Biden administration approves Willow oil project in Alaska

[Sir Mohamed]

https://twitter.com/axios/status/1635290530820268040

The Biden administration announced Monday it will approve ConocoPhillips' Willow oil project located on a portion of Alaska's North Slope that is one of the last unspoiled wilderness areas in America.

Why it matters: The project, which is estimated to produce about 600 million barrels of oil over 30 years, is seen as a key test of Biden's climate commitments, as well as his energy priorities.

The big picture: The administration is not approving the entire project that ConocoPhillips originally asked for, which was for five well pads.

...

[T'Chenka]

Very sad, very disappointing.

Also hilarious that SOME American right wingers will see something like this and yet continue to call Biden "far left" or a puppet of leftist Twitter. Many on the left (including myself) hate this and hate that Biden did this.

[John Dule]

Greatest president of my lifetime.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Very disappointed by this.

As I said in the prior thread on this, it's the straw breaking the camel's back for me personally, but I don't expect any huge groundswell from any direction in the near term. The future doesn't look good, but it hasn't for a while.

[Sol]

Pure evil.

[支持核绿派 (Greens4Nuclear)]

Boo. Curious why they picked three well pads, and not two or even one.

The big picture: The administration is not approving the entire project that ConocoPhillips originally asked for, which was for five well pads.

• Instead, the go-ahead is being given for three pads, which will slightly reduce the project's emissions footprint and cut its impact on the sensitive ecosystems in the region.
• The approval also relinquishes ConocoPhillips' land rights to about 68,000 acres in that area.
• The Department of Interior's environmental analysis found the big new project would create annual emissions that equate to less than 1 percent of total U.S. annual emissions in 2019, the analysis found.
• The total annual emissions from the project would be equivalent to the emissions from 1.2 coal-fired power plants per year, the environmental analysis found.

[Pyro]

Biden in the 2020 CNN primary debate: "No more drilling on federal lands. No more drilling, including offshore. No ability for the oil industry to continue to drill. Period."

[Zedonathin2020]

Rare Brandon L. Very disappointed, but will probably still vote for him

[gerritcole]

Environmental hero desantis would never have allowed this

[Hermit For Peace]

The venture was ultimately approved with three drilling pads. The administration felt it was constrained legally and had few options to cancel or significantly curtail the project – which was initially approved by the Trump administration. The administration determined that legally, courts wouldn’t have allowed them to fully reject the project, two government sources familiar with the approval told CNN.

The final scope of the project will cover 68,000 fewer acres than what ConocoPhillips was initially seeking, the sources said.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/13/politics/willow-project-alaska-oil-biden-approval-climate/index.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWillow%20fits%20within%20the%20Biden,benefits%20to%20Alaska%20Native%20communities.%E2%80%9D

[HillGoose]

hell ya f the russkies and iranians

[Donerail]

Just noting this is very very popular in-state in a way that other projects (like the recently vetoed Pebble Mine) are not — near-unanimous support from politicians, organized labor, Native communities. I (obviously!) don't like the decision, but it'd be political suicide in Alaska — a state with a very competitive U.S. House race next year, in case you've forgotten — to do anything else.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

Just noting this is very very popular in-state in a way that other projects (like the recently vetoed Pebble Mine) are not — near-unanimous support from politicians, organized labor, Native communities. I (obviously!) don't like the decision, but it'd be political suicide in Alaska — a state with a very competitive U.S. House race next year, in case you've forgotten — to do anything else.

This is what it all comes down to.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Just noting this is very very popular in-state in a way that other projects (like the recently vetoed Pebble Mine) are not — near-unanimous support from politicians, organized labor, Native communities. I (obviously!) don't like the decision, but it'd be political suicide in Alaska — a state with a very competitive U.S. House race next year, in case you've forgotten — to do anything else.

OK, but he just decided to veto a DC law for the first time in over 30 years, so it's not like he really cares what the locals want there.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Just noting this is very very popular in-state in a way that other projects (like the recently vetoed Pebble Mine) are not — near-unanimous support from politicians, organized labor, Native communities. I (obviously!) don't like the decision, but it'd be political suicide in Alaska — a state with a very competitive U.S. House race next year, in case you've forgotten — to do anything else.

This is what it all comes down to.

Pretty much.

[John Dule]

Just noting this is very very popular in-state in a way that other projects (like the recently vetoed Pebble Mine) are not — near-unanimous support from politicians, organized labor, Native communities. I (obviously!) don't like the decision, but it'd be political suicide in Alaska — a state with a very competitive U.S. House race next year, in case you've forgotten — to do anything else.

OK, but he just decided to veto a DC law for the first time in over 30 years, so it's not like he really cares what the locals want there.

Nor should anyone care what the residents of that cesspit want.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Petroleum resource development companies are pretty rigorous with environmental protections these days. I would not suspect that Alaska would be any different for oil development in terms of environmental protections.

Resource development projects occupy less than half of one percent of the land that farming uses. Yet for some reason, resource development attracts 99.5% of the criticism of the two groups.

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

Just noting this is very very popular in-state in a way that other projects (like the recently vetoed Pebble Mine) are not — near-unanimous support from politicians, organized labor, Native communities. I (obviously!) don't like the decision, but it'd be political suicide in Alaska — a state with a very competitive U.S. House race next year, in case you've forgotten — to do anything else.

OK, but he just decided to veto a DC law for the first time in over 30 years, so it's not like he really cares what the locals want there.

DC isn't a swing state, in case you haven't noticed.

[It’s so Joever]

Just noting this is very very popular in-state in a way that other projects (like the recently vetoed Pebble Mine) are not — near-unanimous support from politicians, organized labor, Native communities. I (obviously!) don't like the decision, but it'd be political suicide in Alaska — a state with a very competitive U.S. House race next year, in case you've forgotten — to do anything else.

OK, but he just decided to veto a DC law for the first time in over 30 years, so it's not like he really cares what the locals want there.

The mayor was against this bill you know…and a lot of people are calling for MORE tough on crime measures not less.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Just noting this is very very popular in-state in a way that other projects (like the recently vetoed Pebble Mine) are not — near-unanimous support from politicians, organized labor, Native communities. I (obviously!) don't like the decision, but it'd be political suicide in Alaska — a state with a very competitive U.S. House race next year, in case you've forgotten — to do anything else.

OK, but he just decided to veto a DC law for the first time in over 30 years, so it's not like he really cares what the locals want there.

DC isn't a swing state, in case you haven't noticed.

Well, it doesn't seem that Biden wants to make it be a state.

[Bernie Derangement Syndrome Haver]

Peltola supports this, so it's all good to me.