Biden Administration Approves Massive Oil Drilling Project in Alaska

Today, the Biden Administration has approved a controversial oil drilling project in Alaska.

The Willow Project will involve decades of drilling in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve. It will be among the largest federal land oil developments. The ConocoPhillips project will cost billions of dollars to complete.

"We finally did it, Willow is finally reapproved, and we can almost literally feel Alaska's future brightening because of it," Alaskan Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said in a press statement. She continued by pointing out that Alaska is “now on the cusp of creating thousands of new jobs, generating billions of dollars in new revenues [and] improving quality of life on the North Slope and across our state."

But at what cost to the environment?

The Biden Administration’s Bureau of Land Management has projected that drilling for the Willow Project will release a disastrous 9.2 million metric tons of carbon pollution every single year.

According to the @epagov Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator, that amount of carbon pollution is equal to adding 2 million cars to the road or the burned coal from 51,000 rail cars. Every year.

Environmental groups and advocates are ready to sue, as they did in 2021, which resulted in blocking ConocoPhillips construction permits. Activists hope to delay the project again with a new lawsuit.

What do you think about this project? Is it necessary? What harm will it do to the environment?

#environment #environmentaljustice #climate #climatechange #climatejustice #alaska #oil #energy #greenenergy #politics #oildrilling