Willow Project: See Alaska before there is nothing left

I went to visit Alaska early in 2023. The amount of wildlife and untouched natural beauty was breathtaking. Future generations will not be able to enjoy Alaska’s natural beauty like I did. The scenery, the animals, the history, the food, the landscapes and the peacefulness are all reasons people choose to visit Alaska. With the Willow project in place, visitors will no longer be able to enjoy the scenery. Visitors will not be able to go on wildlife tours in Alaska. Harming the planet will harm the economy.

Willow Project is a massive oil drilling venture on Alaska’s North Slope in the National Petroleum Reserve, which is owned by the federal government. The area where the project is planned holds up to 600 million barrels of oil. That oil would take years to reach the market since the project has yet to be constructed. Willow’s plan includes hundreds of miles of roads and pipelines, airstrips, a gravel mine and a new processing facility in the middle of pristine Arctic tundra and wetland.

Money is the motivator. The United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and yet somehow we still can’t get enough money to satisfy our desires. The Willow project will release 278,000,000 metric tons of pollution in the next 30 years.

Along with air pollution, the Willow project will also harm the wildlife and this will lead to the harming of people. Members of the Nuiqsut community have spoken out about how direct impacts of oil and gas extraction on their communities have caused sick fish, malnourished caribou and toxic air quality.

The caribou is a vital food source for many residents of the Nuiqsut community and The biggest threat to caribou is displacement due to oil and gas activities. Loud noises, human movement and vehicle traffic from drilling operations disrupt animals’ communication, breeding and nesting. The construction of roads, facilities and drilling sites requires the use of heavy equipment and can destroy big chunks of pristine wilderness. The damage is often irreversible.

Light pollution has been found to harm bees. These insects have the very important job of moving pollen around, which helps to generate new fruits and plants. Luminosity disrupts their sleep, feeding and reproductive cycles, which in turn leads to the dwindling of plants.

The biggest motivator for the Willow is revenue. The Willow project is important for both Alaska’s economy and America’s energy security. The estimated 180,000 barrels of oil the project would yield each day will decrease America’s dependence on foreign energy supplies. Willow will be built using materials primarily made and sourced in the U.S. and has the potential to create over 2,500 construction jobs and approximately 300 long-term jobs. The project is projected to deliver between $8 billion to $17 billion in new revenue for the federal government, the state of Alaska and North Slope Borough communities. In the short term, the Willow project seems like a good idea.

However the Willow project will harm the economy in the long run. While vacationing in Alaska, tourists will not want to see oil tanks, power poles, noisy compressors and busy roads. In 2019, visitors to national parks spent an estimated $21.0 billion on their trips and supported 341,000 jobs, according to the National Park Service. Too much noise, air pollution, light pollution, and damaged landscapes can ruin anyone’s vacation. Tour agencies will lose money if people no longer want to take tours, museums will lose money if people no longer want to visit an area, restaurants, hotels, buses, souvenir stores etc. will all lose money if tourists no longer want to visit the area.

The Willow project will take away the Nuiqsut community’s food source, possibly decrease tourism which can result in long term job loss, kill off wild life, harm bees resulting in decreased pollination leading to plant life dying, heat up the planet resulting in mass extinction, but that’s something our government is willing to overlook if it means they can gain a dollar. The pros of the Willow project do not outweigh the cons.