The Willow Project
We have until the end of February to stop the ConocoPhillips $8 billion oil drilling proposal in Alaskaâs western Arctic.
A project first greenlighted by the Trump administration has been in dispute for two years between Alaska's largest crude oil producer and the government over the corporationâs right to drill on federal territory in the Arctic. The potential damage this project poses to the climate and culture is monumental. (potentially adding more than 250 million metric tons of carbon emissions to the atmosphere over the next 30 years)
Outrage as US government advances $8bn Alaska oil drilling plan - The Guardian
Environmental groups and the Native village of Nuiqsut, which would be most affected by the project in the northernmost stretch of Alaska, have opposed the project, which they say would mark the end of a way of life for communities in the rapidly warming Arctic. It would also exacerbate air pollution problems in a region where oil and gas extraction projects are already contributing to elevated rates of asthma and other health conditions.
âWillow is a carbon bomb that cannot be allowed to explode in the Arctic,â said Karlin Nageak Itchoak, senior regional director at the non-profit Wilderness Society. Already, the Arctic has been warming almost four times faster than the rest of the world.
âOur Native villages are eroding into the sea, thawing permafrost is making infrastructure insecure, and food sources are disappearing,â Itchoak said. âAnd this project would just exacerbate and speed up the climate crisis in the Arctic.â
Many environmental groups have rallied to stop the willow project, after the Trump administration first approved the project, a federal judge reversed the decision, ruling that the environmental review was flawed. The latest review by the Bureau of Land Management suggested that a âscaled-downâ version of the project may âminimizeâ the effects of the massively destructive oil project in the Arctic. But the interior department did leave open the possibility of further scaling back or rejecting the project, with a final decision expected in a month.
We have until the end of February to pressure the Biden administration to fully scrap this project. Time to amplify the groups in this fight.
Actions to take immediately:
PETITIONING U.S. Department of the Interior:
Letter to the Bureau of Land Management:
Petition to President Biden:
Alaska residents, climate activists call on President Biden to shut down oil project
âBecause of the location and the nearness to Teshekpuk Lake and the nearness to the ocean, this will affect the caribou and their migration around the lake,â said Nuiqsut Mayor Rosemary Ahtuangaruak. Ahtuangaruak said her city relies on caribou for food and previous business projects have scared them away, causing her people to suffer from hunger.
Eunice Brower, the treasurer of the small Alaskan village, Nuiqsut, said her daughter, Charity, was just a toddler when she was hospitalized due to an oil rig exploding near her hometown in 2012.
âIt was hard to watch her struggle to breathe,â said Brower.
Thankfully, Charity survived.
Willow Project Would Be a Disaster for Alaska and the Climate-Sierra Club
In response, Sierra Club Senior Campaign Representative Mike Scott released the following statement:
âAllowing Willow to move forward will pose a threat to some of Alaskaâs last undisturbed wilderness, to the populations of wildlife that call it home, and to the public health of nearby communities and makes it harder to achieve our climate goals. We must end new leasing on public lands and conserving more nature to secure our climate future.âÂ
This is personal.
Alaska is my fatherâs family home, the land has seen enough extraction and it is time to end new oil and gas projects. We have a window of opportunity to turn up the volume on the call to cancel the Willow Project. Take action by signing the petitions and sharing content you see raising awareness. If you are up for it-make some content of your own and call others to act as well!
We expect a decision on February 28th.