The Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge is one of the last true wilderness areas in the United States.
Good news for polar bears! The US Department of the Interior says it is revoking the oil drilling and gas exploration permits granted to the Alaska Arctic Reserve.
The former president Donald Trump’s the administration organized them at the last minute. The current president Joe Biden in turn, has promised to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for use by polar bears and caribou.
– With the climate crisis warming the Arctic region twice as fast as other regions of the world, we have an obligation to protect this precious region for people of all ages, Biden said in a statement.
The Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge is one of the last true wilderness areas in the United States. It is approximately 78,000 square kilometers in extent, which is more than a quarter of Finland’s area.
The Biden administration also says it will ban the granting of new oil drilling permits for the National Petroleum Reserve.
It is even larger than the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. At 93,000 square miles, it is the largest federally owned wilderness area in the United States.
Environmental organizations have praised the Biden administration’s decision, but Alaska officials support oil drilling because of the jobs and revenue it brings to the state.
Source: Reuters