Global warming, climate change, all these things are just a dream come true for politicians. I deal with evidence and not with frightening computer models because the seeker after truth does not put his faith in any consensus. The road to the truth is long and hard, but this is the road we must follow. People who describe the unprecedented comfort and ease of modern life as a climate disaster, in my opinion have no idea what a real problem is.
It is ironic that the day after President Trump essentially moved to nullify U.S. Climate Policy, the coldest and deepest winter storm in over 40 years descends on the country.
When normally hot-headed for “weather is climate change” CNN calls it, you know it’s gonna be big.
It is ironic that the day after President Trump essentially moved to nullify U.S. Climate Policy, the coldest and deepest winter storm in over 40 years descends on the country.
When normally hot-headed for “weather is climate change” CNN calls it, you know it’s gonna be big.
Winter Storm Warnings have been posted and stretch from the U.S.-Mexico border all the way to Duval County, Florida. Get this: 3-5 Inches of snow is in the forecast for Houston, TX; 2-5″ for New Orleans; and up to 3″ along the west Florida panhandle through Wednesday.
lready there have been reports of snow in the area, along with strong winds and freezing temperatures. In one case posted on Twitter, a swamp airboat was turned into a snowmobile – h/t to “Paul in the heights” on Twitter:
And it gets more interesting. For example, a Blizzard Warning was issued for the Lake Charles area by the National Weather Service serving New Orleans/Baton Rouge. That’s something you don’t see every day.
Meanwhile, in Kansas City, the temperature has dipped to -9°F this morning. This breaks the old daily record low of -6°F set in 1935.
And it isn’t just Kansas City, much of the nation is seeing new cold records today. Dozens if not hundreds of cold weather records have been set. Over 75% of the US expected to face freezing temperatures this week.
Other interesting examples:
This isn't Boston. This is downtown New Orleans. 🎭
The climate-driven, carbon-turbocharged bayou blizzard on Bourbon Street has brought Crescent City to a standstill. 🌨️
The NWS in Jacksonville Florida predicts snow and freezing temperatures:
Further north, in Atlanta, the NWS says:
A Winter Storm Warning and a Winter Weather Advisory are in effect from 10 am Tuesday until 7 am Wednesday. Although the snow accumulations are highest over central (especially west central Georgia) in the Warning area, travel impacts will be the primary concern with ANY snow amount. Expect the afternoon and evening commutes Tuesday to be impacted, as well as Wednesday commutes.
Climate Scientist Dr. David Viner, who once famously bloviated:
However, the warming is so far manifesting itself more in winters which are less cold than in much hotter summers. According to Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia,within a few years winter snowfall will become “a very rare and exciting event”.
“Children just aren’t going to know what snow is,” he said.
You can bet though, that the usual suspects will start blaming this event on climate change, citing the climate driven excuses “polar vortex” and “weather whiplash”.
Note: Tweets from Chris Martz were used for some elements of this story.
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Background. America is blessed with an abundance of energy and natural resources that have historically powered our Nation’s economic prosperity. In recent years, burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations have impeded the development of these resources, limited the generation of reliable and affordable electricity, reduced job creation, and inflicted high energy costs upon our citizens. These high energy costs devastate American consumers by driving up the cost of transportation, heating, utilities, farming, and manufacturing, while weakening our national security.
It is thus in the national interest to unleash America’s affordable and reliable energy and natural resources. This will restore American prosperity —- including for those men and women who have been forgotten by our economy in recent years. It will also rebuild our Nation’s economic and military security, which will deliver peace through strength.
Sec. 2. Policy.It is the policy of the United States:
(a) to encourage energy exploration and production on Federal lands and waters, including on the Outer Continental Shelf, in order to meet the needs of our citizens and solidify the United States as a global energy leader long into the future;
(b) to establish our position as the leading producer and processor of non-fuel minerals, including rare earth minerals, which will create jobs and prosperity at home, strengthen supply chains for the United States and its allies, and reduce the global influence of malign and adversarial states;
(c) to protect the United States’s economic and national security and military preparedness by ensuring that an abundant supply of reliable energy is readily accessible in every State and territory of the Nation;
(d) to ensure that all regulatory requirements related to energy are grounded in clearly applicable law;
(e) to eliminate the “electric vehicle (EV) mandate” and promote true consumer choice, which is essential for economic growth and innovation, by removing regulatory barriers to motor vehicle access; by ensuring a level regulatory playing field for consumer choice in vehicles; by terminating, where appropriate, state emissions waivers that function to limit sales of gasoline-powered automobiles; and by considering the elimination of unfair subsidies and other ill-conceived government-imposed market distortions that favor EVs over other technologies and effectively mandate their purchase by individuals, private businesses, and government entities alike by rendering other types of vehicles unaffordable;
(f) to safeguard the American people’s freedom to choose from a variety of goods and appliances, including but not limited to lightbulbs, dishwashers, washing machines, gas stoves, water heaters, toilets, and shower heads, and to promote market competition and innovation within the manufacturing and appliance industries;
(g) to ensure that the global effects of a rule, regulation, or action shall, whenever evaluated, be reported separately from its domestic costs and benefits, in order to promote sound regulatory decision making and prioritize the interests of the American people;
(h) to guarantee that all executive departments and agencies (agencies) provide opportunity for public comment and rigorous, peer-reviewed scientific analysis; and
(i) to ensure that no Federal funding be employed in a manner contrary to the principles outlined in this section, unless required by law.
Sec. 3. Immediate Review of All Agency Actions that Potentially Burden the Development of Domestic Energy Resources. (a) The heads of all agencies shall review all existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, settlements, consent orders, and any other agency actions (collectively, agency actions) to identify those agency actions that impose an undue burden on the identification, development, or use of domestic energy resources — with particular attention to oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical mineral, and nuclear energy resources — or that are otherwise inconsistent with the policy set forth in section 2 of this order, including restrictions on consumer choice of vehicles and appliances.
(b) Within 30 days of the date of this order, the head of each agency shall, in consultation with the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the National Economic Council (NEC), develop and begin implementing action plans to suspend, revise, or rescind all agency actions identified as unduly burdensome under subsection (a) of this section, as expeditiously as possible and consistent with applicable law. The head of any agency who determines that such agency does not have agency actions described in subsection (a) of this section shall submit to the Director of OMB a written statement to that effect and, absent a determination by the Director of OMB that such agency does have agency actions described in this subsection, shall have no further responsibilities under this section.
(c) Agencies shall promptly notify the Attorney General of any steps taken pursuant to subsection (a) of this section so that the Attorney General may, as appropriate:
(i) provide notice of this Executive Order and any such actions to any court with jurisdiction over pending litigation in which such actions may be relevant; and
(ii) request that such court stay or otherwise delay further litigation, or seek other appropriate relief consistent with this order, pending the completion of the administrative actions described in this order.
(d) Pursuant to the policy outlined in section 2 of this order, the Attorney General shall consider whether pending litigation against illegal, dangerous, or harmful policies should be resolved through stays or other relief.
Sec. 4. Revocation of and Revisions to Certain Presidential and Regulatory Actions. (a) The following are revoked and any offices established therein are abolished:
(i) Executive Order 13990 of January 20, 2021 (Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis);
(ii) Executive Order 13992 of January 20, 2021 (Revocation of Certain Executive Orders Concerning Federal Regulation);
(iii) Executive Order 14008 of January 27, 2021 (Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad);
(iv) Executive Order 14007 of January 27, 2021 (President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology);
(v) Executive Order 14013 of February 4, 2021 (Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs to Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration);
(vi) Executive Order 14027 of May 7, 2021 (Establishment of the Climate Change Support Office);
(vii) Executive Order 14030 of May 20, 2021 (Climate-Related Financial Risk);
(viii) Executive Order 14037 of August 5, 2021 (Strengthening American Leadership in Clean Cars and Trucks);
(ix) Executive Order 14057 of December 8, 2021 (Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability);
(x) Executive Order 14072 of April 22, 2022 (Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities, and Local Economies);
(xi) Executive Order 14082 of September 12, 2022 (Implementation of the Energy and Infrastructure Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022); and
(xii) Executive Order 14096 of April 21, 2023 (Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All).
(b) All activities, programs, and operations associated with the American Climate Corps, including actions taken by any agency shall be terminated immediately. Within one day of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit a letter to all parties to the “American Climate Corps Memorandum of Understanding” dated December 2023 to terminate the memorandum, and the head of each party to the memorandum shall agree to the termination in writing.
(c) Any assets, funds, or resources allocated to an entity or program abolished by subsection (a) of this section shall be redirected or disposed of in accordance with applicable law.
(d) The head of any agency that has taken action respecting offices and programs in subsection (a) shall take all necessary steps to ensure that all such actions are terminated or, if necessary, appropriate, or required by law, that such activities are transitioned to other agencies or entities.
(e) Any contract or agreement between the United States and any third party on behalf of the entities or programs abolished in subsection (a) of this section, or in furtherance of them, shall be terminated for convenience, or otherwise, as quickly as permissible under the law.
Sec. 5. Unleashing Energy Dominance through Efficient Permitting. (a) Executive Order 11991 of May 24, 1977 (Relating to protection and enhancement of environmental quality) is hereby revoked.
(b) To expedite and simplify the permitting process, within 30 days of the date of this order, the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) shall provide guidance on implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., and propose rescinding CEQ’s NEPA regulations found at 40 CFR 1500 et seq.
(c) Following the provision of the guidance, the Chairman of CEQ shall convene a working group to coordinate the revision of agency-level implementing regulations for consistency. The guidance in subsection (b) and any resulting implementing regulations must expedite permitting approvals and meet deadlines established in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (Public Law 118-5). Consistent with applicable law, all agencies must prioritize efficiency and certainty over any other objectives, including those of activist groups, that do not align with the policy goals set forth in section 2 of this order or that could otherwise add delays and ambiguity to the permitting process.
(d)The Secretaries of Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Homeland Security, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Chairman of CEQ, and the heads of any other relevant agencies shall undertake all available efforts to eliminate all delays within their respective permitting processes, including through, but not limited to, the use of general permitting and permit by rule. For any project an agency head deems essential for the Nation’s economy or national security, agencies shall use all possible authorities, including emergency authorities, to expedite the adjudication of Federal permits. Agencies shall work closely with project sponsors to realize the ultimate construction or development of permitted projects.
(e) The Director of the NEC and the Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs shall jointly prepare recommendations to Congress, which shall:
(i) facilitate the permitting and construction of interstate energy transportation and other critical energy infrastructure, including, but not limited to, pipelines, particularly in regions of the Nation that have lacked such development in recent years; and
(ii) provide greater certainty in the Federal permitting process, including, but not limited to, streamlining the judicial review of the application of NEPA.
Sec. 6. Prioritizing Accuracy in Environmental Analyses. (a) In all Federal permitting adjudications or regulatory processes, all agencies shall adhere to only the relevant legislated requirements for environmental considerations and any considerations beyond these requirements are eliminated. In fulfilling all such requirements, agencies shall strictly use the most robust methodologies of assessment at their disposal and shall not use methodologies that are arbitrary or ideologically motivated.
(b) The Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (IWG), which was established pursuant to Executive Order 13990, is hereby disbanded, and any guidance, instruction, recommendation, or document issued by the IWG is withdrawn as no longer representative of governmental policy including:
(i) the Presidential Memorandum of January 27, 2021 (Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking);
(ii) the Report of the Greenhouse Gas Monitoring and Measurement Interagency Working Group of November 2023 (National Strategy to Advance an Integrated U.S. Greenhouse Gas Measurement, Monitoring, and Information System);
(iii) the Technical Support Document of February 2021 (Social Cost of Carbon, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Interim Estimates under Executive Order 13990); and
(iv) estimates of the social cost of greenhouse gases, including the estimates for the social cost of carbon, the social cost of methane, or the social cost of nitrous oxide based, in whole or in part, on the IWG’s work or guidance.
(c) The calculation of the “social cost of carbon” is marked by logical deficiencies, a poor basis in empirical science, politicization, and the absence of a foundation in legislation. Its abuse arbitrarily slows regulatory decisions and, by rendering the United States economy internationally uncompetitive, encourages a greater human impact on the environment by affording less efficient foreign energy producers a greater share of the global energy and natural resource market. Consequently, within 60 days of the date of this order, the Administrator of the EPA shall issue guidance to address these harmful and detrimental inadequacies, including consideration of eliminating the “social cost of carbon” calculation from any Federal permitting or regulatory decision.
(d) Prior to the guidance issued pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, agencies shall ensure estimates to assess the value of changes in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from agency actions, including with respect to the consideration of domestic versus international effects and evaluating appropriate discount rates, are, to the extent permitted by law, consistent with the guidance contained in OMB Circular A-4 of September 17, 2003 (Regulatory Analysis).
(e) Furthermore, the head of each agency shall, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, initiate a process to make such changes to any rule, regulation, policy or action as may be necessary to ensure consistency with the Regulatory Analysis.
(f) Within 30 days of the date of this order, the Administrator of the EPA, in collaboration with the heads of any other relevant agencies, shall submit joint recommendations to the Director of OMB on the legality and continuing applicability of the Administrator’s findings, “Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases Under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act,” Final Rule, 74 FR 66496 (December 15, 2009).
Sec. 7. Terminating the Green New Deal.(a) All agencies shall immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-169) or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58), including but not limited to funds for electric vehicle charging stations made available through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program, and shall review their processes, policies, and programs for issuing grants, loans, contracts, or any other financial disbursements of such appropriated funds for consistency with the law and the policy outlined in section 2 of this order. Within 90 days of the date of this order, all agency heads shall submit a report to the Director of the NEC and Director of OMB that details the findings of this review, including recommendations to enhance their alignment with the policy set forth in section 2. No funds identified in this subsection (a) shall be disbursed by a given agency until the Director of OMB and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy have determined that such disbursements are consistent with any review recommendations they have chosen to adopt.
(b) When procuring goods and services, making decisions about leases, and making other arrangements that result in disbursements of Federal funds, agencies shall prioritize cost-effectiveness, American workers and businesses, and the sensible use of taxpayer money, to the greatest extent. The Director of OMB shall finalize and circulate guidelines to further implement this subsection.
(c) All agencies shall assess whether enforcement discretion of authorities and regulations can be utilized to advance the policy outlined in section 2 of this order. Within 30 days of the date of this order, each agency shall submit a report to the Director of OMB identifying any such instances.
Sec. 8.Protecting America’s National Security.(a) The Secretary of Energy is directed restart reviews of applications for approvals of liquified natural gas export projects as expeditiously as possible, consistent with applicable law. In assessing the “Public Interest” to be advanced by any particular application, the Secretary of Energy shall consider the economic and employment impacts to the United States and the impact to the security of allies and partners that would result from granting the application.
(b) With respect to any proposed deepwater port for the export of liquefied natural gas (project) for which a favorable record of decision (ROD) has previously been issued pursuant to the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (DWPA), 33 U.S.C. 1501 et seq., the Administrator of the Maritime Administration (MARAD) shall, within 30 days of the date of this order and consistent with applicable law, determine whether any refinements to the project proposed subsequent to the ROD are likely to result in adverse environmental consequences that substantially differ from those associated with the originally-evaluated project so as to present a seriously different picture of the foreseeable adverse environmental consequences (seriously different consequences). In making this determination, MARAD shall qualitatively assess any difference in adverse environmental consequences between the project with and without the proposed refinements, including any potential consequences not addressed in the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which shall be considered adequate under NEPA notwithstanding any revisions to NEPA that may have been enacted following the final EIS. MARAD shall submit this determination, together with a detailed justification, to the Secretary of Transportation and to the President.
(c) Pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, if MARAD determines that such refinements are not likely to result in seriously different consequences, it shall include in that determination a description of the refinements to supplement and update the ROD, if necessary and then no later than 30 additional days, he shall issue a DWPA license.
(d) If MARAD determines, with concurrence from the Secretary of Transportation, that such proposed refinements are likely to result in seriously different consequences, it shall, within 60 days after submitting such determination, issue an Environmental Assessment (EA) examining such consequences and, with respect to all other environmental consequences not changed due to project refinements, shall reaffirm the conclusions of the final EIS. Within 30 days after issuing the EA, MARAD shall issue an addendum to the ROD, if necessary, and shall, within 30 additional days, issue a DWPA license consistent with the ROD.
Sec. 9.Restoring America’s Mineral Dominance. (a) The Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Administrator of the EPA, Chairman of CEQ, and the heads of any other relevant agencies, as appropriate, shall identify all agency actions that impose undue burdens on the domestic mining and processing of non-fuel minerals and undertake steps to revise or rescind such actions.
(b) The Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture shall reassess any public lands withdrawals for potential revision.
(c) The Secretary of the Interior shall instruct the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey to consider updating the Survey’s list of critical minerals, including for the potential of including uranium.
(d) The Secretary of the Interior shall prioritize efforts to accelerate the ongoing, detailed geologic mapping of the United States, with a focus on locating previously unknown deposits of critical minerals.
(e) The Secretary of Energy shall ensure that critical mineral projects, including the processing of critical minerals, receive consideration for Federal support, contingent on the availability of appropriated funds.
(f) The United States Trade Representative shall assess whether exploitative practices and state-assisted mineral projects abroad are unlawful or unduly burden or restrict United States commerce.
(g) The Secretary of Commerce shall assess the national security implications of the Nation’s mineral reliance and the potential for trade action.
(h) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall assess the quantity and inflow of minerals that are likely the product of forced labor into the United States and whether such inflows pose a threat to national security and, within 90 days of the date of this order, shall provide this assessment to the Director of the NEC.
(i) The Secretary of Defense shall consider the needs of the United States in supplying and maintaining the National Defense Stockpile, review the legal authorities and obligations in managing the National Defense Stockpile, and take all appropriate steps to ensure that the National Defense Stockpile will provide a robust supply of critical minerals in event of future shortfall.
(j) Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Labor, the United States Trade Representative, and the heads of any other relevant agencies, shall submit a report to the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy that includes policy recommendations to enhance the competitiveness of American mining and refining companies in other mineral-wealthy nations.
(k) The Secretary of State shall consider opportunities to advance the mining and processing of minerals within the United States through the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.
Sec. 10. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented in a manner consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
In a decisive and bold step, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 20, 2025, directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reexamine the legality and continuing applicability of the infamous 2009 endangerment finding for greenhouse gases. This directive marks a pivotal moment in the battle against overreaching climate policies that have hamstrung American industry and energy independence for over a decade.
In a decisive and bold step, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 20, 2025, directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reexamine the legality and continuing applicability of the infamous 2009 endangerment finding for greenhouse gases. This directive marks a pivotal moment in the battle against overreaching climate policies that have hamstrung American industry and energy independence for over a decade.
(f) Within 30 days of the date of this order, the Administrator of the EPA, in collaboration with the heads of any other relevant agencies, shall submit joint recommendations to the Director of 0MB on the legality and continuing applicability of the Administrator’s findings, “Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases Under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act,” Final Rule, 74 FR 66496 (December 15, 2009).
For those unfamiliar with its significance, the endangerment finding is the linchpin of much of the EPA’s climate-related regulatory authority. Issued during the Obama administration, this finding declared greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide as pollutants that endanger public health and welfare. This seemingly innocuous determination unleashed a cascade of restrictive regulations under the Clean Air Act, targeting everything from power plants to vehicle emissions.
But here’s the kicker: the scientific, legal, and policy underpinnings of the endangerment finding have never been as solid as its defenders claim. By initiating this review, President Trump has taken the first step toward unraveling the faulty rationale that has fueled countless overzealous climate policies.
Revisiting the Endangerment Finding: Why It Matters
The 2009 endangerment finding has functioned as a regulatory sledgehammer. Once greenhouse gases were deemed pollutants under the Clean Air Act, the EPA gained sweeping powers to regulate industries across the board. The consequences were dire: entire coal towns were hollowed out, energy costs soared, and American manufacturers faced stiff competition from overseas producers who were not burdened by similar regulations.
President Trump’s directive to the EPA to revisit the endangerment finding signals a long-overdue reckoning. For years, skeptics have pointed out glaring flaws in both the process by which the finding was made and the assumptions underlying it. For example:
Scientific Uncertainty: The endangerment finding relied heavily on computer models that predicted catastrophic global warming. Yet these models have consistently failed to align with observed temperature trends. By overstating the risks posed by greenhouse gases, the EPA created a climate of fear and justified draconian regulations.
Legal Overreach: The Clean Air Act was never designed to address global climate issues. Stretching the law to regulate carbon dioxide—a gas essential for life—was a legal maneuver that bypassed Congress and concentrated power in the hands of unelected bureaucrats.
Economic Harm: The regulations stemming from the endangerment finding have been disastrous for American workers and families. High energy costs disproportionately harm the poor and working-class, while businesses face increased compliance costs that stifle innovation and job creation.
The Trump Administration’s Track Record on Climate Policy
This move to reexamine the endangerment finding is just the latest in a series of actions by President Trump to restore balance to U.S. environmental policy. During his first term, he withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, a toothless accord that demanded economic sacrifices from the U.S. while letting major polluters like China off the hook. His administration also rolled back the Clean Power Plan, an Obama-era regulation that sought to dismantle the coal industry in favor of expensive and unreliable renewable energy.
Now, in his second term, President Trump has doubled down on these efforts. Within days of returning to office, he:
Rescinded Biden’s EV Mandates: The Biden administration’s goal of making 50% of vehicles electric by 2030 was not only unrealistic but economically reckless. By overturning this mandate, President Trump has ensured that American consumers—not bureaucrats—will decide the future of transportation.
Declared a National Energy Emergency: This declaration paves the way for greater domestic energy production, reducing dependence on foreign oil and ensuring affordable energy for all Americans.
Ordered a Review of the Social Cost of Carbon: This dubious metric has been used to justify excessive regulation by exaggerating the supposed harms of carbon emissions. A recalibration—or outright rejection—of this measure is a crucial step toward rational policymaking.
A Return to Common Sense
Critics of this latest executive order will no doubt claim that it represents a “war on science.” But let’s be clear: true science thrives on skepticism and rigorous debate, not blind adherence to politically convenient narratives. By reopening the discussion on the endangerment finding, President Trump is championing the principles of transparency and accountability.
Revisiting the endangerment finding also aligns with a broader vision of economic revitalization and energy independence. The United States has vast reserves of natural resources, and harnessing these assets is essential for national security and economic growth. Restrictive climate policies have too often treated these resources as liabilities rather than assets, hampering America’s ability to compete on the global stage.
The Road Ahead
The EPA has been given 30 days to submit its report to the White House. While the specifics of this report remain to be seen, the very act of questioning the endangerment finding is cause for celebration. It sends a clear message: the era of unchecked regulatory overreach is over.
If the endangerment finding is ultimately overturned, it could mark the beginning of a new chapter in American energy policy—one grounded in realism, economic prosperity, and scientific integrity. Industries battered by years of overregulation could finally have a chance to recover, innovate, and thrive.
President Trump’s actions are a reminder that leadership requires courage—courage to question orthodoxy, to challenge entrenched interests, and to put the needs of the American people first. By targeting the 2009 endangerment finding, he is doing just that. Let us hope that this bold move inspires a much-needed course correction in environmental policy for years to come.
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (“NEA”), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, it is hereby ordered:
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (“NEA”), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Purpose. The energy and critical minerals (“energy”) identification, leasing, development, production, transportation, refining, and generation capacity of the United States are all far too inadequate to meet our Nation’s needs. We need a reliable, diversified, and affordable supply of energy to drive our Nation’s manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, and defense industries, and to sustain the basics of modern life and military preparedness. Caused by the harmful and shortsighted policies of the previous administration, our Nation’s inadequate energy supply and infrastructure causes and makes worse the high energy prices that devastate Americans, particularly those living on low- and fixed-incomes.
This active threat to the American people from high energy prices is exacerbated by our Nation’s diminished capacity to insulate itself from hostile foreign actors. Energy security is an increasingly crucial theater of global competition. In an effort to harm the American people, hostile state and non-state foreign actors have targeted our domestic energy infrastructure, weaponized our reliance on foreign energy, and abused their ability to cause dramatic swings within international commodity markets. An affordable and reliable domestic supply of energy is a fundamental requirement for the national and economic security of any nation.
The integrity and expansion of our Nation’s energy infrastructure —- from coast to coast -— is an immediate and pressing priority for the protection of the United States’ national and economic security. It is imperative that the Federal government puts the physical and economic wellbeing of the American people first.
Moreover, the United States has the potential to use its unrealized energy resources domestically, and to sell to international allies and partners a reliable, diversified, and affordable supply of energy. This would create jobs and economic prosperity for Americans forgotten in the present economy, improve the United States’ trade balance, help our country compete with hostile foreign powers, strengthen relations with allies and partners, and support international peace and security. Accordingly, our Nation’s dangerous energy situation inflicts unnecessary and perilous constraints on our foreign policy.
The policies of the previous administration have driven our Nation into a national emergency, where a precariously inadequate and intermittent energy supply, and an increasingly unreliable grid, require swift and decisive action. Without immediate remedy, this situation will dramatically deteriorate in the near future due to a high demand for energy and natural resources to power the next generation of technology. The United States’ ability to remain at the forefront of technological innovation depends on a reliable supply of energy and the integrity of our Nation’s electrical grid. Our Nation’s current inadequate development of domestic energy resources leaves us vulnerable to hostile foreign actors and poses an imminent and growing threat to the United States’ prosperity and national security.
These numerous problems are most pronounced in our Nation’s Northeast and West Coast, where dangerous State and local policies jeopardize our Nation’s core national defense and security needs, and devastate the prosperity of not only local residents but the entire United States population. The United States’ insufficient energy production, transportation, refining, and generation constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to our Nation’s economy, national security, and foreign policy. In light of these findings, I hereby declare a national emergency.
Sec. 2. Emergency Approvals. (a) The heads of executive departments and agencies (“agencies”) shall identify and exercise any lawful emergency authorities available to them, as well as all other lawful authorities they may possess, to facilitate the identification, leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, and generation of domestic energy resources, including, but not limited to, on Federal lands. If an agency assesses that use of either Federal eminent domain authorities or authorities afforded under the Defense Production Act (Public Law 81-774, 50 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.) are necessary to achieve this objective, the agency shall submit recommendations for a course of action to the President, through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
(b) Consistent with 42 U.S.C. 7545(c)(4)(C)(ii)(III), the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, after consultation with, and concurrence by, the Secretary of Energy, shall consider issuing emergency fuel waivers to allow the year-round sale of E15 gasoline to meet any projected temporary shortfalls in the supply of gasoline across the Nation.
Sec. 3. Expediting the Delivery of Energy Infrastructure. (a) To facilitate the Nation’s energy supply, agencies shall identify and use all relevant lawful emergency and other authorities available to them to expedite the completion of all authorized and appropriated infrastructure, energy, environmental, and natural resources projects that are within the identified authority of each of the Secretaries to perform or to advance.
(b) To protect the collective national and economic security of the United States, agencies shall identify and use all lawful emergency or other authorities available to them to facilitate the supply, refining, and transportation of energy in and through the West Coast of the United States, Northeast of the United States, and Alaska.
(c) The Secretaries shall provide such reports regarding activities under this section as may be requested by the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.
Sec. 4.Emergency Regulations and Nationwide Permits Under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Other Statutes Administered by the Army Corps of Engineers. (a) Within 30 days from the date of this order, the heads of all agencies, as well as the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works shall:
(i) identify planned or potential actions to facilitate the Nation’s energy supply that may be subject to emergency treatment pursuant to the regulations and nationwide permits promulgated by the Corps, or jointly by the Corps and EPA, pursuant to section 404 of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1344, section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of March 3, 1899, 33 U.S.C. 403, and section 103 of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, 33 U.S.C. 1413 (collectively, the “emergency Army Corps permitting provisions”); and
(ii) shall provide a summary report, listing such actions, to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”); the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works; the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy; and the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). Such report may be combined, as appropriate, with any other reports required by this order.
(b) Agencies are directed to use, to the fullest extent possible and consistent with applicable law, the emergency Army Corps permitting provisions to facilitate the Nation’s energy supply.
(c) Within 30 days following the submission of the initial summary report described in subsection (a)(ii) of this section, each department and agency shall provide a status report to the OMB Director; the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works; the Director of the National Economic Council; and the Chairman of the CEQ. Each such report shall list actions taken within subsection (a)(i) of this section, shall list the status of any previously reported planned or potential actions, and shall list any new planned or potential actions that fall within subsection (a)(i). Such status reports shall thereafter be provided to these officials at least every 30 days for the duration of the national emergency and may be combined, as appropriate, with any other reports required by this order.
(d) The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, shall be available to consult promptly with agencies and to take other prompt and appropriate action concerning the application of the emergency Army Corps permitting provisions. The Administrator of the EPA shall provide prompt cooperation to the Secretary of the Army and to agencies in connection with the discharge of the responsibilities described in this section.
Sec. 5. Endangered Species Act (ESA) Emergency Consultation Regulations. (a) No later than 30 days from the date of this order, the heads of all agencies tasked in this order shall:
(i) identify planned or potential actions to facilitate the Nation’s energy supply that may be subject to the regulation on consultations in emergencies, 50 C.F.R. 402.05, promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.; and
(ii) provide a summary report, listing such actions, to the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the OMB Director, the Director of the National Economic Council, and the Chairman of CEQ. Such report may be combined, as appropriate, with any other reports required by this order.
(b) Agencies are directed to use, to the maximum extent permissible under applicable law, the ESA regulation on consultations in emergencies, to facilitate the Nation’s energy supply.
(c) Within 30 days following the submission of the initial summary report described in subsection (a)(ii) of this section, the head of each agency shall provide a status report to the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the OMB Director, the Director of the National Economic Council, and the Chairman of CEQ. Each such report shall list actions taken within the categories described in subsection (a)(i) of this section, the status of any previously reported planned or potential actions, and any new planned or potential actions within these categories. Such status reports shall thereafter be provided to these officials at least every 30 days for the duration of the national emergency and may be combined, as appropriate, with any other reports required by this order. The OMB Director may grant discretionary exemptions from this reporting requirement.
(d) The Secretary of the Interior shall ensure that the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Director’s authorized representative, is available to consult promptly with agencies and to take other prompt and appropriate action concerning the application of the ESA’s emergency regulations. The Secretary of Commerce shall ensure that the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries for the National Marine Fisheries Service, or the Assistant Administrator’s authorized representative, is available for such consultation and to take such other action.
Sec. 6. Convening the Endangered Species Act Committee. (a) In acting as Chairman of the Endangered Species Act Committee, the Secretary of the Interior shall convene the Endangered Species Act Committee not less than quarterly, unless otherwise required by law, to review and consider any lawful applications submitted by an agency, the Governor of a State, or any applicant for a permit or license who submits for exemption from obligations imposed by Section 7 of the ESA.
(b) To the extent practicable under the law, the Secretary of the Interior shall ensure a prompt and efficient review of all submissions described in subsection (a) of this section, to include identification of any legal deficiencies, in order to ensure an initial determination within 20 days of receipt and the ability to convene the Endangered Species Act Committee to resolve the submission within 140 days of such initial determination of eligibility.
(c) In the event that the committee has no pending applications for review, the committee or its designees shall nonetheless convene to identify obstacles to domestic energy infrastructure specifically deriving from implementation of the ESA or the Marine Mammal Protection Act, to include regulatory reform efforts, species listings, and other related matters with the aim of developing procedural, regulatory, and interagency improvements.
Sec. 7. Coordinated Infrastructure Assistance. (a) In collaboration with the Secretaries of Interior and Energy, the Secretary of Defense shall conduct an assessment of the Department of Defense’s ability to acquire and transport the energy, electricity, or fuels needed to protect the homeland and to conduct operations abroad, and, within 60 days, shall submit this assessment to the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. This assessment shall identify specific vulnerabilities, including, but not limited to, potentially insufficient transportation and refining infrastructure across the Nation, with a focus on such vulnerabilities within the Northeast and West Coast regions of the United States. The assessment shall also identify and recommend the requisite authorities and resources to remedy such vulnerabilities, consistent with applicable law.
(b) In accordance with section 301 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1631), the construction authority provided in section 2808 of title 10, United States Code, is invoked and made available, according to its terms, to the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, to address any vulnerabilities identified in the assessment mandated by subsection (a). Any such recommended actions shall be submitted to the President for review, through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.
Sec. 8. Definitions. For purposes of this order, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) The term “energy” or “energy resources” means crude oil, natural gas, lease condensates, natural gas liquids, refined petroleum products, uranium, coal, biofuels, geothermal heat, the kinetic movement of flowing water, and critical minerals, as defined by 30 U.S.C. 1606 (a)(3).
(b) The term “production” means the extraction or creation of energy.
(c) The term “transportation” means the physical movement of energy, including through, but not limited to, pipelines.
(d) The term “refining” means the physical or chemical change of energy into a form that can be used by consumers or users, including, but not limited to, the creation of gasoline, diesel, ethanol, aviation fuel, or the beneficiation, enrichment, or purification of minerals.
(e) The term “generation” means the use of energy to produce electricity or thermal power and the transmission of electricity from its site of generation.
(f) The term “energy supply” means the production, transportation, refining, and generation of energy.
Sec. 9. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects
PRESIDENTIAL ACTION
EXECUTIVE ORDER
–
MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR
THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE
THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
SUBJECT: Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer
Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and
Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and
Permitting Practices for Wind Projects
Section 1. Temporary Withdrawal of Areas. Consistent with the principles of responsible public stewardship that are entrusted to this office, with due consideration for a variety of relevant factors, including the need to foster an energy economy capable of meeting the country’s growing demand for reliable energy, the importance of marine life, impacts on ocean currents and wind patterns, effects on energy costs for Americans –- especially those who can least afford it –- and to ensure that the United States is able to maintain a robust fishing industry for future generations and provide low cost energy to its citizens, I hereby direct as follows:
Under the authority granted to me in section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1341(a), I hereby withdraw from disposition for wind energy leasing all areas within the Offshore Continental Shelf (OCS) as defined in section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1331. This withdrawal shall go into effect beginning on January 21, 2025, and shall remain in effect until this Presidential Memorandum is revoked.
To the extent that an area is already withdrawn from disposition for wind energy leasing, the area’s withdrawal is extended for a time period beginning on January 21, 2025, until this Presidential Memorandum is revoked.
This withdrawal temporarily prevents consideration of any area in the OCS for any new or renewed wind energy leasing for the purposes of generation of electricity or any other such use derived from the use of wind. This withdrawal does not apply to leasing related to any other purposes such as, but not limited to, oil, gas, minerals, and environmental conservation.
Nothing in this withdrawal affects rights under existing leases in the withdrawn areas. With respect to such existing leases, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Attorney General as needed, shall conduct a comprehensive review of the ecological, economic, and environmental necessity of terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases, identifying any legal bases for such removal, and submit a report with recommendations to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.
Sec. 2. Temporary Cessation and Immediate Review of Federal Wind Leasing and Permitting Practices. (a) In light of various alleged legal deficiencies underlying the Federal Government’s leasing and permitting of onshore and offshore wind projects, the consequences of which may lead to grave harm — including negative impacts on navigational safety interests, transportation interests, national security interests, commercial interests, and marine mammals — and in light of potential inadequacies in various environmental reviews required by the National Environmental Policy Act to lease or permit wind projects, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the heads of all other relevant agencies, shall not issue new or renewed approvals, rights of way, permits, leases, or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects pending the completion of a comprehensive assessment and review of Federal wind leasing and permitting practices. The Secretary of the Interior shall lead that assessment and review in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The assessment shall consider the environmental impact of onshore and offshore wind projects upon wildlife, including, but not limited to, birds and marine mammals. The assessment shall also consider the economic costs associated with the intermittent generation of electricity and the effect of subsidies on the viability of the wind industry.
(b) In light of criticism that the Record of Decision (ROD) issued by the Bureau of Land Management on December 5, 2024, with respect to the Lava Ridge Wind Project Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), as approved by the Department of the Interior, is allegedly contrary to the public interest and suffers from legal deficiencies, the Secretary of the Interior shall, as appropriate, place a temporary moratorium on all activities and rights of Magic Valley Energy, LLC, or any other party under the ROD, including, but not limited to, any rights-of-way or rights of development or operation of any projects contemplated in the ROD. The Secretary of the Interior shall review the ROD and, as appropriate, conduct a new, comprehensive analysis of the various interests implicated by the Lava Ridge Wind Project and the potential environmental impacts.
(c) The Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall assess the environmental impact and cost to surrounding communities of defunct and idle windmills and deliver a report to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, with their findings and recommended authorities to require the removal of such windmills.
(d) The Attorney General may, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, provide notice of this order to any court with jurisdiction over pending litigation related to any aspect of the Federal leasing or permitting of onshore or offshore wind projects or the Lava Ridge Wind Project, and may, in the Attorney General’s discretion, request that the court stay the litigation or otherwise delay further litigation, or seek other appropriate relief consistent with this order, pending the completion of the actions described in subsection (a) or subsection (b) of this section, as applicable.
This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
This Friday, January 24th, the UK Parliament is due to vote on a Private Member’s Bill that could lead to mass starvation, widespread disease and fatalities and the almost certain collapse of civil liberties and society within a few years. The bill has the support of a third of voting MPs and there is a clear and present danger that it could pass. Many MPs depart for their constituencies on a Friday and 200 remaining zealots could have a chance to swing a vote their way.
This Friday, January 24th, the UK Parliament is due to vote on a Private Member’s Bill that could lead to mass starvation, widespread disease and fatalities and the almost certain collapse of civil liberties and society within a few years. The bill has the support of a third of voting MPs and there is a clear and present danger that it could pass. Many MPs depart for their constituencies on a Friday and 200 remaining zealots could have a chance to swing a vote their way. The bill is a thinly disguised attempt using meaningless climate and nature crisis verbosity to ration and control almost everything that citizens consume. The obvious attack on civil liberties should serve as a warning to other countries to stand against the Net Zero hysterics that have infiltrated large sections of elite British society.
The bill is coming up for its important second reading and is supported by around 200 members of Parliament, mostly drawn from collectivist, Left-wing parties. Promoted by the Green Blob-funded Zero Hour, support for the Climate and Nature Bill is widespread in liberal elites across Britain. Almost all the 72 Lib Dem MPs led by the clownish Ed Davey are on board along with 90 members of the governing Labour party. A variety of smaller parties are committed along with a couple of crackpot Conservatives, Simon Hoare and Roger Gale. In the House of Lords, the former TV presenter Baroness ‘Joan’ Bakewell is signed up, while Labour City Mayors Andy Burnham and the sinister Sadiq Khan also believe in the ghastly cause. The Church Times reports the support of a number of bishops including the other-worldly former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. In addition, 17 union chiefs, mostly from the non-wealth creating public sector, support the bill.
Starvation, death, disease and civil collapse – an emotional exaggeration or a reasonable conclusion once the facts are examined? Let us consider those facts, something that this unholy dark green money alliance of zealots and boobies do not appear to have done. (Apologies of course to those of them who, in fact, know exactly what is being planned and an earnest request for them to absent themselves from future polite and civilised society.)
The bill has two lines of attack, namely the removal of almost all hydrocarbons uses in the near future and a complete ban on the production, exploration, sale or importation of hydrocarbons, referred to in the bill as “fossil fuels”. It appears that a near 90% reduction in hydrocarbon use within a decade is sought and this would affect everything from the energy that heats homes and drives a modern economy to the medicines and food that sustains life. If such a plan was followed in the UK, almost immediate societal collapse would follow. People would freeze in winter, there would be no food in the shops or medicines in the hospitals and pharmacies. There would be no power to run sewage treatment plants or hydrocarbon-based chemicals to clean the water. A complete breakdown of law and order would be likely as citizens survive as best they can.
The bill is short on figures, but it calls for UK total emissions of carbon dioxide to be limited to “no more than a proportionate share” of the United Nations remaining global carbon budget. This “budget” is of course just a made-up figure, along with the 1.5°C temperature warming scare. Paul Homewood has run the figures based on Zero Hour’s own calculations and notes that these suggest dropping emissions down to a third within five years. But this is not the end of the story since the bill mandates that an account must be taken of emissions released by all UK imports. This takes the allowance down to around 10% of the current level. The reductions needed are barely imaginable and Homewood observes that a ban on all imported goods and food would still get the country nowhere near mandated targets. “Quite how we would manage to feed ourselves with half of our food supply gone does not seem to have occurred to the authors of the bill. According to Zero Hour, we would have to survive on ‘low carbon fruit, veg, nuts, pulses and grains’,” he reports.
It is obvious that industry would close, money would flee the country, ports and airports would shut due to lack of traffic, non-meat diets would be strictly rationed, cars would disappear from the roads and even local travel would become difficult. Under such circumstances, civil collapse would be more than likely and might only be averted by the imposition of strict emergency powers and the suspension of democratic liberties and institutions.
All justified, no doubt, in the cause of Saving the Planet.
The current promoter of the bill in Parliament is Roz Savage, a Lib Dem MP who spent part of her youth rowing single-handed around the oceans thinking about the climate and nature. At Cambridge University, according to Wiki, she won a half-blue for competing in the Women’s Lightweight Boat Race. Almost two years of paddling around the Pacific might have been better spent considering the vital role that hydrocarbons play in modern society. Almost half the food produced in the world is reliant on the use of fertilizer derived from hydrocarbons and the scourge of famine has been eliminated in many parts of the world due to its use.
How many supporters of this wretched bill understand how reliant humankind is on naturally occurring hydrocarbons? And how many care to educate themselves on how the science around climate has been traduced and capture by well-funded political activists, neo-Malthusians and grant-desperate academics. In turn this has produced a media echo-chamber promoting scares that are mostly fake and invented by rigged computer models. If we are charitable, perhaps excuses can be made for the level of ignorance shown by some supporters of the bill. They might not be aware, for instance, that apart from food, heating, transport and plastics, hydrocarbons are used to make medicines. They are present in vaccines, injections and pills. Halogenated hydrocarbons are used in medicine to make anaesthetics like halothane, propellants for inhalers and sedatives like chloral hydrate.
A little science and realism might go a long way for supporters of a bill that seeks to ensure the end of the “exploration, extraction, export and import of fossil fuels by the United Kingdom as rapidly as possible”. Even the mad Miliband, the current Energy Minister, accepts that gas has a part to play in keeping the lights on – hardly a surprise given the wind droughts of this winter, the lack of back-ups and the consequent need for up to 70% gas electricity generation. If realism fails to materialise there are tough choices ahead – who will step up to the plate to take away the life-saving heat that warms the homes of senior citizens or ban the inhalers that calm their winter asthma? Perhaps the 200 MPs listed on the Zero Hour site as supports of the bill will be asked such questions next time, they seek the votes of the wider electorate.
Chris Morrison is the Daily Sceptic’s Environment Editor.
In Episode 480 of District of Conservation, Gabriella welcomes back International Order of T. Roosevelt executive director Luke Hilgemann to the program. Luke discusses his organization’s work to help pass Florida’s right to hunt and fish amendment, future target states in 2025, previews the incoming Burgum Interior Department, why the future of conservation is bright under Trump-Vance, and other things IOTR is working on. Tune in to learn more!
“The Department of the Interior under the Biden administration that was trying to take away lead bullets and hooks, banning access to millions of acres of federal public lands, trying to take conservation access and easements away from the people who pay for these programs. I think we’re going to have a true champion, and Doug Burgum in the Department of the Interior–somebody that we look forward to work with to bring some common sense back to the programs and policies that largely hunters and anglers and Second Amendment advocates pay for through our dollars. Not only at the federal level, but at the state level, as well.” – Luke Hilgemann, executive director of International Order of T. Roosevelt
In Episode 480 of District of Conservation, Gabriella welcomes back International Order of T. Roosevelt executive director Luke Hilgemann to the program. Luke discusses his organization’s work to help pass Florida’s right to hunt and fish amendment, future target states in 2025, previews the incoming Burgum Interior Department, why the future of conservation is bright under Trump-Vance, and other things IOTR is working on. Tune in to learn more!
In Episode 579 of District of Conservation, Gabriella discusses the permitting reform bill – aka BAAJA – that is gaining traction in Congress now. The Senate will hold a cloture vote starting at 3:30pm ET in a motion to proceed. Gabriella discusses the status quo without permitting reform, how BAAJA is good for the environment and affordability. Tune in!SHOW NOTESBipartisan Policy Center: BAAJA ExplainerEstimating the US Energy System Impacts of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act
Daniel Swain is a good meteorologist but being a protégé of infamous climate alarmists like Noah Diffenbaugh and Michael Mann, he frequently spreads climate alarmists’ propaganda. His latest paper pushes the narrative that global warming is increasing dangerous “Hydroclimate Whiplash” fear mongering there is an increasing shift between wet years and dry years.
Daniel Swain is a good meteorologist but being a protégé of infamous climate alarmists like Noah Diffenbaugh and Michael Mann, he frequently spreads climate alarmists’ propaganda. His latest paper pushes the narrative that global warming is increasing dangerous “Hydroclimate Whiplash” fear mongering there is an increasing shift between wet years and dry years.
While wet years are confidently determined by measuring precipitation, dry years are determined by estimating changes in evapotranspiration which cannot be measured directly. The inability to measure evapotranspiration creates great uncertainty in Swain’s estimation of dryness trends and his so-called whiplash effect.
Swain argues that floods and droughts are made worse by global warming because a warmer atmosphere can hold more water vapor. However, that is an irrelevant science factoid. The huge flaw in his argument is that the atmosphere cannot absorb any more water vapor no matter how warm, if the moisture isn’t available.
Moisture availability depends on the dynamics that transport water from the oceans to the land. Simply consider the fact that despite very warm temperatures in the Sahara Desert, its warmer temperatures do not increase the rates of desert precipitation or rates of evaporation. It is the Sahara’s dryness that causes such hot temperatures.
First consider that natural El Nino-La Nina Oscillations (graphic A) are a major driver of the earth’s wetness-dryness variability. While an El Nino event brings heavy rains to the western America, it causes drought in Indonesia. El Nino events happen every 3 to 7 years causing natural inter-annual wet-dry variability. Furthermore, El Nino activity has increased over the past 6000 years as global climate has cooled, long before any changing trends can be explained by rising CO2. The Pacific Ocean also experiences El Nino-like conditions that last 20-30 years before switching to La Nina-like conditions, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation.
El Nino-La Nina oscillations also drive the Indian Ocean Dipole (graphic B), causing extreme wetness that alternates between eastern Africa and the Indonesian Islands. El Nino-La Nina Oscillations also affect climate in the Atlantic by strengthening or weakening the North Atlantic’s subtropical high pressure (graphic C). La Nina events strengthen the pressure system moving its center westward. That shift causes wetter conditions in the eastern United States as atmospheric circulation drives more moisture westward. In contrast El Nino events weaken the pressure system causing drier conditions by shifting rainfall eastward.
Finally consider the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ graphic E) as a major driver of natural wetness-dryness variability. The ITCZ forms where northern and southern trade winds converge. That convergence drives moisture laden air upwards where it cools so that the moisture rains out. Over 30% of the earth’s rainfall happens beneath the ITCZ. The remaining air is now dry and circulates to the north and south. Where that dry air descends, it brings dry weather which generates most of the world’s deserts.
The ITCZ moves north and south mostly following the seasonal path of the sun’s direct rays (graphic F). As graphic D shows, the ITCZ’s position has shifted over thousands of years as well as over decades. As a result of the ITCZ’s more northerly location, more moisture reached the Sahara, transforming it into a lake-filled savannah supporting abundant wildlife and human tribes. As the ITCZ migrated southward as the earth cooled starting 6000 years ago, fewer rains reached the Sahara re-creating a desert.
Likewise, ITCZ migrations affect where monsoon wetness will occur. In addition, the ITCZ affects the intensity of El Nino and La Nina.
Swain sadly ignores these major drivers of natural wetness-dryness variability, preferring to blame global warming. Thus, Swain and his fellow climate alarmists fail to educate the public about the known reasons for natural wetness-dryness variability. Addicted to a belief in a global warming climate crisis, alarmists prefer to blame a warmer atmosphere’s ability to hold more water vapor. Thus, they can conveniently maintain their crisis narrative that paradoxically argues CO2 warming can cause both wetter and drier conditions and dry the landscape causing more fires. It is bad science, dedicated to pushing a bogus climate crisis agenda.
In 1914 Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary, commented to a friend as Britain was about to enter the First World War that “The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime”.
In 1914 Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary, commented to a friend as Britain was about to enter the First World War that “The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime”.
He was being metaphorical but now, little over a century later, that prediction is coming to pass for real. We are indeed poised to see Europe plunged into blackouts, sacrificed on the altar of inadequate new technology for the sake of a fantasy of imminent Armageddon. That is going hand-in-hand with the prospect of cars stopping all over Europe.
Matthew Lynn in the Telegraphis convinced that the UK and Europe’s EV nightmare is only just beginning:
President Trump is determined to go back to something that until recently would have been considered completely normal: a free market in cars. Under President Biden, a tax credit – in effect a subsidy – of up to $7,500 was awarded for every EV sold. And environmental rules were blamed for effectively forcing auto makers to make a larger proportion of their new vehicles electric.
Instead of simply making the cars that people wanted at prices they could afford – something that the pioneers of the American industry such as Henry Ford were once very good at – the industry was distorted by a mixture of subsidies and standards that had more in common with Soviet planning than free market capitalism.
With all that ditched, Ford and GM can get back to serving their customers, with a mix of petrol autos for long journeys, EVs for city runarounds and hybrids for everything in between. It is likely to be a very successful mix, and one that will enable them to push back against the looming wave of Chinese imports, especially if those cars face tariffs.
It will, however, pose a huge challenge to countries that choose to persist with EV mandates – the UK and the EU bloc chief among them. While America frees itself from a rushed transition to electric vehicles that has proved poorly planned, and badly executed, London and Brussels will continue to tie themselves to a technology that is far from fool-proof.
Lynn foresees only more expensive cars for private motorists and costlier vans for companies. Worse:
This has the makings of an industrial tragedy. Autos were one of the few industries where Europe had a clear lead. After all, no one ever lusted after a Chrysler or a Chevrolet, or even a Cadillac or a Lincoln, in the same way they did over a Mercedes, a BMW or a Land Rover, or, at least until recently, a Jaguar. The European companies were bigger, and often better, and the US accounted for 20 per cent of their exports.
As the US auto industry now looks forward to liberation, UK and European manufacturers are about to be “crushed”.
The State of Alaska holds an abundant and largely untapped supply of natural resources including, among others, energy, mineral, timber, and seafood. Unlocking this bounty of natural wealth will raise the prosperity of our citizens while helping to enhance our Nation’s economic and national security for generations to come.
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Background.The State of Alaska holds an abundant and largely untapped supply of natural resources including, among others, energy, mineral, timber, and seafood. Unlocking this bounty of natural wealth will raise the prosperity of our citizens while helping to enhance our Nation’s economic and national security for generations to come. By developing these resources to the fullest extent possible, we can help deliver price relief for Americans, create high-quality jobs for our citizens, ameliorate our trade imbalances, augment the Nation’s exercise of global energy dominance, and guard against foreign powers weaponizing energy supplies in theaters of geopolitical conflict.
Unleashing this opportunity, however, requires an immediate end to the assault on Alaska’s sovereignty and its ability to responsibly develop these resources for the benefit of the Nation. It is, therefore, imperative to immediately reverse the punitive restrictions implemented by the previous administration that specifically target resource development on both State and Federal lands in Alaska.
Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to:
(a) fully avail itself of Alaska’s vast lands and resources for the benefit of the Nation and the American citizens who call Alaska home;
(b) efficiently and effectively maximize the development and production of the natural resources located on both Federal and State lands within Alaska;
(c) expedite the permitting and leasing of energy and natural resource projects in Alaska; and
(d) prioritize the development of Alaska’s liquified natural gas (LNG) potential, including the sale and transportation of Alaskan LNG to other regions of the United States and allied nations within the Pacific region.
Sec. 3. Specific Agency Actions. (a) The heads of all executive departments and agencies, including but not limited to the Secretary of the Interior; the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere; and the Secretary of the Army acting through the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Public Works, shall exercise all lawful authority and discretion available to them and take all necessary steps to:
(i) rescind, revoke, revise, amend, defer, or grant exemptions from any and all regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and any other similar agency actions that are inconsistent with the policy set forth in section 2 of this order, including but not limited to agency actions promulgated, issued, or adopted between January 20, 2021, and January 20, 2025; and
(ii) prioritize the development of Alaska’s LNG potential, including the permitting of all necessary pipeline and export infrastructure related to the Alaska LNG Project, giving due consideration to the economic and national security benefits associated with such development.
(b) In addition to the actions outlined in subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall exercise all lawful authority and discretion available to him and take all necessary steps to:
(i) withdraw Secretarial Order 3401 dated June 1, 2021 (Comprehensive Analysis and Temporary Halt on All Activities in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Relating to the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program);
(ii) rescind the cancellation of any leases within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, other than such lease cancellations as the Secretary of the Interior determines are consistent with the policy interests described in section 2 of this order, initiate additional leasing through the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program, and issue all permits, right-of-way permits, and easements necessary for the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas from leases within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge;
(iii) rescind the final supplemental environmental impact statement entitled “Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement,” which is referred to in “Notice of Availability of the Final Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, Alaska” 89 Fed. Reg. 88805 (November 8, 2024).
(iv) place a temporary moratorium on all activities and privileges granted to any party pursuant to the record of decision signed on December 8, 2024, entitled “Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Record of Decision,” which is referred to in “Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program, Alaska,” 89 Fed. Reg. 101042 (December 13, 2024), in order to review such record of decision in light of alleged legal deficiencies and for consideration of relevant public interests, and, as appropriate, conduct a new, comprehensive analysis of such deficiencies, interests, and environmental impacts;
(v) reinstate the final environmental impact statement entitled “Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program,” which is referred to in “Notice of Availability,” 84 Fed. Reg. 50472 (September 25, 2019);
(vi) reinstate the record of decision signed on August 21, 2020, entitled “Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Record of Decision,” which is referred to in “Notice of 2021 Coastal Plain Alaska Oil and Gas Lease Sale and Notice of Availability of the Detailed Statement of Sale,” 85 Fed. Reg. 78865 (December 7, 2020);
(vii) evaluate changes to, including the potential recission of, Public Land Order 5150, signed by the Assistant Secretary of the Interior on December 28, 1971, and any subsequent amendments, modifications, or corrections to it;
(viii) place a temporary moratorium on all activities and privileges granted to any party pursuant to the record of decision signed on June 27, 2024, entitled “Ambler Road Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Record of Decision,” which is referred to in “Notice of Availability of the Ambler Road Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, Alaska,” 89 Fed. Reg. 32458 (April 26, 2024), in order to review such record of decision in light of alleged legal deficiencies and for consideration of relevant public interests and, as appropriate, conduct a new, comprehensive analysis of such deficiencies, interests, and environmental impacts; and reinstate the record of decision signed on July 23, 2020, by the Bureau of Land Management and United States Army Corps of Engineers entitled “Ambler Road Environmental Impact Statement Joint Record of Decision,” which is referred to in “Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the Ambler Mining District Industrial Access Road Environmental Impact Statement,” 85 Fed. Reg. 45440 (July 28, 2020);
(ix) rescind the Bureau of Land Management final rule entitled “Management and Protection of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska,” 89 Fed. Reg. 38712 (May 7, 2024);
(x) rescind any guidance issued by the Bureau of Land Management related to implementation of protection of subsistence resource values in the existing special areas and proposed new and modified special areas in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, as published on their website on January 16, 2025;
(xi) facilitate the expedited development of a road corridor between the community of King Cove and the all-weather airport located in Cold Bay;
(xii) place a temporary moratorium on all activities and privileges granted to any party pursuant to the record of decision signed on April 25, 2022, entitled “National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Integrated Activity Plan Record of Decision,” (NEPA No. DOI-BLM-AK-R000-2019-0001-EIS), in order to review such record of decision in light of alleged legal deficiencies and for consideration of relevant public interests and, as appropriate, conduct a new, comprehensive analysis of such deficiencies, interests, and environmental impacts;
(xiii) rescind the Bureau of Land Management final rule entitled “Management and Protection of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska,” 89 Fed. Reg. 38712 (May 7, 2024), and rescind the Bureau of Land Management notice entitled “Special Areas Within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska,” 89 Fed. Reg. 58181 (July 17, 2024);
(xiv) reinstate Secretarial Order 3352 dated May 17, 2017 (National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska), which is referred to in “Final Report: Review of the Department of the Interior Actions that Potentially Burden Domestic Energy,” 82 Fed. Reg. 50532 (November 1, 2017), and the record of decision signed on December 31, 2020, entitled “National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Integrated Activity Plan Record of Decision,” which is referred to in “Notice of Availability of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Integrated Activity Plan Final Environmental Impact Statement,” 85 Fed. Reg. 38388 (June 26, 2020);
(xv) reinstate the following Public Land Orders in their original form:
Public Land Order No. 7899, signed by the Secretary of the Interior on January 11, 2021;
Public Land Order No. 7900, signed by the Secretary of the Interior on January 16, 2021;
Public Land Order No. 7901, signed by the Secretary of the Interior on January 16, 2021;
Public Land Order No. 7902, signed by the Secretary of the Interior on January 15, 2021;
Public Land Order No. 7903, signed by the Secretary of the Interior on January 16, 2021; and
any other such Public Land Order that the Secretary of the Interior determines would further the policy interests described in section 2 of this order.
(xvi) immediately review all Department of the Interior guidance regarding the taking of Alaska Native lands into trust and all Public Land Orders withdrawing lands for selection by Alaska Native Corporations to determine if any such agency action should be revoked to ensure the Department of the Interior’s actions are consistent with the Alaska Statehood Act of 1958 (Public Law 85-508), the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) (16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (43 U.S.C. 1601, et seq.), the Alaska Land Transfer Acceleration Act (Public Law 108-452), and the Alaska Native Vietnam-era Veterans Land Allotment Program under section 1629g-1 of title 43, United States Code.
(xvii) rescind the record of decision “Central Yukon Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan,” signed on November 12, 2024, which is referred to in “Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan for the Central Yukon Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement, Alaska,” 89 Fed. Reg. 92716 (November 22, 2024);
(xviii) reimplement the draft resource management plan and environmental impact statement referenced in the National Park Service notice entitled “Notice of Availability for the Central Yukon Draft Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement, Alaska,” 85 Fed. Reg. 80143 (December 11, 2020);
(xix) rescind the National Park Service final rule entitled “Alaska; Hunting and Trapping in National Preserves,” 89 Fed. Reg. 55059 (July 3, 2024), and reinstate the National Park Service final rule entitled “Alaska; Hunting and Trapping in National Preserves,” 85 Fed. Reg. 35181 (June 9, 2020), in its original form;
(xx) deny the pending request to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to an establish indigenous sacred site in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge;
(xxi) immediately conduct a review of waterways in the State of Alaska and direct the Bureau of Land Management, in consultation with the State of Alaska, to provide recommendations of navigable waterways subject to the equal footing doctrine and the Submerged Lands Act of 1953, as amended, 43 U.S.C. 1301 et seq., and prepare Recordable Disclaimers of Interest pursuant to section 315 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. 1745, to restore ownership of said waterways to the State as appropriate;
(xxii) direct all bureaus of the Department of the Interior to consider the Alaskan cultural significance of hunting and fishing and the statutory priority of subsistence management required by the ANILCA, to conduct meaningful consultation with the State fish and wildlife management agencies prior to enacting land management plans or other regulations that affect the ability of Alaskans to hunt and fish on public lands, and to ensure to the greatest extent possible that hunting and fishing opportunities on Federal lands are consistent with similar opportunities on State lands; and
(xxiii) identify and assess, in collaboration with the Secretary of Defense, the authorities and public and private resources necessary to immediately achieve the development and export of energy resources from Alaska — including but not limited to the long-term viability of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and the associated Federal right-of-way as an energy corridor of critical national importance — to advance the Nation’s domestic and regional energy dominance, and submit that assessment to the President.
(c) In addition to the actions outlined in subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of Agriculture shall place a temporary moratorium on all activities and privileges authorized by the final rule and record of decision entitled “Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation; National Forest System Lands in Alaska,” 88 Fed. Reg. 5252 (January 27, 2023), in order to review such rule and record of decision in light of alleged legal deficiencies and for consideration of relevant public interests and, as appropriate, conduct a new, comprehensive analysis of such deficiencies, interests, and environmental impacts. Further, the Secretary of Agriculture shall reinstate the final rule entitled “Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation; National Forest System Lands in Alaska,” 85 Fed. Reg. 68688 (October 29, 2020).
(d) In addition to the actions outlined in subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, shall render all assistance requested by the Governor of Alaska to facilitate the clearing and maintenance of transportation infrastructure, consistent with applicable law. All such requests for assistance shall be transmitted to the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Interior, and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy for approval prior to initiation.
(e) The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, under the direction of the Secretary of the Army, shall immediately review, revise, or rescind any agency action that may in any way hinder, slow or otherwise delay any critical project in the State of Alaska.
(f) The Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Secretary of the Interior, shall immediately review, revise or rescind any agency action that may in any way hinder, slow or otherwise delay any critical project in the State of Alaska.
Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
You must be logged in to post a comment.