Profit Over Preservation: What The Willow Project Is Telling The World

On March 13th of this year, the Biden administration announced the approval of the Willow project. The Willow project is a massive oil drilling expedition in Alaska on the National Petroleum Reserve. Conoco Phillips, a Houston-based oil drilling company, originally proposed the plan in 2020 under the Trump Administration. The original approval consisted of five oil drilling pads. However, a federal judge reversed the approval, citing the National Environmental Policy Act and claiming the administration did not thoroughly investigate greenhouse gas emissions and effects on surrounding water sources. 

Oddly enough, when the plan was rejected due to concerns over greenhouse gas emissions, the Interior Department changed the way they measure emissions. Now, almost a  year later, the project has been approved. 

While you may have seen tons of pushback from climate activists or the #StopWillow movement is going viral on social media, there is sadly a lot of support behind this project. Possibly the most compelling support comes from several Native groups in Alaska. According to the president of the group Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat, Nagruk Harcharek, there is “majority consensus” in the Northern Slope area. This project is a significant revenue source for native groups, allowing them to become independent from state and federal funding and providing well-paying union jobs for those in the community. In addition, all three members of Alaska’s congressional delegation have expressed their support for the project to the White House. 

The widespread support of this bill tells the world one thing: we don’t care about the destruction of the environment as long as we’re making enough money from it. The Willow project is estimated to create up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day, making it the largest oil drilling site on U.S. territory. Using the oil over the project’s 30-year lifespan would create 263 MILLION tons of greenhouse gasses, the equivalent of putting just under 2 million cars on the road in the same timeframe. 

It’s been made pretty clear that the only way to change the global warming pattern is to cut our emissions. During the election, Biden’s largest campaigning point was the promise to invest in alternative energy and slash our emissions. The Biden administration pledged to cut emissions in half (from 2005) by 2030, yet we are locking in a 30-year plan to guarantee emission increases. So much for your climate promise, huh Biden? 

Evergreen Action’s website states, “a recent report [from] the University of Manchester’s Tyndall Center for Climate Change found that there’s no room for any new fossil fuel production facilities if we want to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avert catastrophic global heating.” 

The Willow Project also occurs in very close proximity to a native Alaskan community–36 miles, to be exact. These native communities have expressed their concern over the project's impact on the natural habitats around them–as the majority practice a substance lifestyle–living off nature around them. According to the Sovereign Inupiat for a Living Arctic (SILA), the project would directly affect the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd, a significant food source for local tribes for centuries. The pollutants released from the drilling would negatively impact the plants and vegetation in the area, directly affecting the harvest and food sources for wildlife. 

Despite all these problems, previously known by most, the Biden administration still gave the project the green light. This sends the message, not only to the native communities directly affected by the project but also to the world, that people in charge will never care for the environment as long as there is enough profit for them. Despite climate scientists issuing a code red for humanity and the apparent effects of climate change, burning fossil fuels will always take precedence. There is a deep-rooted attachment to the usage of unsustainable energy sources in our country and most of the western world of industrialization, for that matter. If there is to be any sort of future promised for the next generations to come, our actions cannot wait any longer. We can not afford another 30-year promise of climate disaster, and the Biden administration should feel ashamed of the betrayal of their promises to the American people. 

Strike out,

Haley Dockendorff

Boca Raton

Haley Dockendorff is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine Boca. Loud and proud, this Virgo loves writing just about anything that will cause a bit of commotion. If you can’t find her, she’s probably somewhere on a beach with a camera in hand.  You can reach her at haleydockendorff143@gmail.com