
Ten-year moratorium leaves out North Carolina and Virginia:
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday in Florida imposing a 10-year moratorium on offshore drilling in waters from Florida to South Carolina, leaving North Carolina open to potential activity.
Under the order, leases of areas along the coasts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina for the purposes of offshore exploration or development are prohibited between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2032. What is not clear is why the order omits North Carolina and Virginia, where residents have been vocally opposed to offshore drilling, often citing the potential impact to fisheries and coastal tourism.
Oh, it's clear as a bell. DeSantis, Kemp, and McMaster are all Republicans, while Cooper and Northam are Democrats. Nobody wants that shit anywhere near their beaches, but when you've got a partisan hack like Trump making these calls, punishing states who (even moderately) support the other party is fair game. Here's more from the Southern Environmental Law Center:
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