Obama Prohibits Oil Drilling In Some Parts Of The Arctic For The Next Five Years

President Barack Obama bans oil drilling in some portions of the Arctic for the next five years. This means no oil and gas exploration leasing in the Chukchi Sea and the Beaufort Sea for at least five years.

This could be a sudden breakthrough for environmentalists who campaigned for years to stop drilling in the region. On the other hand, it is quite a jolt to Republicans who want to exert effort on expanding the fossil fuel extraction.

Sierra Club stated that today's news could not come at a better time. They further said that President Obama has protected the Arctic and the Atlantic Oceans from Big Oil. Meanwhile, the Pew Charitable Trusts said that the decision will protect wildlife migration routes, crucial feeding grounds, seafloor habitats and the larger marine ecosystem.

Phys.Org reports that the U.S. plans offered 11 potential lease sales. These include 10 in the Gulf of Mexico and one off the coast of Alaska in the Cook Inlet area. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell stated that the plan focuses lease sales in the best places. These include those with the highest resource potential, lowest conflict and established infrastructure and removes regions that are simply not right to lease.

On the other hand, some are against the decision. House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, said that lawmakers would work to overturn the plan.

Randall Luthi, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, said that the arrogance of the decision in unfathomable, but unfortunately not surprising. Meanwhile, Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican member of Congress for the region, said that the President had once again ignored their voices to side with the factions who oppose offshore drilling in Alaska, according to BBC.

On the other hand, Jacqueline Savitz, the senior vice president of environmental group Oceana, hailed President Obama for protecting the coasts from the dangerous offshore drilling. In the past summer, about 400 scientists signed a letter appealing to President Obama to eliminate the Arctic offshore drilling.