President Obama issued a block on new offshore oil and gas drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans on Tuesday, invoking a provision of a 1953 law blocking drilling in some federal waters. The ban would be difficult for future administrations to overturn, as the 1953 law does not offer a provision to reverse on a drilling withdrawal, the White House said Tuesday. The move, which the Obama administration has suggested for days, has been lauded by environmental activists, but denounced by oil and energy interests.
