2 minute read
WILLOW IN AFFECT
A law at the beginning of 2023 passed allowing the Willow Project to start taking effect and proceed with oil drilling along he northern Alaskan slope.
by Kaylee Priest kpriest027@g.fhsdschools.org
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ConocoPhillips, Alaska’s largest oil producer and manufacturer, started the Willow Project. It is a project that started decades ago to oil drill into the northern slope of Alaska, less than 30 miles from the Arctic Ocean. According to the Washington Post, area that has been mapped out for the upcoming project is said to hold 600 million barrels of oil, or in other words 25,200 gallons of oil, meaning they will be digging deep into parts of Alaska and the ocean to find natural resources like oil or gas, releasing harmful pollutants into the air. This much oil over a timespan of only 30 years is going to release 277 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. That is like adding two million cars to the roads. On a daily basis, human beings release about 2.3 pounds of CO2, the Willow Project will release about 22 peoples worth (50.5 pounds a day) allowing this project to be a big contributor to the CO2 crisis that is global warming.
On March 13, the Biden Administration passed this project into law. This project will be taking place over 4,000 miles from where the controversy all started in Washington DC where it has now become a national concern to some. Young activists online started a petition called “Protect the Arctic” with over six million signatures and a mission to help prevent this law from passing. A new petition has recently been started on the same website to overturn the new law and save the Arctic. Protesters, lobbyists and social activists are all working together to stop this project.
ConocoPhillips company said that this project will cost them anywhere between $8-$10 million to complete, and with an income between $8-$17 million.
According to the Biden Administration, the Willow Project fits within their environmental priorities, enhancing energy sources and security, while also providing benefits to native Alaskan communities.
On March 11, FHN sophomore Jayln Carson passed away from complications due to Leukemia. Jayln was 16 years old at the time of her passing. Jayln was the oldest of nine children and loved cooking in her free time and often cooked meals for her younger siblings.
Jayln and her mother, Erica, had a very close relationship and Erica remembers her daughter as a sweet and caring soul. Erica hosted a sweet 16 party for Jayln in November of last year and made the party as special as possible for Jayln which highlights the close relationship that the two had.
Jayln was known by her teachers as a very bright student. Jayln’s English teacher, Amanda Barnhouse, remembers Jayln as a more quiet and reserved person who got her work in on time, but also as a student who would contribute to the class discussions whenever she could.
“Jayln was an amazing student,” Barnhouse said. “She was really really quiet but she was so sweet and she never had any problems with anyone and it was a joy to have her in my classes.”
