Biden Is Trying To Have It Both Ways On Arctic Drilling

President Joe Biden wants to make it work for fossil fuels.

Monday was the official green-lighting day for the presidential election. ConocoPhillips Willow Project To move forward in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve. Approval of the major oil-and gas project promises Construction will create up to 2,500 additional jobs in rural areas, while 300 permanent positions are available. Trans-Alaska’s Trans-Alaska pipeline will be able to carry up to 180,000 barrels daily thanks to the $8 billion project.

This decision created a public relations crisis for a White House that is dependent on radical environmentalists, who want to stop any development. Even though 3 of 5 drilling sites were not approved, Approuvé With bipartisan support left-wing activists denounced the administration for starting a “reign of terror”Carbon bomb.” Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., called Biden’s approval “betrayal.” Other Democrats include West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola We celebrated the opportunity for the project to move forward.

In an effort to make amends with the base disgruntled, the president announced Monday that the Arctic would be permanently cut off from any future development.

Sunday’s announcement by the Department of the Interior was to stop 2.8M acres of the Arctic Beaufort Sea, and 13M acres in the National Petroleum Reserve being subject to new leases. The new protections are a cascade. According According to one official from the administration who spoke to The New York Times, it is to erect an a “firewall” Not for new drilling.

The vast majority of the reserve is still unexplored. This leaves its potential inaccessible before Washington policymakers preemptively closed down any possibility for extraction. Since 2007, there have not been any new oil leases in the Arctic Ocean. According Politico’s Energy Wire.

Biden tried to have it all, and he upset both the right and the left. The Republican governor of Alaska. Mike Dunleavy criticised the president for preventing development in large parts of Alaska.

“It’s disgraceful that the Biden administration thinks that this is a compromise that will benefit America,” Dunleavy . “Taking future oil production in Alaska off the map won’t decrease global oil consumption. It will just shift the market and give leverage to producers in countries that don’t have our high standards for the environment and human rights.”

Biden made clear his hatred for fossil fuels in the first year of his presidency by imposing severe restrictions on federal land, including a complete ban on the creation of new public leases. Close Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, (ANWR). The federal courts lifted the ban on leasing new properties 18 months ago. Overturned it. However, Arctic drilling restrictions have become more restrictive.

Americans were hit hard by record-breaking gas prices last summer, as the president escalated the war against fossil fuels that he promised Democrats during the campaign. Prices hit a national peak in June when they averaged $5.01 per gallon regular unleaded gasoline. According AAA

Biden tried to artificially lower gas prices by turning his attention to the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is supposed be kept in reserve for an emergency such as a hurricane. Biden leveraged the routine depletions to gain political capital before the 2022 midterms. lowest level Since 1983.

According According to internal records of the Department of Energy that were made public under the Freedom of Information Act, January, the administration synchronized the release of reserves with price drops already anticipated.

Biden’s Monday decision to move forward the Willow project comes as President Obama prepares for a competitive reelection campaign. Biden has not yet made an official announcement about his bid for a second term. However, it is clear that the president is quietly gearing up. Marianne Williamson, a self-help author, is the only Democrat in the race for Biden’s replacement on the ticket in 2024.

“As president I would immediately cancel the Willow project,” Williamson Follow us on Twitter Monday “We’re either going to save the planet, or we’re not. Right now we are stealing from our grandchildren the right to safely inhabit this world.”

Biden’s approval is intended to silence critics of his anti energy administration. However, no oil from the Willow Project will flow before November 2024. ConocoPhillips will stop producing oil from the project in Alaska until 2027, says Rick Whitbeck, Alaska director for Power the Future. To delay the project further, environmental groups are likely to launch a lawsuit campaign.

“Approving Willow is what is right for America, but infuriates the zealots,” Whitbeck spoke to The Federalist. “He’s playing a dangerous game as he tries to walk on the fence.”

Tristan Justice, western correspondent of The Federalist, is also the author and editor of Social Justice Redux (a conservative newsletter about culture, health and wellness). He also wrote for The Washington Examiner as well as The Daily Signal. His work was also featured in Real Clear Politics, Fox News and Fox News. Tristan is a graduate of George Washington University. He majored and minored both in journalism and political science. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at [email protected]. Get Tristan’s email newsletter Here.