By, Carla Cosajay Catalan, Staff Writer | May 25, 2023
Photo Courtesy to AP Images
If you’re a frequent user of TikTok or other social media apps like Twitter and Instagram, you may have noticed various videos and posts about something called The Willow Project.
The Willow Project is a 8 billion dollar proposed oil and gas project that will be located in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. The project itself would open up around 629 million barrels of oil and produce 287 million Metric tons of CO2 over 30 years.
This project has been created by ConocoPhillips and has been presented in the past.
It had been approved by the Trump Administration back in 2020 but was then later reversed by an Alaska Federal Judge in 2021, stating that the environmental analysis was flawed.
This year however, the Bureau of Land Management released a final environmental impact statement that claimed it was an advanced project but should be scaled down by reducing the number of drilling pads it can have and cutting down on the footprint of the pipelines, etc. Because of this, it was reintroduced and presented over to Biden.
“The Willow Project should not advance because of the harm and changes it does to the ecosystem and to our climate. People running projects like this are usually after money rather than helping take care of the earth,” said Carson High School junior Jayla Smithnobles.
If the plan is completed, it’s game over. It will cause the Earth irreversible damage. Ecosystems will be gone, Global Warming will now be unstoppable and animals will be wiped out left and right at an uncontrollable pace.
“I don't think the plan should go through. It would put every living thing in danger, all for oil and gas that we’ll possibly not even be able to use,” said CHS junior Raymone Welch.
Even though it will affect our Earth greatly, there is still controversy surrounding the project. There are many that still support this project because they believe this will create much needed jobs for Alaskans and it will create local, state, and federal revenue. The project also boosts domestic energy production, meaning adding more crude oil, which will make more American produced gasoline.
It’s said that Biden has been leaning towards supporting this bill as he wants to avoid having high gas prices as we had last summer hence, wanting the boost of domestic energy production. ConocoPhillips is said to be waiting on the green light and will start construction immediately once receiving it.
Taking this all into consideration, it is very important to unite at this time in order to help stop it.
Speak out and remind the Biden administration about the stated climate goals that they promised. It is important to use the power of our voice, their said voice, and the law to be able to take this fight to court and get it revoked.
Some things are worth saving and nothing is more important than our very own planet. Without Earth, what jobs and what gasoline will be needed? It is our job to take care of our land the same way it has taken care of us.
Help stop this project by signing the official petitions to revoke it! Attend events and protests about the cause!
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