US plans to open Atlantic to drilling

The US government announced plans to open swathes of the western Atlantic to oil and gas drilling Tuesday, while simultaneously protecting seas off Alaska's coast. President Barack Obama called for 9.8 million acres in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas to be off limits, while his Interior Department announced plans to drill in the Atlantic from Virginia to Georgia. Obama's White House said the proposals were part of a "balanced approach" that judged the debate over drilling in ea