(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Whoa, Joe. About that Willow Project? Forget About It. [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-26 The Sierra Club yesterday, working through its endorsement process, had much praise for President BIden’s environmental accomplishments but called upon him “to clamp down on the leasing of public lands to the fossil fuel industry,” specifically mentioning the approval of the “carbon bomb” Willow project. “Candidate Joe Biden proposed the most ambitious agenda on climate change, environmental justice, and land conservation,” says Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous. “President Biden has delivered on the majority of these plans and has the opportunity to finish the job – including fixing past decisions such as the Willow project. The Sierra Club is eager to see him do so, and we will continue fighting across the country to ensure he does. “Addressing the climate crisis does not allow for half measures or to take three steps forward, one step back. As the Sierra Club embarks on its endorsement process, we look forward to hearing from President Biden on his plans and agenda to finish the job to transition the country to a 100% clean energy economy that protects our wild spaces and creates a livable future for us all.” The Sierra Club, which endorsed Biden in 2020, praised the President for his “whole of government approach” which centers on environmental justice with a focus on communities most impacted by pollution. Sierra Club writes: In his first term in office, Biden has undertaken efforts to address the three main pillars driving the climate crisis: vehicles, methane, and, expectedly in the coming days, power plants, while protecting millions of acres of public lands and waters. In his “whole of government approach,” the President has upheld his commitment to center environmental justice and prioritized the communities that have shouldered the brunt of pollution for decades. Additionally, he has helped usher transformative climate and clean energy legislation through Congress, including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA), and the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act. The ConocoPhillips’ Western Arctic Willow Project, greenlighted by the Biden administration in March, is projected to generate 9.2 metric tons of carbon annually. It was originally approved for five drilling pads in 2020 by the Trump administration but has been limited to three by Biden. Over a thirty year period, the Willow project is projected to increase the amount of carbon atmospheric carbon by 260 million metric tons. This equals the amount of emissions of up to 70 coal-fired plants over a year long period. Earlier this month, a federal judge denied a motion by environmental groups led by EarthJustice in a lawsuit that challenges the project. ConocoPhillips received the go ahead to begin construction of a gravel mine and roads. According to the Center for Biological Diversity: The Bureau of Land Management’s record of decision approving Willow essentially greenlights ConocoPhillips’ desired blueprint while ignoring pleas from around 5.6 million people, including leadership from the nearby village of Nuiqsut, asking the federal government to halt the project. The League of Conservation Voters calls on the Biden administration to reconsider action which threaten its goal of halving carbon emissions by 2030. From Senior Vice President of Government Affirs Tiernan Sittenfeld: “The Biden-Harris administration has done far more to address the climate crisis and environmental injustice than any in our nation’s history. From Day One whole-of-government commitments to advance climate solutions to the historic Inflation Reduction Act – the single biggest step our country has ever taken on climate – to recent progress on environmental justice, mercury pollution, clean vehicles, national monuments, family-sustaining jobs and more, President Biden and Vice President Harris have restored America’s global leadership on climate and jump started our transition to an equitable clean energy future. While much progress has been made, there is still more to do to achieve President Biden’s science-based climate goal of cutting pollution in half by 2030. It’s critically important that President Biden and Vice President Harris finish the job.” ConocoPhillips says there is possibly up to 3 billion barrels in the “next great Alaska hub” which becomes available to them once the Willow plant opens. Along with its legal challenge to the Willow site, Earthjustice is also challenging a Gulf of Mexico site which is estimated to harbor production possibilities for over “1 billion barrels of oil, and 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas” Earthjustice writes: Solving the climate crisis cannot be accomplished with clean-energy technology alone; keeping oil and gas reserves in the ground must be a part of the solution too. When it comes to fossil fuel extraction on public lands, the U.S. remains pointed in the wrong direction. The U.S. ranks as the second-largest emitter of climate pollution on the planet. Yet the government’s Willow decision is a worrisome harbinger of what could be to come, as new fossil-fuel projects are on track to win approval just as they always have — even from agencies operating under a president who has repeatedly promised bold climate action and a transition to clean energy. Clearly, this is a broken system in need of repair. Action Stop the Willow Project [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/26/2165982/-Whoa-Joe-About-that-Willow-Project-Forget-About-It Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/