When it comes to the environment , President Obama is clearly driven to not go restfully into the Nox and let the incoming administration undo his bequest . As reported by theWashington Post , he has just “ permanently ” banned fossil oil and flatulence boring in much of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans .

About 1.2 million straight kilometers ( about 463,300 square nautical mile ) of pristine , biodiverse , ecologically sensitive marine territory will be protect by this measuring rod , including98 percent of all Arctic water supply . The majority of the eastern seaboard is now officially off limits to fossil fuel descent measures .

At the same time , Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took similar steps to protect the Canadian Arctic from offshore oil and gaseous state extraction . There will be no new rental countenance in the region , subject to a five - year scientifically - lead review .

In astatement , the White House declared that the two leaders are showing “ scientific discipline - based ” leading . It buy the farm on to observe that the two nations “ are majestic to launch actions ensuring a strong , sustainable and practicable Arctic saving and ecosystem … free from the future peril of offshore vegetable oil and accelerator body process . ”

Obama had recently announced afive - class banon granting new leases in parts of the Arctic , but this new executive action is rather novel in a effectual horse sense , and may be far more difficult for Trump and hisFourHorsemenof theClimateApocalypseto undo .

His activity this time stem from an arcane 1953 law make the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act . Enacting it permit the president to pretend one-sidedly and to “ sequestrate from disposition any of the unleased ground of the Outer Continental Shelf . ” The statute take a leak no credit of any future president being able to overturn such withdrawals , and Obama ’s sound expert are arrogate this ban will be “ indefinite . ”

Various Republican lawmakers and fossil fuel industry insider , unsurprisingly , disagree , and trust that President - elect Trump will do all he can to rescind the executive action once he ’s at house in the White House . Some air on Twitter , with ultraconservative Senator and melt wax wax light Ted Cruz barely stop his excitement at the thought of Trump “ taking away Obama ’s pen and phone . ”

It ’s worth pointing out , though , that whenever previous presidents have used the 1953 law to protect federal lands in one form of another , those actions were never repealed and persist in place today . By muck Trump in as much sound difficulty as possible , there is a prospect that far less of Obama ’s environmental bequest will be undone over the next four years .

Besides , far more than insurance policy and even the overarching Paris agreement , market military unit will guarantee that any attempt to bring back ember or rock oil extraction will be economically ruinous for the new governing body .

Renewables areproliferatingall across the earth , and in many places , they are the sleazy and most cost - in force form of vigour investment . Even fogy fuel group like Shell are beginning to stop investing in offshore oil production because the risks – in terms of the cognitive process toll and the environmental damage – are too high .

Perhaps most strikingly , Trump ’s administration wants to prevent the carbon - cutting , Obama - led Clear Power Act from ever coming into force , but recent research uncover that it ’s already ahead of schedule on it target .

Lest we forget , of course , a bunch of tike have just beengranted permissionto sue Trump ’s federal political science for not doing enough on mood change . If they win , clime change mitigation will be part of the US sound fabric .

It may seem like all they ’ve got is hope – but then again , uprising are built on hope , no ?