The Trump administration on Thursday moved to vastly expand offshore drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic oceans with a plan that would open up federal waters off the California coast for the first time in more than three decades.
The new five-year drilling plan also could open new areas of oil and gas exploration in areas off the East Coast from Georgia to Maine, where drilling has been blocked for decades. Many lawmakers in those states support offshore drilling, although the Democratic governors of North Carolina and Virginia oppose drilling off their state coasts.
What’s the impact on California? And can the state do anything to counter the move? We’ll explore.
Read the full story here.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Sean Hecht, Co-Executive Director, Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, UCLA School of Law.
Eric Biber, a professor of law and director of the environmental and energy law programs at UC Berkeley; his teaching and research interests include environmental law, natural resources law, energy law and land-use law
Tim Charters, senior director of governmental and political affairs for the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), a trade association of oil, wind and energy sectors
Sandy Aylesworth, oceans advocate with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)