Remember earlier this year when the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. tossed out our nation’s existing five-year energy plan? The one governing the auctioning and sale of leases and the subsequent exploration and production of energy tied to those leases along America’s 1.76 billion acre outer continental shelf (OCS)? The one that not only iced out responsible energy exploration activities along Alaska’s OCS, but threatened to do the same in energy-rich areas in the Gulf of Mexico?

Late last night, the Court clarified its ruling to indicate that only Alaska’s OCS will be threatened by its capricious interpretation of the law – not the Gulf Coast’s. Here’s the AP’s take on the big news:

A federal appeals court ruling won’t stand in the way of new oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington clarified late Tuesday that its decision earlier this year to block some Bush-era drilling plans was meant to apply only to activity in Alaska, not the Gulf.

Uncertainty over the decision had raised questions about whether the Interior Department should move forward with a lease sale scheduled for Aug. 19 in some 18 million acres in the western Gulf near Texas. The Obama administration announced recently that it planned to hold the Gulf sale but acknowledged it might have to reverse course if the court directed it to.

Why did we create a site called What About Alaska? Consider this Exhibit A.