Legal Issues are not Stopping the Willow Project

Eco-activists have officially lost their first case in support of blocking the recently passed Willow Project. Construction work for the project has been given the approval to begin and is expected to in the next coming months.

First introduced in 2016, The Willow Project, proposed by ConocoPhillips, a multinational energy corporation, and approved by the Biden Administration, expects to decrease the United States’ dependency on foreign energy supplies by drilling oil in Alaska’s North Slope.

Since then, a series of controversies and legal obstacles had halted the progression of the project.

Although the Willow Project seeks to build a community that is both sustainable and livable, there are assumptions that the project may turn out to produce more harm than good. There are concerns surrounding the fact that the 300-acre project site would eventually result in the elimination of important wildlife habitats and ecosystems.

Statistics estimate that 575 million barrels of oil will be produced within thirty-five years. Even if the project includes a variety of environmentally favorable elements, there is a chance that construction could have a detrimental effect on the environment.

Despite the Willow Project’s effect on the environment, it’s likely that it won’t be drastic. The U.S. already produces 20 million barrels of oil every day, compared to the 575 million that will be produced in 35 years by the project. Additionally, this will help the economy, as it would make oil products more available and decrease the United States’ reliance on increasingly expensive imported goods.

Activists have recently taken action by protesting against the bill, including a petition on Change.org that has accumulated 2 million signatures so far.