I, too, would like the current president to stick it to the president-elect at every possible opportunity—and god knows, we do not lack for possible opportunities. The man is a walking, talking possible opportunity. It certainly would fill me with holiday cheer and make me feel so much better. However, we all know that is far distant from his style.
But yesterday, as Bloomberg reports, with a big assist from the handsome young fella who's running things in our neighbor to the north these days, the president gave the president-elect, and his incredibly oil-sodden prospective administration, an ensemble kick below decks that they'll feel for years. And also, it's damn fine policy, too.
In an announcement coordinated between two of the world's biggest oil producers, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also committed to freeze new offshore leasing in his nation's Arctic waters and review the matter every five years. "These actions, and Canada's parallel actions, protect a sensitive and unique ecosystem that is unlike any other region on Earth," Obama said in a written statement. "They reflect the scientific assessment that even with the high safety standards that both our countries have put in place, the risks of an oil spill in this region are significant and our ability to clean up from a spill in the region's harsh conditions is limited." The U.S. move -- announced a month before Obama leaves the White House -- is sure to draw a legal challenge, and there is scant precedent on the matter. President-elect Donald Trump could rescind the order, but the 1953 statute Obama is invoking doesn't include an explicit provision for reversal and that question could be tied up in court for years.
Legacy that, Secretary Rex.
(And this takes a little of the domestic heat off Trudeau, who was recently hearing it from his left when he approved a couple pipelines up in the environmental dead zone that is northern Alberta.)
A while back, another writer and I kicked around the idea of sharing a byline on a story about the Northwest Passage. For centuries, bold mariners and other explorers went broke, froze to death, or both, trying to find a sea route from Europe to Asia through the northern latitudes. Martin Frobisher is probably the most famous of these lost souls, although he died in sunnier climes during a war with Spain. Captain Sir John Franklin was less lucky, although they did find one of his ships three months ago.
Now, though, thanks to the way we've monkeywrenched the climate, there actually is a way to sail essentially through the North American continent. This has opened up new possibilities for environmental depredation, as well as a partial reprieve for the fossil fuel industry, which is largely responsible for the opening of the passage in the first place. Trudeau and the president are kicking back at that, and doing so in a way that likely will make it difficult (if not impossible) for the incoming Grabitall Administration to undo. That beats some harsh words all hollow.
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Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston and has three children.
