Breaking: Congress Approves Drilling of Oil, Gas in Pristine Arctic Region

While the rest of the world is spending a vast amount of resources to on clean, renewable energy to combat climate change which is progressing at an alarming rate, Trump and his administration have only one mantra: drill baby, drill.

The U.S. government has already started barreling forward with its plan to drill oil and gas in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge of Alaska by holding a lease sale in the refuge after a 60-day review period.

Congress’ Push for Oil and Gas Drilling Project

The Federal Register is expected to publish a notice this Friday announcing the start of a 60-day review process which will evaluate the environmental implications of Trump’s proposal for setting up a leasing program for oil and gas drilling in the pristine arctic region. The review will help environmentalists determine whether the drilling project will be a threat to the 1.5 million acres of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

In a statement, Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management said that if the proposal is accepted, the government will map out a plan of how they plan to carry out the project and transport the oil and gas out of the Arctic region.

1.5 million acres of pristine Arctic land may be lost if Trump’s oil and gas drilling project is approved

The agency also pointed out that public hearing may also be held in places around the drilling zone, where there may lie strong community interest in the matter, including areas like the Arctic Village, Anchorage, Kaktovik, Fairbanks and Utqiagvik.

Trump’s decision to push the drilling project into action was met with strong approval from the Republican congressmen who had, for long, been seeking permission to carry out oil and gas exploration projects in the Arctic refuge. According to the Republicans, the new drilling project, which has been long-overdue because of the opposition from Democrats, will open up new doors of responsible energy development in the country.

Chairman of Committee of Senate Energy and Natural Resources, Lisa Murkowski, said that she appreciates that the government is moving forth with the plan in the most responsible and lawful way possible by holding public meetings with locals in Alaska to ensure the nation’s economic and energy security. Sen. Murkowski’s response came as a joint statement with members of all-Republican congressional delegation of Alaska.

The government will begin leasing the land for drilling as soon as the environmental analysis is complete and almost 400,000 acres of land is expected to be leased in the first round of bidding

Environmentalists Fight Back

While the Republicans couldn’t be happier with Trump’s decision to drill more oil and gas in a region which is already suffering heavily from climate change, there is an outcry from environmental agencies that the government is rushing into a decision that could have serious and irreversible climate, cultural, and biological impacts on the region and its inhabitants.

Alaska Wilderness League’s executive director, Adam Kolton, is urging the younger generation to raise their voice against the government’s decision and stop Trump from turning one of the most natural and scenic places on the planet into one of his business projects. He said that the last thing any environmentalist wants in the Arctic is a cluster of pipelines, roads, oil rigs and other drilling equipment which could leave the pristine Refuge looking like an industrial complex.

Others like James Williams of the Wilderness Society have also weighed in on the decision by calling the government’s actions ‘irresponsible and aggressive’ which only show how eager Trump is to turn public lands into his private profit machine. Williams says that if the President is allowed to pursue his reckless plan, it could be a violation of public trust.

Many environmentalists are already preparing to wage a legal war against Trump if he continues with his plan to turn the Arctic into an industrial complex

Leasing May Begin Soon

The northeastern region of Alaska, which is considered one of the wildest and pristine regions in the world, has been protected from drilling projects since 1980, but the Congress lifted the ban last December as part of the tax-reform package approved by the republicans.

The Congress plans on holding two lease auctions for land consisting of 400,000 acres each within the next seven years to explore the rich natural resources of the Arctic region. Many environmentalists are already preparing to wage a legal battle against the Congress to prevent the drilling in one of the planet’s last wildlife refuges.