Willow Project

Willow Project

Ciara Dirr, Staff Writer

The Willow Project is an oil drilling project by ConocoPhillips and it is a proposed plan for oil production.

A 23 million acre of land in Alaska will be sold for oil drilling. They are doing this to get more oil for all vehicles and for anything that needs gas and oil, which is good for “oil needing things”, but not for the environment. It will put a lot of pollution into the air and be bad for the animals that live in the arctic and for humans all over the world. It will also be bad for the earth because there is also enough pollution in the air already. The oil reserve is roughly the size of indiana.

The 30-year scheme aims to produce 180,000 barrels of oil a day. The massive oil project would be a loss for the teshekpuk caribou herd, polar bears, migratory birds and more that call this Arctic tundra their home. This is because all of the pollution will harm these animals in so many ways. It will impact the animals’ hormones and immune systems. it will cause reduced reproduction and increased offspring mortality.

The project won’t happen for a few years, but just the thought of it is devastating. The Willow Project is dangerous and so much of the region’s wildlife is in grave danger. Let’s hope it ends before it begins.