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O'Rourke might halt new oil and gas drilling on federal land
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke said Thursday he's willing to consider a moratorium on new leases to drill for oil and gas on federal lands as a way to help combat climate change.
The Democratic presidential hopeful told reporters while campaigning in Nevada on Thursday the nation needs to rethink how it protects its public lands and "keep them from being diminished in size as has happened under" the Trump administration.
O'Rourke said that concern, combined with the need to reduce total greenhouse emissions, makes it especially important that U.S. taxpayers don't allow oil and gas companies "to contribute more to the problem."
"So, rethinking the leasing of public lands and perhaps creating a moratorium on any future leases — and reviewing all those that are in existence — is in order," he told reporters after a speech to the University of Nevada Young Democrats at a packed coffee shop on the edge of the Reno campus.
Read more: https://www.oaoa.com/news/state/article_63b74088-6d63-597e-9f82-074d430479b9.html
(Odessa American)