Trump Administration Poised To Open Up Oil Drilling Bids At ANWR

Here’s more from NPR:

In a last-minute push, the Trump administration announced Thursday that it will auction off drilling rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in just over a month, setting up a final showdown with opponents before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

The sale, which is now set for Jan. 6, could cap a bitter, decades-long battle over whether to drill in the coastal plain, a pristine expanse that’s home to migrating caribou, polar bears and other wildlife. The Trump administration has made it a priority to open the land to development.

“Congress directed us to hold lease sales in the ANWR Coastal Plain, and we have taken a significant step in announcing the first sale in advance of the December 2021 deadline set by law,” said a statement Thursday from Chad Padgett, the Alaska state director for the Bureau of Land Management.

And some social media reaction, including the suggestion that some banks are turning down loan requests: