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Working to dismantle his predecessor’s environmental legacy, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday aimed at expanding drilling in the Arctic and opening other federal areas to oil and gas exploration. With one day left to rack up accomplishments before he reaches his 100th day in office, Trump signed an order reversing some of former President Barack Obama’s restrictions and instructing Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to review a plan that dictates which federal locations are open to offshore drilling. It’s part of Trump’s promise to unleash the nation’s energy reserves in an effort to reduce reliance on foreign...

Data from the last seismic survey done in the ANWR in the early 1980s suggest the region potentially contains some ten billion barrels of recoverable oil, says Houseknecht—enough to meet U.S. demand for about a year and a half. But the uncertainty is large. In 2002, estimates of the recoverable oil in the vast National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPRA), to the west of Prudhoe Bay, were also more than ten billion barrels. That estimate fell by 90 percent in 2010 after exploratory wells found mostly gas. What Obama's Drilling Bans Mean for Alaska and the Arctic

In 2013, John Podesta was paid $87,000 by a shadowy foreign billionaire whose passion is preventing energy exploration on American land. Just two years later, Podesta is a member of President Obama’s inner circle, and the driving force inside the White House to block 12 million acres of land in Alaska’s Artic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling. The circumstances suggest Podesta may have run afoul of Obama’s highly-touted ethics pledge, which requires political appointees to disqualify themselves in matters relating to the interests of a former employer or client. Podesta — who is preparing to leave the White House

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump on Saturday took to Twitter to praise workers in the Teamster union and attack Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. The union has not made an endorsement in the election so far, but typically backs Democratic candidates. Trump appeared to be referring to a series of "Teamsters for Trump" groups on Facebook, several of which has members numbering in the thousands. NPR reported this week on Teamsters member who normally back Democrats but prefer Trump this election.

Kerry's Rhetoric on Gas Prices Offers Dangerous Solutions, Says the National Center for Policy Analysis To: National Desk Contact: Sean Tuffnell of the National Center for Policy Analysis, 800-859-1154 or stuffnell@ncpa.org WASHINGTON, March 30 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Senator John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, today used the specter of rising prices at the gas pump to attack President Bush for America's dependence on foreign oil and calling on him to, among other things, stop filling the strategic petroleum reserve. Experts with the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) said "Kerry's rhetoric would be laughable if the consequences of...

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is backing construction of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline in comments that downplay divisions among unions in the labor federation over the controversial project. “They are not divided on the pipeline itself,” Trumka said in a C-SPAN interview when asked about differences among unions over Keystone. “They are divided on how the pipeline is done.” ADVERTISEMENT “I think we are all unanimous by saying we should build the pipeline, but we have to do it consistent with all environmental standards, and I think we can work that out, I really do, and we are for...

<p>Washington -- The fate of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge rests with the U.S. Senate, but the debate these days is on the airwaves, not in hearing rooms.</p> <p>The Teamsters union, emerging as the most prominent pro-drilling group, is about to launch its own ads to counter a recent anti-drilling advertising campaign, said Alaska Teamster leader Jerry Hood.</p>

Rhetoric ANNOUNCER: “George Bush let corporate polluters rewrite our environmental laws. He wants to rollback the Clean Air and Water Acts …” VIDEO: Stairway/White House; Child at water fountain/Smokestacks. CHYRON: “George Bush; Rewrite Environmental Laws; George Bush; Rollback Clean Air & Water Acts” The Facts Administration Proposed Tough New Diesel Emissions Rules Bush Administration Proposed Tough Off-Road Diesel Emissions. “The proposed rules, unveiled by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, would slash off-road diesel emissions by as much as 95 percent and bring them in line with recently adopted standards for heavy-duty diesel trucks and buses. They would...

Rhetoric VIDEO: Kerry KERRY: “There’s nothing we value more in America than our freedom and independence.  And yet here we are today a nation more dependent than ever on Mideast oil.  I’ve proposed a plan that will make us energy independent of Mideast oil in the next ten years.  Energy independence isn’t just about better gas mileage and a cleaner environment, it’s about protecting our national security and our freedom.  I’m John Kerry and I approved this message because a strong America is an independent America.” CHYRON: John Kerry; A Plan For Energy Independence; JohnKerry.com; Approved By John Kerry...

Mary Kay Henry, the head of the Service Employees International Union is very nervous about the amount of popularity GOP front-runner Donald Trump has garnered. She recently said her organization is going into "hyperdrive" to stand up against Trump, because she saw him as a real threat. Henry was interviewed by David Axelrod for his podcast, "The Axe Files" on Thursday, when she admitted that her organization was worried about what Donald Trump was stirring up in the SEIU's 2.1 million members. She was worried because she believed Trump has the ability to win the White House in November. During...

Things aren’t going very well in Juneau these days and unlike the more nuanced arguments taking place in other states, Alaska is dealing with a problem which can be summed up in one word: money. The state spent a long time riding high on sustained, high oil prices which greatly impact their budget, but the sunset of the oil boom has led to a long term collapse in those revenues and Alaska needs to come up with some more cash. Their part time legislature will be returning to session next month and they will be facing a wide ranging proposal...

Citing "low industry interest," the Interior Department announced a freeze Friday on oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska until at least 2017.

**SNIP** The Obama administration's green light for the Anglo-Dutch oil giant angered environmental groups which have decried the "hypocrisy" of the president, who in recent months has stressed the need for aggressive actions against climate change. **SNIP** "I know there are Americans who are concerned about oil companies drilling in environmentally sensitive waters," Obama said in his weekly address, noting that the drilling leases had been purchased before he took office. "I share people's concerns about offshore drilling," he added. "I remember the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico all too well. That's precisely why my administration has worked...

The Obama administration gave its final stamp of approval Wednesday to Shell Oil Company's application to drill oil and natural gas in the Arctic Ocean. Under the approval, Shell can start drilling exploratory wells as soon as its fleet arrives at its prospect in the Chukchi Sea, about 140 miles off Alaska's northwest coast. But the two “application to drill”s approved by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) included key restrictions that bar Shell from drilling in areas known to contain oil, since its safety equipment is not yet fully ready. The decision is a major...

Former Vice President Al Gore offered up some rare criticism of President Barack Obama’s environmental policy in a recent interview, calling for a ban on all Arctic drilling and blasting the administration’s decision to allow Royal Dutch Shell to begin sinking exploratory wells in the oil-rich Chukchi Sea in the Arctic as “insane.” “I think that in his second term, he has done really quite a good job,” Gore said in an interview with The Guardian published Thursday. “Of course there are things I would change. I think Arctic drilling is insane. I think that countries around the world would...

The Obama administration delivered a major blow to Shell’s Arctic drilling plans on Tuesday, by ruling that wildlife protections bar the company from simultaneously boring two wells into the Chukchi Sea this summer. The decision will force Shell to scale back its hopes of completing two exploratory oil wells in waters north of Alaska this summer and is another setback for the firm that has spent seven years and $7 billion trying to find crude in the Arctic Ocean. At issue is the Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to allow sound from Shell’s planned drilling to disturb walruses, polar bears...

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Tuesday staked out her opposition to Arctic oil exploration, a day after the Obama administration gave Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) final approval to drill off Alaska. "The Arctic is a unique treasure," Clinton said in a Twitter post. "Given what we know, it's not worth the risk of drilling." On Monday, the Obama administration gave Shell final approval to resume drilling into the oil zone off northern Alaska for the first time since 2012. Shell obtained the leases during the administration of former President George W. Bush.

President Obama will announce on Thursday a suspension of all applications for offshore oil drilling in the Arctic through the remainder of the year, an Alaska senator said late Wednesday. The decision essentially extends an informal moratorium that Mr. Obama had set shortly after the BP accident on April 20 that led to the spewing of millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The new restrictions would suspend new offshore drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico and off the North Slope Alaska until the cause of the accident is determined and stricter safety and environmental safeguards...

Eighteen U. S. senators have urged the Obama’s administration to halt Shell’s Arctic drilling plans saying that it is an unacceptable and irresponsible decision, says a report in Reuters. Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, joined by seventeen other Senators, has urged the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) to halt all offshore oil and gas drilling permits in the Arctic region.

ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance said Tuesday that the Obama administration’s decision to allow a competitor’s Arctic drilling program to move forward has provided some, but not all, of the clarifications they were looking in their own projects in the region. The U.S. government on Monday gave Shell’s $6 billion plan to explore for crude oil in the northern Chukchi Sea a preliminary OK, reviving exploration plans that have faced significant political, engineering and cost challenges. Lance said that the go-ahead given to Shell’s program has not resolved all of ConocoPhillips’ Arctic questions. “A lot of the [regulations] are still subject...