Declaring the oil-rich coastal plain, which was set aside for oil exploration and development in the first place, a “wilderness area,” Obama is effectively preventing any access to it for the purposes it was originally intended. Oil and gas exploration and development.

Time for a refresher on ANWR.   ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE 101

Shutting down energy resources by declaring wilderness areas is nothing new where Democrat Presidents are concerned. Bill Clinton  shut the low-sulfur coal industry completely down by declaring all of it (1.8 million acres) in the United States a “monument.”

For Clinton though, it was more sinister. It was a twofer for Clinton. By declaring the lands where all our low-sulfur coal exists in the United States a “monument,” he hands a world monopoly to a big campaign contributor of his, the Chinese Rhiady family,

Now a quick mineralogical lesson. There are only two known low-sulphur coal reserves in the world, one of which is under the land in Utah that was blocked off by Clinton. And the other is in China. Thanks to Bill Clinton, the U.S. energy sector can buy low-sulphur coal from China, because now, they have to.

Links: Obama Seeks Bigger Wilderness Designation in Alaska Refuge  |  President Obama Calls on Congress to Protect Arctic Refuge as Wilderness