Obama Administration Blocks Arctic Oil Drilling Through 2022

Further cementing President Barack Obama’s climate legacy, the Department of the Interior announced on Friday its intent to ban oil drilling in the U.S. section of the Arctic Ocean for the next five years, citing environmental risks. The plan blocks the sale of new offshore oil and gas leases in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, north of Alaska, between 2017 and 2022. “The plan focuses lease sales in the best places ― those with the highest resource potential, lowest conflict, and established...