On March 13th, the Biden Administration approved the Willow project, an oil drilling project in Alaska. ConocoPhillips, a Petroleum refineries company, is the creator of the Willow project, allowing them to hold decades-long oil drilling operations on Alaska’s North Slope in the National Petroleum Reserve that holds 600 million barrels of oil, having the potential to collect 180,000 barrels of oil a day.
This project was initially approved by the Trump Administration in 2020, but the Biden Administration decreased the number of drill pads to three. ConocoPhillips have legal rights and leases to have drill sites in Alaska, so the Biden Administration felt that the courts wouldn’t have allowed the full restriction of ConocoPhillips.
This project has created lots of backlash from Alaska natives as well as environmentalists. Nuiqsut city officials state that they would bear most of the environmental consequences and health risks from the oil drilling. An environmental activist group Earthjustice has been very outspoken about the detriments the Willow project could have on the environment. “We are too late in the climate crisis to approve massive oil and gas projects that directly undermine the new clean economy that the Biden Administration committed to advancing," said Abigail Dillen, president of Earthjustice. The Willow project is projected to release 9.2 metric tons of carbon pollution a year. Earthjustice is currently working on a complaint against ConocoPhillips and is compiling its legal reasoning as to why this drilling shouldn’t be allowed.
Supporters of the Willow project claim that it will be extremely beneficial to the economy, providing more jobs, and increasing domestic energy, and the U.S. won’t need to be as reliant on foreign oil. Some Alaskan tribes are even optimistic about the new source of revenue in the area which will be an investment in their land.
The Biden campaign ran with promises to reduce emissions and end new oil and gas drilling projects but went against this promise with the approval of the Willow Project. This is devastating news to environmentalists and the health of the planet. It is hard to be pleased with the economic benefits this brings to the country with the ultimate sacrifice of the future of the planet's health.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/14/politics/willow-project-oil-alaska-explained-climate/index.html
https://www.npr.org/2023/03/13/1163075377/willow-drilling-project-alaska-approved-biden
11 comments:
This is just another promise Biden has gone back on. I remember people who "settled for Biden" in 2020 claiming they can hold him accountable but the truth is, Biden cares more about corporate profits than his voters. Hopefully the new generation of voters realize that settling for conservative Democrats just gets more conservative legislation passed.
I somewhat agree with what lucas said. If people want democratic legislation to be passed, then settling for someone who is center-left is a terrible idea. Those who settled should not expect their president to do what they want. However, there are also many people who just want a moderate president, and Biden is that. As for the decision that Biden made, I personally don't support it due to the fact that it will increase greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to global warming, but I'm sure that there are others who support it.
I find Biden's reasoning for the Willow Project perplexing because his justification is more reliant on the fact that ConocoPhillips has the legal ability to move forward with the project rather than if it should be allowed in the first place. Allowing the project clearly contradicts his current climate goals of reducing green house gases polarizing his audience and supporters more than they already are. Biden has seen some of the lowest approval ratings with issues like inflation constantly being brought up. This new issue is showing how Biden has very loose values making his re election campaign for 2024 even harder than it would already be. I think the decision and controversy for a whole is contributing to people's lost of faith in the American political system seeing another politician they cannot trust, making the upcoming election cycle all the more interesting.
This is disappointing from Biden because, as the article mentioned, a significant point of his campaign was that he would be environmentally conscious and end new oil projects. Additionally, his reasoning for supporting the project is that the company has the legal right to drill in the area so he can't really stop them. However, wouldn't not approving the project be how he stops them? I think his reasoning is just a coverup for the fact that he actually supports the process for economic reasons and is overlooking its environmental impact.
It is unfortunate for the climate that these new drilling sites are starting up but the benefits for the economy and the country are very obvious. We are still very dependent on oil unfortunately and prices are still quite high making it very unlikely that this will be stopped. There is also very little legal reason to prevent this drilling.
I agree with what both Christien and Leia said about President Biden using the fact that ConocoPhillips has legal rights in that area to drill for oil as the reason that he cannot put more restrictions on the oil project. It is extremely disappointing given all the data that shows that climate change is progressing to a point where we might not be able to stop the irreversible damage that will be caused by the level of CO2 in the air. President Biden in this case is looking purely at the economic incentives presented by being more self-reliant in the oil industry as well as the job market created by this drilling project. It is clear that the current administration does not understand that limiting oil drilling is not addressing climate change, and that we need to actively search for alternative energy options and invest in those solutions.
As mentioned by Christien and Leia, politicians irreversible damage the public's trust in the govt if they continue to go back on their promises, and choose to act out of their own self interest. Obviously it is unrealistic to expect people, especially politicians, to follow every promise they make. But to so blatantly promote oil drilling when one of the main points of the campaign was to reduce oil drilling is just asking for criticism. The Biden Administration would be better off with just admitting they support environmental pollution than to try to justify their decision with reasons such as "creating jobs" and "boosting the economy". Yes, they are doing that by authorizing this. But we know that most of the time, economic growth comes with the price of environmental health. People should realize this and decide to what extent they value the economy over the environment.
The recent approval of the Willow Project by the Biden Administration should leave Americans disappointed. Despite his continuous campaign promises to reduce emissions and end new oil and gas drilling projects as has been stated by the comments above, the approval of this project clearly contradicts his climate goals. In fact, the justification for this approval seems to be more reliant on the legal rights and leases of ConocoPhillips to proceed with the project, rather than a consideration of whether it should be allowed in the first place. This has polarized the democratic party and its supporters, and it could make Biden's reelection campaign in 2024 even more challenging. Many people see Biden as just another politician who cannot be trusted to follow through on his promises, which could make the upcoming election cycle even more interesting. As John evidenced, Environmental groups like Earthjustice are speaking out against the Willow Project, citing the environmental consequences and health risks that the project could bring. While there are likely supporters of the project claiming that it will be beneficial to the economy and create more jobs, it is hard to be pleased with the economic benefits at the expense of the future of the planet's health and the president's empty promises.
I completely agree with Nick's comment about how Americans should be disappointed not only with the fact that the willow project is even a thing. It was approved, but also that false promises were made by our president whose one of his goals was to lower carbon emissions and go away from oil and gas drilling to more sustainable clean energy options such as wind and solar power. We will be going backward if we allow the continuation of the willow project not only for the future of clean energy but also for the people that would suffer the most which would be those living nearby the region of Alaska where the drilling will take place. I also want to state that while the willow project would bring in millions of barrels of oil it is not certain it would create new jobs in the economy and with it seeming to be only one company benefiting from this I believe it's gonna be another scenario where those apart of ConocoPhillips higher-ups are gonna be the ones beffeiting while everyone else is barely beneffitted.
It is much hypocritical for Biden to approve of a plan that contradicted with what he has promised during his campaigning time. This decision leaves Americans further disappointed with his policies and even further, the American political system as a whole. It is also important to note how what the environment has become to nothing but profits to fuel countries.
As a left-leaning dem, I can't say this is not a huge step in the wrong direction. However, addressing climate change is not a binary issue. In a perfect world with perfect technology and perfect people that strive for ethics over profit, this would be a much easier issue to tackle. My biggest regret about disliking this move is that it would be ugly either way. If the white house refuses this move, ConocoPhillips would surely file a lawsuit (with a hefty bill at the end, causing more problems). The global energy crisis and the desire to appeal to moderates and Republicans could also be a factor. Even if such issues as oil and pollution exist (they do, that's objective and not a thing to be argued against), we cannot discount external, non-environmental issues that could be harmed by not carrying out more 'dirty' business.
This is-- for the most part-- my surface opinion of the issue. If I were to remove my online filter, though, I would have probably written a more cynical and absurd 'meme' response.
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