A ringed seal is on the lookout for polar bears as it surfaces in the Arctic Ocean. Anchorage, AK — Late in the day on Friday, a judge struck down President Trump’s order to undo a ban on oil and gas drilling in the vast majority of the Arctic Ocean and important areas of the Atlantic, ruling Trump exceeded his constitutional authority and violated federal law. The decision immediately restores permanent protections from drilling to those areas and prevents the Trump administration from holding the offshore lease sales it proposed to schedule there starting this year. The following is a statement from Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen: “This ruling tosses out President Trump’s unlawful order, reinstates protections for the Arctic Ocean and key areas in the Atlantic and reaffirms that President Trump is not above the law. The decision will force the Trump administration and acting Secretary of Interior David Bernhardt to reconsider their irresponsible national offshore leasing program that would turn our oceans into gas stations. It will also support the fight to oppose this administration’s ongoing attempts to roll back national monuments.” As one of his signature acts of conservation, President Obama permanently withdrew almost 120 million acres […]
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