Bush’s Last Minute Oil and Gas Leases in Utah to be Canceled

Articles — By forcechange on February 6, 2009 8:35 am

Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar, in canceling oil and gas leases in Utah this week, took a big step towards reversing some of the Bush administration’s more controversial eleventh hour environmental decisions.  The leases at issue, which were rushed through towards the end of Bush’s term, were criticized for being too close to sensitive national parks and not nearly valuable enough to justify the damage to these areas. 

The 77 parcels represent 130,225 acres near Arches and Canyonlands national parks, Dinosaur National Monument and Nine Mile Canyon.  The canceled bids are worth around $6 million and those bidders will have their money returned. 

Although these leases could be re-granted after a more thorough review, this seems unlikely.  Salazar also emphasized that there needs to be a smarter balance between the environment and commercial use.

“We need to responsibly develop our oil and gas supplies to help us reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but we must do so in a thoughtful and balanced way that allows us to protect our signature landscapes and cultural resources – in places like Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Parks, Dinosaur National Monument and Nine Mile Canyon – for future generations,” Salazar said.

However, it seems to us that we need more than just a balancing test.  In the future, as our dependency on oil grows along with world oil demand, that balancing test will weigh more and more in the direction of drilling.  The only way to rebalance the scale is to fundamentally shift our energy needs away from oil towards renewable sources.  Otherwise, while our needs for oil may not justify drilling near these beautiful national treasures today, they surely will at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Photo credit