Biden's Ban on leasing of federal lands Update - May 18

[dan_s]

A federal lands leasing ban means moving backwards, not forward, on climate. < The Hill

Like every newly elected president, Joe Biden entered office by issuing a flurry of executive orders. In one of them, a Jan. 27 executive order titled, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” Biden instructed the Interior Department to “pause” all new leases on federal lands and waters pending a comprehensive review of the program.

But now that we are past the 100-day mark of his presidency and the pause has been extended without any firm timetable for resolution, it’s time to take a hard look at Biden’s actions. Is he really going to implement his campaign promise to end all new federal leasing for oil and gas production? It’s one thing to make a comment during the campaign and then evaluate it during the initial days of the administration. But it’s another thing to keep the moratorium in place for an indefinite period of time or, even worse, to carry out this particular policy.

The first question to ask is what problem Biden is trying to solve. Presumably, it’s climate change and curbing U.S. emissions of greenhouse gasses. So does a ban accomplish that goal, and if so, do the benefits outweigh the costs? The answer is a resounding “no."

Read more: https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-envi ... on-federal

[dan_s]

"It’s understandable that President Biden wants to follow through on a campaign promise. But good governance means being practical. If there are specific problems with oil and gas production on federal lands, let’s solve them. Implement rules that address methane leakage. Update the royalty schedule. But don’t roll out a policy that won’t achieve your goals, and will still impose real costs on workers, budgets and conservation projects. A blanket ban on production of oil and gas on federal lands is not the answer." - Jeffrey Kupfer, a former acting deputy secretary of energy in the Bush administration

[Fraser921]

Does anyone really think Biden has the capacity to think?

The other problem, his administrators are a bunch of clueless moon bats