
Sikkim is a hilly State in north-east India. Surrounded by villages that attracts outsiders thanks to its soothing calmness and natural beauty.
The United States and Canada have announced a permanent ban on oil and gas drilling in parts of the Arctic and the Atlantic.
Barack Obama will leave office in less than a month, and Donald Trump will succeed him. Thus, the decision on offshore drilling made by the outgoing President of the United States on 20 December seems a kind of environmental last will. He made a historic move to block gas and oil drilling in the Arctic and the Atlantic, indefinitely.
Obama had already announced his will of protecting such areas, which are home to precious and endangered animal and plant species. At that time, however, Obama hypothesised only a 5-year ban. So, the great news is the ban duration. A 1953 law, the so-called Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which gives heads of state the power of protecting federal waters from gas and oil drilling, allowed permanently blocking all activities linked to fossil fuels.
The ban will involve an area of 1.5 million hectares along the Atlantic coast, from Norfolk, Virginia, to Maine. Similarly, Arctic US waters – an area of 46 million hectares – will be protected. “These actions protect a sensitive and unique ecosystem that is unlike any other region on Earth,” Obama said in a statement. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made a similar choice. “Together we’ve taken a historic step,” commented Obama.
International environmental associations have welcomed the news with great satisfaction. Michael Brune, Executive director of the Sierra Club, said that the actions taken by the US “won’t allow a future president to destroy those areas”. Alessandro Gianni of Greenpeace-Italy said: “We will see if Trump, who has always backed oil giants, will go against 5 million people worldwide and those indigenous communities that want more than the destruction caused by oil drilling”.
However, there’s the risk that the Trump administration will reverse the ban. And there’s a precedent that proves it. Back in the 1990’s, then-President Bill Clinton made a similar move on oil drilling based on the 1953 law. His successor, George W. Bush, started a legal battle that ended with the cancellation of the ban in some parts of the involved areas. Therefore, Trump could turn to federal justice.
Quest'opera è distribuita con Licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 4.0 Internazionale.
Sikkim is a hilly State in north-east India. Surrounded by villages that attracts outsiders thanks to its soothing calmness and natural beauty.
Sikkim, one of the smallest states in India has made it mandatory for new mothers to plant saplings and protect them like their children to save environment
Canada and the United States are making up for the lost time, giving new impetus to their relationship thanks to a common interest: tackling global warming.
Chilekwa Mumba is a Zambian is an environmental activist and community organizer. He is known for having organized a successful lawsuit against UK-based mining companies.
What led to the Fukushima water release, and what are the impacts of one of the most controversial decisions of the post-nuclear disaster clean-up effort?
Nzambi Matee is a Kenyan engineer who produces sustainable low-cost construction materials made of recycled plastic waste with the aim of addressing plastic pollution and affordable housing.
The Arctic-midlatitude teleconnection will become a less reliable predictor of midlatitude winter anomalies in a warmer future.
The Arctic sea ice’s near future might look different than we thought. A new study focused on the near future of the ice in the Arctic region.
Nearly 100 people have died in the heatwave in India that has badly hit millions of people who work under the blazing sun to earn their livelihood.