The Cruelty of the Willow Project

The Willow Project will impact the climate

On March 13th, 2023 the Biden Administration passed one of the cruelest and potentially deadliest acts thus far during his Presidency. The Willow Project is a massive and decadeslong oil drilling venture on Alaska’s North Slope in the National Petroleum Reserve, which is owned by the federal government. The area is supposed to hold up to 600 million barrels of oil. The oil would take years to reach the market since they haven’t even started yet. The destruction will include enough oil to release 9.2 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon pollution a year. Some symptoms of CO2 poisoning may include headaches, dizziness, restlessness, a tingling or pins or needles feeling, difficulty breathing, sweating, tiredness, increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, coma, asphyxia, and convulsions. It can also negatively impact the surrounding wildlife habitats and the Alaska Native communities. Those affected will include polar bears, caribou, and Yellow-billed Loons. 

Some of the students and teachers weighed in on this project.  Students looked at the project as a negative step toward protecting the environment. According to Junior Emily Roos “ I think it is stupid because it’s putting a lot of living things in danger.” Freshman Jordon Kemp said “ In my opinion, the Willow Project is not safe for our environment. The project will produce too much carbon pollution for our environment, causing climate change to be severely affected.” On the other hand, teacher Ms. Zolocsik, one of Burrell's science teachers, disagreed, “I feel like it's actually good for the environment. People are just uneducated on this topic. It is actually good for climate change.”

Overall, many of agree that it isn't a good idea and that it's going to be too dangerous to the environment and the wildlife but others may think otherwise. 

Writing Contributor: Lorin Pavlik-Ware

Photos from Creative Commons