The Willow Project is an 8 billion dollar project that will go through a significant part of Alaska. It has been in the works for a while now, but it has been extremely controversial.
"Today, the Interior Department issued a Record of Decision regarding the proposed Willow Master Development Plan in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). The Department is substantially reducing the size of the project by denying two of the five drill sites proposed by ConocoPhillips, which is seeking to develop oil and gas leases it acquired beginning in the late 1990s. The company will also relinquish rights to approximately 68,000 acres of its existing leases in the NPR-A, including approximately 60,000 acres in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area," (doi.gov).
Environment activists are concerned with the wildlife and ecosystems in the area. The project will pump 278-287 billion metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere over a 30-year time period. The pipelines will affect many of the animals in the area and cause the rates of respiratory illnesses in the Native American community to go up.
"The project includes approximately 11 miles of roads, 20 miles of pipelines, and 133 acres of gravel, all of which reduces potential impacts to caribou migration and subsistence users. The actions will create an additional buffer from exploration and development activities near the calving grounds and migratory routes for the Teshekpuk Lake caribou herd, an important subsistence resource for nearby Alaska Native communities. They significantly scale-back the Willow Project within the constraints of valid existing rights under decades-old leases issued by prior Administrations," (doi.gov).
It will help give our country more natural resources. It will help us by having American based drilled and mined resourced, making us not have to get imported goods for our cars and other fuel ran vehicles.
In my opinion, I think that this will hurt the people in the area tremendously. I understand why the native people in the area are upset. I feel like it will also have a negative effect on our planet. I don't think hurting animals and their ecosystems is worth the oil and coal we will get. All drilling is harmful and this project is no different.
What is your opinion?
Do you think it should or shouldn't of been passed?
How do you feel about climate change?
Replies
I think that this bill should have been passed as a wat to help get our economy back to the way it was when Trump was in. If we drill more oil, there will be more of it to make fuel and that will lower prices at the pump among other things. Thanks to Biden shutting down the pipeline, prices have been extremely high. People say that drilling oil for internal combution cars is harming the environment. Howvever, there is even more harmful effects coming from the materials being mined to power and dispose of the electric cars. I don't think that climate change is really a problem because the globe goes through different changes on its own so we should not be making a huge deal out of it.
I agree that our economy is down, what people have to pay for gas is crazy. I am not as much worried about the future effects as I am about what is gonna happen now. The Native Americans in the area are going to encounter horrible respiratory effects, that will damage their respiratory system forever. The animal's ecosystems are going to be destroyed and it will completely throw off the animal migration. I am worried about human beings and animals, their lives and health are at risk. Also, mining for lithium is just as harmful as drilling for oil. They are equal. Also consider, that petroleum products give off emissions during use, while lithium batteries give off no GHG emissions while they are being used.
I don't really have an opinion on this topic, but if the bill was passed there must be some positives to it. Climate change I feel like is always going to be here, and one person can't really make a different. Unless you get lots of people to change their habits that have been in affect for decades nothing is going to change.
I agree, there are definitely positives to the bill. We would get more oil to make fuel but do the positives outweigh the negatives? I don't think so. The respiratory health of the Native Americans in the area is at risk. Animals and their ecosystems will also be killed and damaged. I don't think oil and coal are worth hurting humans and animals.
I don't think that this bill should've been passed, or even made it to the stage of completion. Yes, with this project companies will be making a lot of money from the oil being drilled, but the negatie effects much out-weigh the positives. Are the lives of the wildlife and Native Americans living in that area not more important than corporations making making money?
I completely agree with you. I am concerned about the future effects it will have on our planet, but mostly I am worried about the people and animals. The respiratory health of the Native people will be harmed and it will hurt animals and their ecosystems drastically.
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