Obama Judge Unilaterally Halts Oil And Gas Drilling In Wyoming

March 21, 2019

The energy industry is a vital component of Wyoming’s economy, and environmental activists are cheering now that a federal judge has gone so far as to ban oil and gas drilling in parts of the state.

Citing climate change, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras, an Obama-appointed judge, “temporarily blocked oil and gas drilling on thousands of acres of public land in Wyoming.”

This is judicial activism run amok.

Contreras, who was appointed by Obama in 2012, is putting jobs and families on the line. It crosses a line when one man can decide unilaterally the fate of energy workers across the state of Wyoming.

Unsurprisingly, eco-groups were thrilled. WildEarth Guardians, an environmental activist group that helped bring the lawsuit, called the decision, “the Holy Grail ruling we’ve been after.”

Fortunately, there are some people standing up to this ridiculous decision. Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming said, “This bad decision will hurt workers in Wyoming, reduce revenue for the state and slow America’s energy production.”

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon also blasted the ruling, saying in a statement, “Our country’s efforts to reduce carbon should not center on the livelihoods of those committed workers and industries who seek to provide reliable and affordable energy, especially when we don’t look to the detrimental effects of other expansive industries. Bringing our country to its knees is not the way to thwart climate change.”

There are ways to protect the environment, but a unilateral ban from an activist judge is un-democratic. Energy workers are the ones whose livelihoods are being threatened by this ruling, and they deserve our support.