17 House Democrats Introduce 'Keep It In the Ground Act' to Prohibit New Fossil Fuel Extraction on Public Lands
Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) and 16 other members of Congress introduced today the Keep it in the Ground Act. If passed, the bill would reduce carbon emissions by permanently barring new fossil fuel leases on all federal public lands and in federal waters.
“Our nation’s capacity to transition towards clean energy sources is expanding at a record pace,” said Rep. Huffman. “However, there is still much to be done to break our unhealthy dependence on fossil fuels. Our oceans and our public lands—including the fossil fuel deposits beneath them—belong to the American people, not to the oil and gas industry, and it’s time that the law reflects that fact."
Specifically, this legislation would:
- Stop new leases and end nonproducing leases for coal, oil, gas, oil shale and tar sands on all federal lands.
- Stop new leases and end nonproducing leases for offshore drilling in the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico.
- Prohibit offshore drilling in the Arctic and the Atlantic.
"Anyone who does the math of climate change knows we need to keep most fossil fuel underground,” co-founder of 350.org Bill McKibben said. “Public lands—as multiple presidential candidates have pointed out—are the logical place to start, and this is even more obvious in the wake of the Supreme Court stay on the president's Clean Power Plan. In a record hot world, let's hope Congress acts on this at record speed; we will do all we can to make it happen."
This new legislation adds momentum to the Senate Bill introduced in November by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
"Thanks to Representative Huffman’s leadership, we have a concrete plan to help meet the climate goals set in Paris and accelerate our transition onto clean, renewable energy," Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said.
In January, the Obama administration announced it was putting an immediate suspension on all future and modified coal leases on public lands, however, this new legislation is much stronger as it includes permanently banning extraction of all fossil fuels.
This bill signifies a strong push by Democrats who are intent on supporting President Obama's climate agenda, even though passage of this bill is extremely unlikely in the Republican dominated Congress.
The 17 House co-sponsors of the Keep It In The Ground Act include: Jared Huffman (CA-2), Ted Lieu (CA-33), Mike Honda (CA-17), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Bill Keating (MA-09), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Donna Edwards (MD-04), Alan Grayson (FL-09), Jim McDermott (WA-07), Alcee Hastings (FL-20), Chris Van Hollen (MD-08), Luis Gutierrez (IL-04), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) and Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03).
"The Keep It in the Ground Act sets the bar for what the U.S. can and should achieve in the global fight to prevent climate catastrophe and to protect our public lands and waters," Friends of the Earth climate campaigner Marissa Knodel said. "It also serves notice to fossil fuel empires that climate, justice and health advocates will end their reign of destruction.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
How Money in Politics Is Killing Rooftop Solar in Nevada
California Farmers Irrigate Crops With Chevron’s Oil Wastewater in Drought-Stricken Central Valley
Gov. Brown’s Cozy Ties to Oil & Gas Is a Threat to California’s Coast and Democracy
685,000+ Send Comments in Support of Bears Ears National Monument
A coalition of conservation groups and others announced Thursday that a historic number of comments and petitions of support have been submitted to the U.S. Department of the Interior in support of Bears Ears National Monument. Despite the entirely inadequate 15-day comment period ending on May 26, more than 685,000 comments in support of Bears Ears National Monument have been collected.
NASA Finds New, Frightening Way Glaciers Are Melting in Greenland
Scientists have had their eyes on Greenland as its iconic glaciers have begun disappearing due to a warming climate. But, what they didn't expect to see was a whole new type of melting.
One Dead, Three Injured in Anadarko Oil Tank Explosion
By Lena Moffitt
An oil tanker in Mead, Colorado exploded, killing one and injuring three on Thursday. Authorities are continuing to investigate the cause of the explosion.
Fossil Fuel Associations Scramble to Quit Kids Climate Lawsuit Before Discovery Deadline
In an unusual procedural move, the American Petroleum Institute (API) and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers filed motions Thursday requesting the court's permission to withdraw from the Juliana v. US climate lawsuit, brought by 21 young people. The associations are following the lead of the National Association of Manufacturers, who filed a similar motion to withdraw on May 22.
22 GOP Senators vs. World Leaders on Paris Agreement
Twenty-two GOP senators sent a letter Thursday urging Donald Trump to pull out of the Paris agreement. They argued remaining in the deal could "upend" the administration's ability "to fulfill its goal of rescinding the Clean Power Plan."
FERC Rejects Rover Pipeline's Drilling Request
By Cheryl Johncox
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rejected on Thursday Energy Transfer Partners' request to resume horizontal directional drilling at two sites for its Rover fracked gas pipeline. This rejection comes after numerous leaks into Ohio's wetlands, and Clean Air and Clean Water act violations. FERC has halted the process at only eight locations of the 32 where drilling is taking place under Ohio's wetlands and streams.
84% of People Now Consider Climate Change a 'Global Catastrophic Risk'
By Nadia Prupis
A majority of people in eight countries say they are ready to change their lifestyles if it would prevent climate catastrophe, a survey on global threats released Wednesday found.
Bill Maher to Donald Trump: It's Time to Make Earth Great Again
Bill Maher is sick of billionaires' obsession with Mars, more like "Mars-a-Lago," he said.
In a new animation produced by ATTN:, the popular talk show host of Real Time, discusses the perils of our planet, including how "climate change is killing us."
