Wednesday, May 04, 2016

U.S. Lawmakers Seek End to Arctic Drilling

A group of 68 lawmakers are trying to maintain the momentum of protest against Arctic oil drilling by calling on U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to exclude two sectors of the Alaskan Arctic Ocean from future oil and gas lease sales. The areas in question are the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, which have been approved for drilling by the Obama administration. The Chukchi Sea is believed to hold 15 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 78 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, while the Beaufort Sea could hold 8 billion barrels of oil and nearly 28 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The signatories of a letter sent to Secretary Jewell—led by California Democrat Rep. Jared Huffman--argue that by banning drilling in Chukchi and Beaufort, the U.S. would be positively contributing to the climate change goals of the Paris...more

No comments: