What's up with Willow?

The Willow Prospect Area is located west of Alpine, Alaska and oil was first discovered there in October of 2020. The Willow Project is a $6 billion dollar project by ConocoPhillips to drill oil and gas in the Prospect Area. This may not seem like a big deal. Society needs oil to maintain civilization as it’s the largest major energy source in the United States. Moreover, the Project will destroy the climate, speeding up the process of climate change. 

Sure, the approval of the Willow Project will negatively impact wildlife, but more specifically the Willow Project will put animals like polar bears’ habitat in danger by releasing greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Drilling for oil in this area could also affect the migration habits for animals, like caribou. 

One of the big reasons the Willow Project was approved was because of just how much energy the area will produce from its oil. At its peak production point, Willow is projected to bring 180,000 barrels of oil each day. The Willow area will be one of the biggest oil settlements for the United States, producing 1.5% of the country’s oil each day. All of this information can just seem like words on a page, so why should we care as high school students?

Obviously, the world has changed since humans have inhabited it and created civilizations, but have humans gone too far? In 2019, the United Nations found that we only have 11 years to prevent damage to the climate caused by humans that is irreversible. The Willow Project has the potential to release 239 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in the 30 years Willow will be expected to run. Therefore, not only will the project harm wildlife and their habitats, it will also speed up climate change, giving humans less of a chance to reverse the damage we have done.

It may not seem like you have much control over this situation being only a student in high school, but there are options for your voice to be heard. Before the Willow Project was passed, change.org created a petition for people to sign in order to try and stop the approval of the project. As of Tuesday, March 28th, just under 5,000,000 people have signed, you can also still sign the petition if you visit their website. Now that the Willow project has been passed however, it is best to speak in numbers. You can gather with people also against the Willow Project, and send a message to the government in Washington D.C. 

Moreover, social media is a great tool to use to spread the word. That being said, social media has its pros and cons. Many people use social media as an outlet to spread false information to a large group of people. When scrolling through your Instagram or Twitter feed next time, and “facts” about current events come up, be sure to think twice before believing what you see.