Cult of Climastrology Judge Blocks Oil Drilling In Montana Over ‘Climate Change’

Someone in D.C. should find out what kind of fossil fueled vehicle the judge drives

U.S. judge blocks oil, gas drilling over climate change

A judge has blocked oil and gas drilling on almost 500 square miles in Wyoming and says the government must consider the cumulative climate change impact of leasing broad swaths of U.S. public lands for oil and gas exploration.

The order marks the latest in a string of court rulings over the past decade — including one last month in Montana — that have faulted the U.S. for inadequate consideration of greenhouse gas emissions when issuing leases and permits for oil, gas or coal production.

But U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras in Washington, D.C., appeared to go a step further than judges have previously in his order issued late Tuesday.

Previous rulings focused on individual lease sales or permits. But Contreras said that when the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) auctions public lands for oil and gas leasing, officials must consider emissions from past, present and foreseeable future oil and gas leases nationwide.

“Given the national, cumulative nature of climate change, considering each individual drilling project in a vacuum deprives the agency and the public of the context necessary to evaluate oil and gas drilling on federal land,” Contreras wrote.

I’ve scrolled through many, many, many articles on the subject (unfortunately, a goodly chunk are just the AP story above), and the rational seems to be included in the Reuters article

The lawsuit by WildEarth and Physicians for Social Responsibility alleged that the government, under former President Barack Obama, failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to account for emissions generated by oil and gas development when it leased parcels in the Western states of Utah, Wyoming and Colorado.

NEPA is a Nixon-era statute that requires officials to weigh the environmental effects of proposed projects and is widely regarded as a bedrock federal environmental policy.

But, NEPA never included greenhouse gases in terms of ‘climate change’, especially since people were worried about a coming ice age when Nixon signed it. This ruling seems to be resting upon a bedrock made of sand, it is really, really weak. The ruling seems a major stretch by the judge, and you can bet that it will be appealed. As we go back to the AP article

The case was brought by two advocacy groups, WildEarth Guardians and Physicians for Social Responsibility.

WildEarth Guardians climate program director Jeremy Nichols predicted the ruling would have much bigger implications than a halt to drilling in some areas of Wyoming — assuming the government does what Contreras has asked.

“This is the Holy Grail ruling we’ve been after, especially with oil and gas,” said Jeremy Nichols, WildEarth Guardians climate program director. “It calls into question the legality of oil and gas leasing that’s happening everywhere.”

They, like the rest of the Warmists, want to destroy oil production and cause energy costs to skyrocket, which means the cost of living will skyrocket. I guess they’d prefer we have to rely on Middle Eastern or Russian oil. Now, when will all Warmists give up their own use of fossil fuels?