This is why we can’t do anything.

The [Bureau of Land Management] hasn’t had a permanent, Senate-confirmed director in 5 years. [In other words Trump never bothered.] And Stone-Manning’s tenure begins as the Biden administration is under intense pressure to end all fossil fuel development on federal land in the West. Environmentalists see that as a key component to fighting the climate crisis. But the oil and gas industry still expects the US government to afford it new drilling opportunities.

It’s that “But” – that’s why. On the one hand: we need to “fight” the climate crisis because it’s an existential threat to the planet, to humans, to everything that depends on the planet. On the other hand, an industry wants to continue making $$$. Those two things should not be treated as equally important or urgent or impossible to ignore. The existential threat should knock the profit-desire all the way out of the picture with a single blow, but it never does.

It’s up to Stone-Manning to strike that tricky and some say contradictory balance.

“Some say” – yes, NPR, it’s just a quirky eccentric opinion of some wacky people.

It shouldn’t be up to Stone-Manning to strike any kind of “balance” between trying to slow climate change and what The Oil And Gas Industry wants.

… the oil and gas industry has warned that stopping all new – and discouraging existing – development could cost local economies in the West tens of billions of dollars.

Wait til they see what the rise in sea level is going to cost, to name just one item.