Local environmentalists applaud Biden’s offshore oil drilling restrictions

Local environmentalists and offshore drilling opponents are welcoming President Joe Biden’s announcement he is ordering a ban on new oil and gas drilling that includes along the California coastline, arguing the risks far outweigh the benefits.

The move comes as the days tick down on the end of Biden’s term; Biden is using his authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, or OCSLA, to restrict an area greater than 625 million acres – the largest withdrawal in U.S. history. The...