Judge Revives Obama-era Ban on Coal Sales From Federal Lands
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge has reinstated a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands that was imposed under former President Barack Obama and then scuttled under former President Donald Trump.
Friday’s ruling from U.S. District Judge Brian Morris requires government officials to complete a new environmental review of the leasing program before they can resume coal sales.
The industry’s opponents had urged Morris to revive the Obama-era moratorium to ensure coal can’t make a comeback as wildfires, drought, rising sea levels and other effects of climate change worsen.
But many scientist world wide to not agree with this assessment.
Today demand for coal in American is down, but world wide demand for coal is up. China, Japan, African nations and even some European nations are turning back to it as wind and solar, which are not clean, green or sustainable, or reliable, fail to produce much needed power.