Yesterday The Daily Caller reported that the Biden administration auctioned off over 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil drilling Wednesday. Obviously this contradicts many statements made by President Biden during his campaign, but it is a reasonable decision. America has lost its energy independence under the Biden administration. This move might be a step in the right direction to bring that independence back. The move may also be in response to the rising cost of gasoline that is part of what is bringing President Biden’s approval ratings down.
The article reports:
The auction is the largest offshore oil and gas lease sale in the United States, according to the Boston Globe. The new leases will produce 1.1 billion barrels of oil and 4.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to a Department of the Interior estimate, the Globe reported.
“This morning was met with extreme disappointment, depleted hope, and shattered trust,” Legal Director for Friends of the Earth Hallie Templeton said, the Globe reported.
Just four days before the sale, the Biden administration signed the COP26 pact, which requires countries to eliminate subsidies for the fossil fuel industry. Biden previously pledged to ban new oil and gas leasing on public land and water.
A federal judge ruled in favor of 13 states in June when they sued the Department of the Interior after Biden issued an executive order temporarily pausing the sale of the leases, according to the Globe. However, the Department of the Interior has appealed the court’s decision.
The decision goes against the Interior’s obligation to protect the environment through selling oil and gas leases, according to Jane Patton, a campaigner with the Center for International Environmental Law, the Globe reported.
This is one campaign promise I am glad to see broken.
