Since 1859, oil drilling has been a constant method of obtaining oil. The effects of oil drilling are numerous: oil spills, destruction of animal habitats, and interference in animal migration paths. According to the EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration), in 2021, the U.S. drilled around 11.3 million barrels of crude oil. Around 4% of that comes from Alaska, which might not sound like much, but Alaska has the potential to produce up to 600 million barrels of oil. This is the oil that the Willow Project is trying to get at.
         The Willow Project was first proposed in 2020 by ConocoPhillips, a company that drills most of the crude oil in Alaska. The Willow Project is a huge oil drilling venture that would take many years to complete. The drilling would take place in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, which is owned by the U.S. government. The oil drilled from the Willow Project would take many years to reach the market since the project hasn’t started yet.
         Originally, when the project was first proposed it was approved by the Trump administration while he was still in office. At that time, the project was wanted and was approved to build five drilling pads. When the new president, Joe Biden, came into office in 2021, his administration reduced that to three drilling pads, but still approved of the project. Those three pads will allow ConocoPhillips to drill about 90% of the oil they want to obtain.
         Since the project has been approved, it is expected that construction will start, but it is not known exactly when due to ongoing legal issues. Earthjustice is an environmental law group that is expected to take action to prevent Willow from happening. This project can only begin during the winter which in Alaska, winter can last until April so it is very likely that they will not begin this project until next winter.
         Environmentally, Willow is extremely harmful; it is estimated that Willow would release about 9.2 million tons of carbon pollution in a year. This would be very harmful to the environment and only contribute more to global warming.
         Since this is an ongoing issue, there are still ways to try to stop Willow. There are many petitions out there, but the most popular one with 5.1 million signatures is on Change.org and it is called “Biden Administration and ConocoPhillips: SAY NO TO THE WILLOW PROJECT!”