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By Katie Adamson

Alaskan polar bear walking on melting ice. Photo credit: Arctic Focus.

Our world is heating up. Our oceans are rising. Some animals’ natural habitats are disappearing. Climate change is undeniably evermore present on our planet today and is only projected to worsen. 

As citizens of the world, we should be protecting our planet, not making our issues worse. 

On Tuesday, March 15, the Biden administration approved the Willow Project, an Alaskan oil drilling project whose impacts will likely be detrimental to the environment. Nicknamed the “climate bomb,” The Willow Project will be the largest oil and gas project on U.S. public lands, and that claim does not come without a cost. It is estimated that the fossil fuels extracted from the Willow Project will dump approximately 260 million metric tons of greenhouse gasses into our atmosphere, which would be disastrous for our environment and efforts to reverse the effects of climate change.

Not only did Biden break his campaign promise to end new oil and gas drilling on public lands and waters, but the president has also broken people’s hearts worldwide. The news of the approval has angered climate activists, environmentalists, and young people globally, all of whom are nervous about what the climate future may look like.

Willow Project drilling plant in Alaska. Photo credit: The Associated Press.

ConocoPhillips is a 100 billion dollar Houston-based energy company that has been exploring and drilling for oil in Alaska for over 50 years. The ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project is a massive and decades-long oil drilling venture on Alaska’s North Slope in the National Petroleum Reserve, which is owned by the federal government. The area where the project is planned holds up to 600 million barrels of oil. However, that oil would take years to reach the market, since the project has yet to be constructed.

Alaskan lawmakers say the project will create jobs, boost domestic energy production, and lessen the country’s reliance on foreign oil. All three lawmakers in Alaska’s bipartisan congressional delegation met with President Biden and his senior advisers on March 3, urging the president and his administration to approve the project.

On the contrary, young people and activists nationwide have been bombarding the Biden administration with letters and petitions urging them to stop for the sake of the environment. By the administration estimates, the project would generate enough oil to release 9.2 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon pollution a year – equivalent to adding 2 million gas-powered cars to the roads. This much carbon alone greatly sets back efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which have been scientifically proven to worsen the effects of climate change. 

Which is better, more jobs or saving our planet? This is the core of the ongoing debate.

Environmentalist protest outside of The White House. Photo credit: Bryan Olin Dozier/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock.

Environmental activist groups and ConocoPhillips are each racing against the clock. Construction to start the Willow Project can only be completed during the winter, because there must be a passable ice road to finish the oil project’s infrastructure. There also are miles and miles of roads and pipelines necessary for the project, which will take additional time to construct. Winter in Alaska is roughly October through early April, meaning that ConocoPhillips has a strict timeline to prepare for the Willow Project to take place. 

If environmental groups can stop or delay the project before the end of winter this year, it could delay construction for at least a year. Since the project needs to be fully constructed before the oil can be produced, it could take years for the oil pumped out of Willow to reach the market. 

Additionally, the Willow Project will likely face legal battles, especially against Earthjustice, a nonprofit public interest organization based in the United States dedicated to litigating environmental issues. Currently, Earthjustice is planning to sue the Willow Project, setting back ConocoPhillips’ timeline, if not ending the project once and for all. 

More protestors outside of the White House. Photo credit: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images.

The environment in Alaska is already screaming for help. Even with substantial emissions reductions, Alaska is projected to warm by 6°F to 8°F in the North and 4°F to 6°F in the rest of the state by the end of the century. Annual precipitation is projected to increase, glaciers are continuing to melt, there have been more large fires, and animals are starting to lose their habitats. Native Alaskans are being threatened by the loss of clean water, saltwater intrusion, and sewage contamination from thawing permafrost, which is any ground that remains completely frozen—32°F (0°C) or colder—for at least two years straight. The most recent IPCC report outlines that the 1.5°C limit is still achievable and outlines the critical action required across sectors and by everyone at all levels. However, the Willow Project will take away from the progression towards this goal. While the economy may slightly benefit from the oil from the Willow Project, these environmental issues will only get worse, and it will be next to impossible for the United States to achieve the Biden administration’s stated goal to achieve 50% of emission reductions by 2030. 

The controversy behind the Willow Project has social media in an uproar, and lawyers scrambling to stop the process in whatever way possible. On the supporting side, the Willow Project will help ensure the U.S. has a reliable, domestic energy supply. However, this energy is not renewable, and, at some point, there will not be any more oil. If we continue to drill for oil in the future, we will begin to run out of Earth’s natural resources and continue to damage our environment.