Project Willow is a project that focuses on the selling of Alaska to be used for oil drilling. If approved, it will emit roughly 277 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere; killing wildlife and ecosystems while also contributing to climate change.
This project was created by ConocoPhillips, a company involved with hydrocarbon exploration and production. The company initially presented Willow in 2020, where it was approved by Donald Trump, but due to much disagreement from Alaska First Nations, it was thrown out as unlawful in 2021. But as of March 13, 2023, the Biden administration approved this project and it plans
Willow aims to drill up 100 exploratory wells in the land, producing around 180,000 barrels of oil per day, concluding to 600 million barrels in total. This project will provide around 2,000 construction jobs with 300 of them being long term. It will generate around $8 – $17 billion dollars in revenue as well as making oil cheaper.
Though this will have a major contribution to the energy production and lessen the need for oil, it has an impact on the environment around such drills. Natural habitats and wildlife will be in danger, not only because they are unable to handle the CO2 being emitted, but also because it alters migration patterns, affecting food chains and many ecosystems. Not only that, but Project Willow will have a big impact on climate change, one that the Earth doesn’t need.
Because Project Willow is approved, it will release more pollution than 99.7% of all single point sources in the U.S. yearly. This amount of pollution can be compared to 76 coal fired-power plants and an extra 2 million cars on the road each year. With this much greenhouse gas emitted into the atmosphere, the Earth’s temperature becomes more rapid.
In the end, the negatives outweigh the positives, and while this is occurring in the United States, it affects the rest of the world as well. We all live on the same planet, and instead of destroying it, we should be focusing on how to protect it.
Works Cited
Click to access 22copa013-willow-fact-sheet-r8-15-14-hr.pdf
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/14/politics/willow-project-oil-alaska-explained-climate/index.html
Home
Titan Times 