Barack Obama Permanently Bans Drilling In Atlantic And Arctic

President Barack Obama announced that he has called a permanent ban on offshore oil and gas drilling in wide areas of the Atlantic and Arctic in what seems to be the final attempt to nail an environmental legacy before Donald Trump takes over the role of POTUS.

Invoking the obscure provision of a 1953 law called Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, this enables the current president to act unilaterally. Past presidents have used the same law to protect smaller portions of federal waters on a temporary basis. But The New York Times noted that Obama's declaration, which stretches on portions of the ocean floor from Virginia to Maine, to most of Alaska's coast, is breaking new ground.

Patrick Parenteau, a professor of environmental law at Vermont Law School, noted that this kind of declaration has not been done before. "There is no case law on this. It's uncharted waters." No matter the case, it is already making waves: Obama's move can be considered either creative or abusive by his critics. While critics like Senator Ted Cruz hopes for a reverse of the decision, advocacy groups are still lobbying for Obama to ban oil and gas leasing entirely.

The Washington Post also noted that Barack Obama's declaration is similar to the steps being taken by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is also shielding large areas of Arctic waters from drilling. While neither measure affects existing leases held by companies, it will prevent others from doing so.

In a statement, the White House noted that the actions are protecting sensitive and unique ecosystems unlike any other on Earth. It also added, "the risks of an oil spill in this region are significant and our ability to clean up from a spill in the region's harsh conditions is limited."

The U.S. and Canadian officials are said to have negotiated for a joint understanding on managing these areas in the ocean -- and this is a joint effort to make new protections as widely reached and as politically durable as possible.