Target: Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Interior
Goal: Accelerate the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
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: Sol Mitnick
430 Signatures