House Republicans open more Federal Land to drilling and mining, So even more Fossil Fuel use now

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We just entered the ninth month of 2025, and in just the first days of September, the lawmakers in the United States have made a big decision, a decision which will inevitably increase the use of fossil fuels by the nation.

This is not a political article but is related to the decisions of government.

House Republicans voted to remove land rules that were created under President Joe Biden's reign. These rules were set to stop or at least slow down drilling and mining on some federal lands in places like Alaska, Montana and North Dakota. They were designed with the intention to protect the environment and reduce fossil fuel consumption.

But now the vote made have cleared these protection policies and companies are free again to dig and drill. If you work in such a company, it's probably good news for you but this change is showing very clearly how policies can push overconsumption and how decisions made in one country can affect people everywhere and the environment as well.

The rules set by Biden's administration only tried to slow down fossil fuel extraction, because oil, gas and coal are the biggest causes of climate change. I would emphasize that this is not to support any party, this is entirely about cause and effect.

In the view of Republicans, they saw the rules to be hurting businesses, blocking jobs and making energy more expensive. They voted to undo those rules on September 2nd, that's two days ago from the time of writing this article. They celebrated the decision as a win for American jobs and for energy independence. However, if you look at the bigger picture, it is not a win at all. It is another step deeper into overconsumption.

It's overconsumption if you're using resources faster than nature can replace them. Fossil fuels is a very good example, they take millions of years just to form under the earth, but we've managed to burn them in a few centuries. Every new well built, every new mine you see, every new pipeline, it just speeds up this imbalance and the planet is running at a loss, it can't keep up.

So by canceling this rule, the United States has choose to consume more and more fossil fuels at a time when the world should actually be reducing its use.

Most of the mining practices, creates a climate problem for the world but it directly affects people who live close to the land where the drilling and mining will happen.

So now, communities in Alaska, Montana, and North Dakota may have to endure more pollution in their rivers and their atmosphere. Families that live close by may have to deal with sickness caused by toxic chemicals from drilling. Also there are indigenous groups, who already fight to protect their traditional lands, those people may lose even more control to large energy companies since the policy permits those companies now.

Of course, there's the promise of job creation since the rules have been removed but it'll create harm to the locals, most of which will be hidden pain and suffering. The damage this will create will last longer than the paychecks this will create.

It's a big issue if you think deep about it because the effects will not stop in these states. Burning more fossil fuels adds more carbon to the atmosphere, which makes climate change worse. So that could lead to disasters like stronger storms, hotter summers and rising seas. What makes it much more of a big deal is that it won't affect only America, but across the world.

Poor countries will face the biggest dangers. Once again, we're seeing overconsumption by one group of people creating suffering for another group that did not cause the problem.

Yes it'll create all these problems and I'm sure those who voted are well aware of it but the push for energy independence is another reason the lawmakers gave for agreeing to this. They said America should produce its own oil and gas so it does not depend on other nations. But this not that strong an argument because real independence should mean moving away from fuels that destroy the earth.

Solar and wind power can give energy without running out and without poisoning water or air so that should be what they focus on instead of this.

True freedom for any nation interms of energy would come from reducing the need for fossil fuels, not doubling down on them.

You'll notice it has become a cycle if you observe it. More drilling makes oil and gas cheaper, at least for a while. Cheaper prices make people buy and burn more fuel. That higher demand leads to more drilling. This cycle just keeps repeating itself

Some would argue and I agree that breaking this cycle is difficult but it is the only way to slow down climate damage.

It is important for them to see that this is not only an American issue. The United States is one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels in the world so when its leaders choose to open more lands for extraction, the whole planet will eventually feel the effect. I don't live there but if there's a global problem, I'm screwed as well.

If we get more smoke in the sky, it means we're going to get more global warming. More global warming means more disasters everywhere which could include people in Africa, Asia and Latin America, they will have to pay the price even if they never used as much fuel as Americans do. I'm not blaming America, just making deductions here.

The promises of jobs and energy security can really hide the truth of overconsumption and it takes having to analyze the long term effect of decisions, to figure out the real truth of whether something is right or wrong. Unless people speak up and demand limits, governments may keep choosing endless growth over trying to keep the earth well balanced.

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