"Trump ‘Turns Back Clock’ By Luring Drilling Companies To Pristine Lands"

"Energy companies have leased 9.9m acres from the administration – and the fossil fuels extracted could equal half a year of emissions from China"

"The Trump administration has offered oil companies a chunk of the American west and the Gulf of Mexico that’s four times the size of California – an expansive drilling plan that threatens to entrench the industry at the expense of other outdoor jobs, while locking in enough emissions to undermine global climate policy.

Energy companies have leased 9.9m acres from the unprecedented 461m acres put up for rent by the Trump administration, according to a new analysis from the Wilderness Society.

The fossil fuels extracted from those leases could equal half a year of emissions from China, the world’s top carbon polluter."

Emily Holden reports for the Guardian February 12, 2020.

Source: Guardian, 02/13/2020