Tell BLM to Stop the Destructive Arctic Willow Project–by August 29

From PennEnvironment (http://www.pennenvironment.org):

An oil company is pushing to drill in the Arctic home of caribou, polar bears and other wildlife. If ConocoPhillips’ drilling proposal is approved, its plan — called the “Willow Project” — will ravage an undisturbed landscape with the scars of oil drilling.¹

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is evaluating whether to let the Willow Project move forward. If it green-lights this massive drilling project, our wildlife won’t stand a chance.

Make your voice heard for the Arctic: Submit a public comment to the Bureau of Land Management at https://pennenvironment.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=51018 telling the agency to stop this destructive project in its tracks.

The Willow Project would disrupt vast stretches of wildlife habitat to build roads and pipelines. Alaska’s North Slope is dotted with wetland ponds that provide food and rest for caribou and hundreds of species of migratory birds.² Drilling this irreplaceable landscape would put wildlife in danger.

But it will also pour fuel on the climate fire. This is the single largest oil extraction project proposed on federal lands.³ Burning massive quantities of oil from this remote corner of Alaska could cancel out efforts to reverse the climate crisis.

The Willow Project would release a 250 million metric ton “carbon bomb” over its proposed 30-year lifespan. That’s equivalent to the annual global warming pollution of nearly a third of all U.S. coal-fired power plants.⁴

The BLM is considering an option that would halt the project from moving forward. If enough of us speak out against drilling in the Arctic, the agency could reject ConocoPhillips’ proposal.

Submit your comment before the deadline on Aug. 29.

Together, we can protect our wildlife from oil drilling.

1. “U.S. considering range of options for ConocoPhillips’ Willow drilling project,” Reuters, July 9, 2022.
2. “Status of Alaska Wetlands,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, last accessed July 15, 2022.
3. “Statement: Bureau of Land Management kicks off public comment period on proposed ‘carbon bomb’ in Western Arctic,” Environment America, July 8, 2022.
4. Jenny Rowland-Shea, “The Biden Administration’s Easiest Climate Win is Waiting in the Arctic,” Center for American Progress, March 3, 2022.