With neo-fascist demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump almost certain to shred environmental rules along with the Paris accords on climate change, it's good to see President Obama going out with a flourish, as he issued an order banning drilling in government-owned lands in the Arctic and Atlantic ocean shelf. In a joint action with Canada, the U.S. will prevent future leasing of significant tracts for oil and gas exploration, powers he had under a 1953 law, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. It also prevents any future President <cough> Rump <cough> from taking swift action to open those lands up for exploration. The move was one of the major items that environmentalists wanted Obama to do before leaving office, something that his successor would find it very difficult to unravel. Wish there'd be more actions coming.
(cartoon: Steve Breen, San Diego Union-Tribune)
