Recent decisions to reverse bans on offshore drilling in vast parts of the Arctic Ocean and dozens of canyons in the Atlantic Ocean, were received by a US District Court Judge with ‘not so fast’. Last Friday, Judge Sharon Gleason decided to throw out the recent executive order that overturned the bans that comprised a key part of Obama’s environmental legacy, which was intended to protect polar bears, walruses, ice seals, and Alaska Native villages that depend on the animals. The reason why is because while presidents have the power under federal law to remove certain laws from development but cannot revoke those removals. In the Atlantic, Obama banned exploration in 5,937 square miles (15,377 square kilometers) of underwater canyon complexes, citing their importance for marine mammals, deep-water corals, valuable fish populations and migratory whales. For a moment it seemed this area would be subject to harmful oil exploration, but now it won’t be happening any time soon (and hopefully never).Â
Judge restores drilling ban in Arctic
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