In environmental news, a federal judge in Alaska has restored a ban on offshore drilling across large parts of the Arctic Ocean, blocking a 2017 executive order by President Trump that opened up tens of millions of acres for oil leasing. Trump’s order sought to reverse several Obama-era measures, but Judge Sharon Gleason ruled that it “exceeded the President’s authority,” and only Congress has the power to revoke the prior withdrawal of lands for oil leasing. The League of Conservation Voters, one of the groups who sued to block the executive order, celebrated the victory, saying, “Offshore drilling and the associated threat of devastating oil spills puts coastal economies and ways of life at risk while worsening the consequences of climate change. President Trump wanted to erase all the environmental progress we’ve made, but we fought back and we won.” The Trump administration is expected to appeal the decision.