Experts warn that Biden's offshore drilling ban could harm the environment: 'Disgraceful'

According to experts who spoke to Planet Chronicle Digital, President Biden's 11th-hour executive action banning new drilling and further oil and natural gas development in coastal waters in the name of protecting the environment could end up causing harm to the environment.

In March, Biden declared that over 625 million acres of U.S. coastal and offshore waters would be banned, citing the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which may restrict President-elect Trump's power to reverse the decision without Congress's approval.

Biden issued a statement defending his decision to withdraw from certain areas, stating that the minimal fossil fuel potential in those regions does not justify the environmental, public health, and economic risks associated with new leasing and drilling.

According to experts interviewed by Planet Chronicle Digital, Biden's decision may harm the environment rather than help it.

According to Gabriella Hoffman, director of the Independent Women’s Forum Center for Energy & Conservation, President Biden's offshore oil and gas ban is not only detrimental to our economy and national security but also threatens the future of conservation in America.

The Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), funded by $900 million in royalties from oil and gas companies, was highlighted as a concern by Hoffman.

The fund's website states that the idea was to use revenues from offshore oil and gas depletion to support land and water conservation. However, due to Biden's decision, the fund may lose out on those royalties, as warned by Hoffman.

""Biden's recent actions will weaken the Great American Outdoors Act and set back true conservation efforts by decades," Hoffman said."

Earlier this month, the Western Energy Alliance, a nonprofit trade association, released a press statement indicating that conservation funding would be negatively impacted due to Biden's drilling ban.

President Biden's effort to limit offshore access before leaving office could jeopardize cherished outdoor areas nationwide. The president overlooks the fact that the Land and Water Conservation Fund is entirely financed by offshore oil and gas drilling and extraction, as stated by Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Alliance, in a press release.

"Nearly every community across the country has an outdoor recreation facility that has received funding from the LWCF. National parks that have been neglected due to overcrowding can also benefit from offshore revenues. These funds can help protect waterways, support wildlife, and build trails and playgrounds. President Biden's Executive Order puts the future of these projects in jeopardy."

The Department of the Interior spokesperson stated that there would be no impact on any existing leases or royalties derived from them for the U.S. treasury, as well as the LWCF.

The spokesperson stated that the Central and Western Gulf, which receives funding from LCWF, is not affected by the President's decision to withdraw.

According to Hoffman, Biden's directive will not affect LWCF in the short term, as Trump-era leasing will be grandfathered in. However, the long-term impact could jeopardize $2.8 billion of conservation funding, including $900 million from offshore royalties.

Reducing domestic oil drilling may increase the US's reliance on foreign oil sources, which may have lower environmental standards.

According to Hoffman, Biden's anti-oil and gas decree could harm Trump's 'drill baby drill' agenda and increase our reliance on imports from countries that disregard the environment.

Daniel Turner, the founder and Executive Director of Power The Future, expressed his concerns about both the environment and human rights to Planet Chronicle Digital.

"Turner stated that we are exporting responsible, ethical, and environmentally conscious resource development from America to developing countries, which are often managed by communist China, where pollution and slave labor are not regulated. In fact, these conditions contribute to higher profit margins, and we often claim that goods are cheaper when made in China. However, our standards must compel us to choose differently."

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait emit methane, which is illegal in most of America. Children mine coal in China, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia. Rare earths are mined by slaves in Africa, and green activists hinder ethical and responsible mining in America.

How can the Biden administration claim that oil produced recklessly in foreign countries and transported on tankers consuming millions of gallons of diesel is classified as "green"?

""By producing all our energy and mining all our raw materials in America, we can not only be green but also benefit our economy and national security," Turner stated."

The White House did not respond to Planet Chronicle Digital's request for comment.

Trump intends to reverse the drilling ban on most of the U.S. coastline, but he encounters significant obstacles due to a 70-year, unalterable law.

Trump's spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, stated that the decision to halt drilling is a disgraceful move aimed at exacting political revenge on the American people who voted for President Trump to increase drilling and lower gas prices. She added that Joe Biden will ultimately fail, and drilling will continue.

Planet Chronicle Digital's Aubrie Spady and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report