Trump wants to make it easier to drill in national parks. We mapped the 42 parks at risk.

Weaker regulations could mean oil and gas pollution and spills in pristine national parks.

Updated by Sarah Frostenson@sfrostensonsarah.frostenson@vox.com Apr 20, 2017, 8:40am EDT

Two oil rigs sit just outside of Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Watford City, North Dakota. There aren’t currently any oil wells inside the park, but the new administration’s lax stance on drilling in national parks might soon change this.

Ken Cedeno/Corbis via Getty Images

It’s no secret that oil and gas companies are on the hunt for new places to drill. But the quest for more fossil fuels could heat up in places you might not expect: our national parks.

With President Donald Trump’s executive order on energy, federal agencies are now reviewing all rules that inhibit domestic energy production. And that includes regulations around drilling in national parks that, if overturned, could give oil and gas companies easier access to leases on federal lands they’ve long coveted.

"This opportunity is unique, maybe once in a lifetime," Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute lobby group, told Reuters. It could also put some of America’s most pristine and ecologically sensitive areas at risk of oil spills, ground contamination, and explosions. 

There are currently more than 500 active oil and gas wells spread across 12 national parks, as you can see in the map below. In 2015, drilling on federal lands made up nearly a fifth of overall US production. 

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Jeff Sessions Doesn’t Understand the Necessity of Science

His decision to kill the National Commission on Forensic Science betrays a lack of understanding about how to assess good evidence.

By Suzanne Bell

 

Science and the law are not natural partners. Science seeks to advance our understanding of the natural world. The law is tasked with ensuring public safety and making sure justice is properly served. Over time, science became another tool available to the legal system to pursue those goals.

During recent years, though, problems with some aspects of forensic science have come to light. Examples include false convictions based on faulty fire-scene and burn-pattern analysis and on bite-mark analysis, incorrect fingerprint identification and instances of misconduct in forensic labs. Recognizing these shortcomings has led to various efforts to propel forensic science forward, helping us recognize which parts of it are scientifically valid, which parts aren’t, and where more research must be done.

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Poll: Most say Ivanka, Jared's White House roles are inappropriate

By Betsy Klein and Kate Bennett, CNN

Updated 1540 GMT (2340 HKT) April 20, 2017

Poll: Ivanka, Jared's WH roles inappropriate 01:52

Story highlights

• About 56% of voters have unfavorable opinions of Donald Trump
• First lady Melania Trump has a 34% favorable rating

(CNN)Fewer voters have unfavorable opinions of the first family than President Donald Trump, but a majority disapprove of the adviser roles of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, according to a Quinnipiac University poll of registered voters published Wednesday.

Ivanka Trump recently assumed an official role in her father's administration. She moved into a West Wing office and obtained a security clearance in late March.

About 53% of respondents said the first daughter playing a significant role in the White House is not appropriate, compared with 36% who said it was appropriate and 10% who did not have an opinion.

Ivanka Trump walks with her husband, White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner, toward Marine One while departing with her father President Donald Trump on February 17, 2017 in Washington, DC.

Kushner, her husband, also has a broad portfolio within the West Wing, where he has an influential purview over a range of foreign and domestic policy issues. He is heading up the Office of American Innovation, a new White House office aimed at reforming the federal government through private-sector solutions.

About 53% said his role was not appropriate, compared to 32% of respondents who said it was appropriate and 15% who did not know.

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