Alaska's Willow Oil Drilling Project Unites Politicians, Worries Environmentalists
AllSides Summary
A proposed oil drilling project in Alaska has united politicians while isolating environmentalists.
The Details: The Willow project is a $6 billion proposal from ConocoPhillips to drill oil in the 23-million acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The area holds an estimated 600 million barrels of oil, more than the current level in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is around a 40-year low. President Joe Biden will soon decide on approving the project; if he did, it would break a campaign promise to end new oil drilling projects on public land.
In Favor: Many state leaders support the project, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski (D), Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R), Rep. Mary Peltola (D), and Alaska Native leaders and mayors of communities near the planned site. They acknowledge climate concerns but argue that the financial benefits will outweigh the negatives, and that the U.S. needs to reduce foreign oil dependence.
Against: Other local leaders raise concerns for communities closest to the site, with one calling it "ground zero for the industrialization of the Arctic." Activists are also worried about impacts on native species and ecosystems, and millions have sent letters or signed online petitions calling to stop the project.
How the Media Covered It: Center- and right-rated sources, as well as local sources like the Anchorage Daily News, focus more on support for the project. Some left-rated outlets focused more on opposition, and framed the project as a blow to climate protection efforts.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Center
For the truth about the Willow project, listen to local communities
As elected Iñupiat leaders and lifelong residents of Alaska’s North Slope, we are fiercely proud of our ancestors and their quest for self-determination. Despite living in the most extreme climate in the United States, the Iñupiat have sustained our communities while staying true to our cultural values and traditional subsistence way of living.
Yet when it comes to Alaska’s proposed Willow Project, the voices of the people whose ancestral homeland is most impacted have largely been ignored.
We know our lands and our communities better than anyone, and we know...
From the Right
Biden's decision on massive Alaska oil project looms
President Joe Biden is weighing whether to approve a massive oil and gas drilling project in Alaska that has the bipartisan backing of the state’s congressional delegation but is drawing fierce opposition from environmental groups. A decision is expected to come sometime this week.
The uproar concerns what’s known as the Willow Project – the largest pending oil and gas project in the U.S. – which is a proposal by ConocoPhillips to develop energy resources in a small portion of what’s known as the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska on Alaska’s North Slope.
Alaska’s bipartisan...
From the Left
What to know about the controversial Willow oil drilling project in Alaska
The Biden administration is expected to make a decision soon on whether to approve the controversial Willow Project in Alaska.
ConocoPhillips’ massive Willow oil drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope has been moving through the administration’s approval process for months, galvanizing a sudden uprising of online activism against it, including more than one million letters written to the White House in protest of the project, and a Change.org petition with more than 2.9 million signatures.
Here’s what to know about the Willow Project.
ConocoPhillips’ proposed Willow Project is a massive and decadeslong oil drilling venture on...
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