Willow Snatched the Spotlight from a Massive Climate Win
In March 2023, the United States blocked all future oil and gas exploration in the Arctic Ocean, as well as leases on more than half of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. This massive step in reducing potential future carbon emissions was largely ignored, as it was accompanied by a scaled-down approval of Willow, a drilling project in Alaska’s North Slope.
Willow was unanimously supported by Alaskan government officials and by a majority of neighboring Indigenous communities. However, folks in the Lower 48 fiercely opposed the development, amassing over 3.7 million signatures on a Change.org petition urging the government to block the project.
In this “Tip of the Iceberg” episode, host Ethan Brown discusses the problems with Willow, the reasons locals support the project, the importance of listening to local communities, and the underreported climate wins that accompanied this project.
