January 6 — President Joe Biden announced plans on Monday to ban offshore drilling in the United States’ East Coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific Ocean off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington.
The White House stated that Biden made the decision, which prohibits all new future oil and natural gas leasing in the areas, to protect coastal communities, marine ecosystems, and local economies from the potential for oil spills and other effects of offshore drilling.
Nearly 40% of the United States’ population lives in newly protected coastal communities.
The action also protects 44 million acres of the Northern Bering Sea, which extends to far northwest Alaska.
“That drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet the nation’s energy needs,” Biden claimed in a statement. “It’s not worth the risk.
“As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country and we are transitioning to a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these coasts for our children and grandchildren.”
The White House stated that, with Biden’s latest action, the president has conserved more land and water than any other president in history.
“From California to Florida, Republican and Democrat governors, members of Congress, and coastal communities alike have worked and called for greater protection of our ocean and coastlines from harms that offshore oil and natural gas drilling can bring,” Mr. Biden stated.
