The Bureau of Land Management has been ordered to halt drilling and sales of new oil leases in the Colorado River Valley in order to consider the climate impacts of development on its lands. Carbondale-based Wilderness Workshop, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups had gone to court on this issue in 2017. Aspen Journalism environment desk editor Elizabeth Stewart-Severy has been following the story. “The ruling now says they (Bureau of Land Management) have to consider the downstream effects of drilling, which includes things like once that oil is out of the ground what are the impacts of burning it to cook or burning it to heat your home,” Stewart-Severy explained. “This requires a much more comprehensive look at climate impacts of not just the extraction out of the ground but the end use as well.” Though this ruling could have a major impact on future oil drilling, Stewart-Severy says it probably won’t have any immediate effect. To view the full article visit the Aspen Public Radio.
