The End of Our World or the Start of a Revolution: The Willow Project and What it Means for Us
When United States President Joe Biden was elected, America erupted into a state of chaos. The collective sigh of relief from the Democrats could be heard from all corners of the globe, while the anger of the Republicans was palpable. However, no matter which group we, in Canada, identify with most, I believe it’s safe to assume that we all enjoy living on Earth. This sentiment, along with a few other policies, was a big reason why Biden was voted in to begin with. His promises to fight climate change were long, detailed, extremely convincing, and it would be very hard to deny the fact that they were necessary given how researched and spoken about the climate crisis is.
During his campaign and throughout his term, Biden unleashed several plans with the hopes of attempting to fix the ever-looming issue of climate change that we are facing today. One of his goals was to limit greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% by 2030 which, though difficult, was feeling plausible in 2022 because of the Inflation Reduction Act. This Act created incentives for citizens to use clean energy through tax reduction on things like electric cars. Biden has attempted many different things such as reducing super pollutants, increasing carbon dioxide clean-up, and so on .
“Climate change is literally an existential threat to our nation and to the world, the health of our citizens and our communities is… at stake. So we have to act.” This direct quote was said by Biden in 2022, emphasizing how important it is to finally take back control of our planet and work to fight climate change.
So this is all good and well, and we should all be thanking our lucky stars to have such a climate activist leading one of the world’s biggest superpowers right? Well…maybe not. On Monday, March 13th 2023, the Biden Administration approved something that could be wildly detrimental to our planet and its future: The Willow Project.
The Willow Project was first proposed by ConocoPhillips (an oil drilling company) in 2020, and was immediately approved by the Trump Administration. The plan was to set up five oil drilling pads in the Alaskan National Petroleum Reserve. A drilling pad is an area that gives access to multiple oil wells under the surface, allowing for more drilling in one location. Holding 600 million barrels of oil, this location seemed ideal to drill in, as it would practically be an oil goldmine. When the Biden Administration came into power, they reduced the amount of drilling to three pads, which may seem smaller, but is still around 68,000 acres of land.
Many people are in opposition of the project, as it was estimated that its completion would allow for the release of 9.2 million metric tons of carbon a year. This seemingly inconceivable number would be extremely harmful to the health of our planet, speeding up global warming at a terrifyingly fast rate. Despite this, many people think that this is the right thing to do, as it would increase revenue and access to fossil fuels in a “safe” way. They argue that by drilling in Alaska, we are avoiding the need for drilling in more “dangerous” oil sites, such as Saudi Arabia.
The Native citizens of Alaska are divided as well. The coalition “Voice of the Arctic Inupiat” is in strong agreement with the project, as it would increase investment to their lands, and they would have to rely much less on the federal government. “Willow presents an opportunity to continue that investment in the communities,” the leader of the coalition says, “without that money and revenue stream, we’re reliant on the state and the feds.” However, Native residents of the village of Nuiqsut have very different opinions. As their community is very close to the drilling site, they would be directly affected by the high levels of pollution being emitted from Willow, and they are fighting loudly against it.
If this is feeling a little depressing, don’t worry, all hope is not lost. The Willow Project can only drill in the winter, because it requires ice for its infrastructure. This would mean that drilling might have to stop as early as April, if they could even start, which is starting to seem like less and less of a possibility, given the current outrage coming from climate activist groups. One of these groups, Earthjustice, is working on filing a formal complaint against the project, which would cause a considerable delay. This would set the project behind by a year, opening up more opportunity for change.
Through supporting projects that go against his eco-related goals, Biden has put the future of our ecosystem, and everyone in it, at risk. Although scary, this is not the time to sit back and wait for our imminent destruction. As students, we are in an excellent position to make a change. The activism groups currently fighting the project are not much older than us, and they are making a considerable difference, through social media coverage and millions of petition signatures and letters. Instead of viewing this as a setback, we can view this as an opportunity to make change where we can and do our best to save the planet that has done so much for us already.
The world cannot end if the citizens don’t let it.
