Trending recently on TikTok has been the Willow project, but a lot of people are confused about what it actually is and why it’s so important and controversial.

The Willow Project was proposed by Conoco Phillips and is a large-scale oil drilling project that would take place in Alaska for the next 30 years or more. The project would have over 250 drilling wells, 37 miles of connecting roads, 389 miles of pipelines, as well as airstrips and potentially a new processing facility. The entire project would release almost 300 million metric tons of carbon emissions. 

This project would devastate the arctic environments, polluting the air and destroying ecosystems and homes for many species of animals, such as polar bears and penguins, which indigenous Alaskans have relied on for years. The whole project is essentially speed-running global warming.

The approval of the project by the Biden administration would also directly contradict a political promise made by Biden during his campaign, where he pledged to work to cut carbon emissions. 

While this all sounds bad, there have been steps being taken to try and prevent this. While this is funded and backed by many large corporations, many people have signed petitions that fight the project, one on change.org has over 3 million signatures. 

Originally, the willow project was to be approved or denied by March 6th, but it has since been delayed after the public outcry. Signing the petition would help fight this destructive project and save the arctic regions of our planet.