An in depth look at the Willow Project

By Ava Bert

With the Arctic warming at a rate nearly four times faster than the rest of the world, ConocoPhillips, an international oil producer, is working to generate their long awaited plan, the Willow Project.

The Willow Project is a massive, decade-long oil drilling project located on the North Slope of Alaska.

Willow was approved by the government this past March, causing widespread turmoil across America as many claim this goes against President Joe Biden’s initial climate promises. Despite the president’s aim to reduce greenhouse emissions by 50%, he is now introducing mass oil projects set to do the opposite.

Even before The Willow Project’s official approval, the Biden administration had made advances towards a smaller scale version, such as three oil drilling sites (with a possible fourth in the future), 268 miles of pipeline, 431 miles of ice roads, and areas for aircraft flights, according to an article from the New York Times.

Despite over 5 million people signing various petitions in an effort to halt the project, federal judge

Sharon Gleason of the US district court of Alaska ruled, on April 4, that it may proceed.

The Willow Project has come at an unfortunate time when the world must drastically rein in carbon emissions in order to avoid climate catastrophe. Unfortunately, Willow would produce an estimated 180,000 barrels (7,560,000 gallons) of crude oil daily. Should they continue at this rate, Willow will produce an estimated 600 million barrels of oil in the next 30 years.

Described as a carbon bomb, Willow is expected to produce 278 million metric tons of carbon pollution over the next 30 years. This incomprehensibly large amount of pollutant will accelerate the natural greenhouse effect, causing the temperature of the already warming Earth to further escalate.

Moreover, this project will take place in The National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. Initially set aside by President Harding in the 1920’s as an emergency oil supply for the US Navy, it spans an area of 23 million acres, making the NPRA the largest stretch of undisturbed public land in the United States. This land is underlain with now-doomed permafrost, an essential in the arctic’s health.

According to NASA, through the melting of permafrost, greenhouse gases such as carbon and methane are released into the atmosphere. Additionally, as permafrost thaws, so do ancient viruses and bacteria. These thawed microbes could be threatening to both humans and animals alike, damaging local ecosystems.

While the environment itself is clearly at risk, so are the people reliant upon it. Indigenous people, specifically those of the Nuiqsut tribe, would be especially vulnerable to this project. Not only would it further the climate crisis in the arctic and increase air pollution, it will destroy the land that the Nuiqsut so heavily depend on for hunting, fishing, and harvesting.

Though passed recently, there is evidence suggesting that the Willow Project is bound to be detrimental to both the Earth and all that inhabit it. The consequences of oil drilling is something that will affect not only us, but the generations to come should we neglect to make any changes. For more information on how you can help, be sure to visit earthjustice.org.