With all of the attention it has been receiving over the past month and a half, this blog post will focus on the Willow Project.
The Willow Project is a massive oil drilling project by ConocoPhillips located on Alaska’s North Slope in the National Petroleum Reserve. It was originally approved by the Trump administration in 2020 and was passed on to the Biden administration for final approval.
However, there has been an uprising of activism against the project, particularly online, with citizens sending over 1 million letters to the White House in protest and putting more than 5 million signatures and counting on a Change.org petition.
So why is this project so controversial?
The Willow Project will have a footprint of 499 acres of land that will include hundreds of miles of pipelines and roads, airstrips, a gravel mine, and a new processing facility planted in the middle of Alaska’s pristine Arctic tundra and wetland. Estimates predict that this project will release about 287 metric tons of CO2 over a 30-year period of time. Supporters of the project say it would bring a needed new source of revenue and jobs for the region, as well as decrease reliance on foreign oil. However, this could lead to an increase in American reliance on fossil fuels.
One of the main drawbacks (and a source for the pushback) is the damage it would inflict on local ecosystems, animal populations, and air quality with the additional potential for harmful leaks, spills and blowouts. The Arctic is warming at an alarming rate – nearly four times faster than the rest of the world – and this project may only amplify the accelerated erosion.
In spite of this, the Biden administration has approved the project on March 13th. The reason they cite for doing so is that Conoco had existing and valid leases in the area. The courts determined that they could not legally reject or significantly reduce the project without facing steep fines and legal action.
Activists still have hope that the Willow Project can be stopped. They argue that we are too far along in the climate crisis to be approving a project such as this. Conservation groups have filed a US lawsuit against it. Those against the project continue to raise their voices in opposition of the plan by writing the White House, contacting advocacy groups, getting in touch with local representatives and using social media to #StopWillow.
I hadn’t heard about the Willow Project before, but to me it seems like just another repetition of the continuous debate between climate change believers and non-believers. Every time someone tries to shut down a fossil fuel producer, it seems like the other side argues that the economic impact of the possible jobs and easy profit are worth the risk. At some point slowing climate change will have to be prioritized above the economic benefits of fossil fuels, or millions will suffer the consequences of our short sightedness. Great post!
Before reading this post, I had heard of the Willow Project and knew that it would be harmful to the environment, but this post made it a lot easier to understand just how devastating it will be. Right now, we should be focusing on decreasing carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels, not increasing it. It gives me hope to know that so many people are protesting the project and fighting to save our world.