the author complains about the following (quoted).
I really don’t think that these are a big issue; they’re not important because the world is changing over to electric vehicles and the demand for fossil fuels is going down so it is likely that much or all of the permits or leases will never be drilled.
Quote:
<< 1. Held the biggest-ever offshore oil drilling lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico
In November, Biden offered up 80m acres of water to oil drillers. For years, the US government has regularly leased portions of the Gulf of Mexico for offshore exploration and drilling. But environmental and public health advocates had hoped that the president who campaigned on climate action would at least scale back the practice. Last month, a judge struck down the auction – ruling that the administration didn’t properly disclose and consider how the leases would contribute to the climate crisis. That court decision is one of the biggest climate victories of Biden’s administration. And it came in spite of the administration’s efforts – not because of them. Now more than 300 groups have signed on to an emergency petition to halt all new drilling in the Gulf.
2. Permitted more drilling on public lands in the West and in Alaska than Trump did in his first year
Biden has approved nearly 900 more permits to drill on public land in 2021 than Trump did in 2017, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. That’s despite his campaign pledges to end new oil and gas leasing on federal lands. In November, Biden also urged drillers to produce more oil, in an effort to lower gasoline prices. >>
