Target: Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Interior
Goal: Save Alaskan wilderness from greedy oil company.
The North Slope of Alaska encompasses an area formally known as the National Petroleum Reserve. The land mass, spanning 23 million acres of pristine Arctic area, is the widest undisturbed public landscape in the United States. ConocoPhillips has proposed a behemothian oil and gas drilling project in this area that could change Alaska as the world knows it. Ironically billed as the Willow Project, the anti-nature infrastructure originally proposed five drill sites, seven bridges, pipelines, and roads under the Trump administration. However, the initial decision was reversed by an Alaskan federal judge in 2021, citing an erroneous environmental analysis. Going forward, the US Bureau of Land Management published the final environmental review this year.
The Biden administration has stated that it would support the scaled-down ‘preferred alternative’ of the project that covers three drill sites and lesser surface infrastructure. A final decision on the project is still on the table and is expected to arrive soon. Environmental watch groups remain staunchly against the Willow Project, emphasizing its potentially irreversible impact on the indigenous populace and Arctic wildlife. Activists argue that approving this project would mean a betrayal of the American public by Biden, who promised to put an end to new oil and gas drilling in the 2020 presidential campaign. The Sierra Club released a statement citing the recent Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) by the administration, stating that it would be a role reversal after passing the ‘largest climate bill in history.’ The press release further stressed, “We must end new leasing on public lands and conserving more nature to secure our climate future.”
The Sovereign Inupiat for a Living Arctic is an organization of the native indigenous people leading local activism against the Willow Project. The proposed project plans to extract approximately 180,000 barrels of oil daily from the Alaskan wilderness. While on the books, the proposal sounds like a lucrative incentive for jobs and revenue but the human cost of such large-scale drilling would be catastrophic.
Shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy is the way forward instead of investing in further invasive drilling projects. Sign the petition to demand the administration abort the Willow Project.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Secretary Haaland,
The administration is in talks to decide the fate of the proposed Willow Project in the Alaskan wilderness. The project could have an apocalyptic impact on millions of acres of undisturbed snowy wilderness. If approved, it would be a role reversal by the Biden administration after passing the IRA, cited as ‘the largest climate bill in history.’
Therefore, we ask you to act now and do all in your power to stop the Willow Project from happening.
It’s now or never.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Andy Morffew
I am so angry. The White House says the Willow Project has been in the works for years and would cause monumental law suits if shut down. No one disputes Climate Change but neither side of the isle seems to care. Actually the entire world doesn’t care. Why? Those in power want profit, personal or otherwise. People of the world do care! The people need to stand up to the government to stop corporations from insisting they have more rights to a project than people or wildlife. They don’t. Alaska will not tolerate this abuse. Habitats are fragile. Nature is not a fan off CEO’s, their lies, or their corporations. Business is killing the earth and we people just stand by to watch and suffer? Business needs to comply with laws and nature. Instead of putting money in the hands of Congress and the Senate they should need the approval of the people as all of us are affected. We then speak for wildlife and Climate. The government is not going to stand up for words uttered during an election cycle but words are meaningful to voters. Yet ALL politicians lie and that is unacceptable. I wish we could clean out both sides of the isle and vote in more climate concerned men and women. That may are a pipe dream but miracles happen. Who knows maybe we will get rid if this sleazy MEGA Supreme Court! We need to boot them out!!!
Approving the Willow Project, in either of its forms, would definitely mean the betrayal of the American Public by Biden.
Heck!!! He’s been betraying Americans after a month in office….. economy has gone to hell….
Yeah Deb,-
You promised us a fudge sickle and you gave us poo on a stick !
We all know oil spills cause irreversible damage to the environment. The pipelines leak. The underwater oil rigs leak. There isn’t a way that the Alaskan wildlife and wilderness can survive this stupid plan. We the people is the first line in the US Constitution. And we the people have spoken. No More Oil Drilling!!!
Why would anyone want to take this undisturbed Arctic area and allow for the drilling of Gas and Oil? We have all seen catastrophic results from oil spills that will threaten this beautiful landscape and wildlife. To hear that ConocoPhillips wants to drill in this area almost suggests that bribery or special interests may be the reason why this proposal may move forward. It would be an absolute shame if this were true. I oppose any oil and gas drilling in the Arctic area.
Enough with the assault on the environment and the animals that inhabit it. It’s a fact that problems occur and once the environment is ruined from a catastrophe nothing will ever be the same.
I remember a time (way back when… when Environmentalists and Wildlife activists/advocates were actually “on the same page”-now the Environmentalists wine and cry that the wild animals literally ‘defecate on their nature trail parade’. Since Environmentalists and Wildlife enthusiasts are NOT in the same space it can also be said that Democrats and Republicans are not NOT on the same page either. Republicans (as a whole) generally speaking DO NOT CARE; Democrats ONLY CARE WHEN it DOES NOT effect their agenda financially/politically/and status quo wise: DEB HAALAND DOES NOT give a rat’s ass if every last wolf is gunned down in cold blood, and this THIS should light a giant size fire under your ass to act ACT on the wolves behalf: THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT NEEDS AND HAS TO BE REINSTATED NOW; NO IF AND OR BUTS ABOUT IT !!! !