The fossil-fuel expansion could help pass climate legislation down the line — or lock in more emissions.
By Zoya Teirstein, Grist
In 2020, at a campaign event in New Hampshire, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden made a promise to voters. “No more drilling on federal lands, period,” he said. “Period, period, period.”
Last week, Biden broke that promise. His administration announced it was opening up public land to new oil and gas leases, several months after suspending those types of leases.

Biden officials have a handy excuse for the reversal. In the summer of 2021, a federal judge in Louisiana struck down the Biden administration’s pause on new oil and gas leases on public lands. Climate advocates were furious when the White House announced the new leasing plan last week, but senior officials, citing the 2021 ruling, said their hands were tied. Biden’s new leasing plan opens up approximately 144,000 acres for new drilling, 80 percent less acreage than the Department of the Interior had originally evaluated for leasing. It also hikes up royalty rates on new leases from 12.5 percent to 18.75 percent. The Biden administration tried to balance its leasing move by releasing a report yesterday that shows it is on course to produce enough renewable energy to power roughly 9.5 million homes by 2025. Some climate activists weren’t sold.
Recent Posts
Will Democrats Learn From The Biden Disaster? Probably Not
May 24, 2025
Take Action Now The Democratic Party’s propping up an obviously declining Joe Biden is one of the greatest political disasters in American history.…
Gaza: What’s Worse Than the Language of Brutality?
May 23, 2025
Take Action Now They say talk is cheap—but this is talk that kills.By Richard (RJ) Eskow, The Zero Hour Report Our thoughts may shape our words,…
Is AIPAC Coming After Ilhan Omar?
May 23, 2025
Take Action Now A poll sent to Omar’s district tested the waters on a Democratic candidate backed by “a right-wing, pro-Israel group that is funded…
The Horrors Inflicted For 500 Years
May 23, 2025
Take Action Now Then (the New World) and Now (Israel)By Greg Grandin, Tom Dispatch Leon Golub once related a story to a mutual friend. A Chicago…