Monday, November 10, 2008

Climate Politics: [President-Elect] Obama looks to undo Utah drilling decisions

A follow-up to the post immediately below. From the Salt Lake Tribune:
President-elect Barack Obama could move quickly once in office to halt oil and gas drilling near national parks in Utah, Obama's top transition adviser said Sunday.
But it's unclear whether Obama would be able to reverse the Bush administration's decision to hand out leases to about 360,000 acres of federal land in Utah; the leases, some of which lie near Arches and Canyonlands national parks and Dinosaur National Monument, are scheduled to go on sale a month before Obama is sworn in.
John Podesta, co-chairman of Obama's transition team, said on Fox News Sunday that the president-elect is looking at several ways to overturn some Bush administration actions, and Podesta singled out the sale of Bureau of Land Management parcels in Utah.
The Bush administration wants "to have oil and gas drilling in some of the most sensitive, fragile lands in Utah that they're going to try to do right as they - walking out the door," Podesta said. "I think that's a mistake."
Podesta, appearing on the Sunday morning show, signaled several areas where Obama believes his administration could make an immediate impact by issuing executive orders to halt actions by President Bush....MORE