President Obama and his top aides, who have ushered through an increasingly ambitious set of energy and environmental policies during his second term, have decided to flood the zone during his remaining month in office. For months, they had envisioned finalizing a set of regulations and other executive actions that would set the stage for Hillary Clinton’s presidency; now they face the prospect of a Republican successor who has vowed to revive the U.S. fossil fuel industry and eliminate two regulations for every one he adopts.
In many cases, that means exerting every federal lever still available to promote renewable energy, restrict drilling and coal extraction, and safeguard a handful of prized landscapes in the western United States.
The administration finalized a rule aimed at curbing accidental methane releases from oil and gas drilling on federal and tribal lands. Officials estimate the new methane rule—which compels reductions in gas flaring, more leak inspections, and the installation of new equipment in some operations—will cut annual emissions of the heat-trapping gas by 175,000 to 180,000 tons.
Just two days ago, it issued an indefinite plan for offshore oil and gas drilling that halts such decisions in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off Alaska, as well as in waters off the southeast Atlantic Coast.
On the other side of the ledger, the Interior Department finalized a rule just two days after the election that aims to expand wind and solar development on Bureau of Land Management–owned land by streamlining the permitting process and providing financial incentives for firms to bid on areas that have the best potential for generation capacity and the fewest conflicts with imperiled species.
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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