In a first under Biden, public lands will be reopened for oil and gas development

The interior department is pushing forward with the first onshore auctions of public oil and natural gas drilling leases under Joe Biden, as government officials juggle attempts to combat the climate catastrophe against pressure to reduce high fuel costs.

The proposal also asks for a significant hike in corporate royalty rates, presumably to control global emissions that are fueling the climate problem, though economists predict the ....