Weeping Willow
You may recall the Willow project in Alaska. This is not to be confused with the 1988 movie directed by Ron “Opie” Howard. We’re talking about the Willow oil project in Alaska, which President Biden approved earlier this year.
The Biden administration angered environmentalists because the president had campaigned on a pledge to stop “new” drilling on federal lands. Willow is located on federal land—and there’s the rub.
What environmentalists ignore is that despite the fact that no drill bit has touched the ground yet, it has been in the works for nearly as long as Willow the movie has existed. ConocoPhillips won the lease in the 1990s before we heard much about climate change.
At that time, a deal was put in place. Money was paid to the government, and when it starts producing, more money will be paid to the government in the form of royalties. If managed properly (that’s a big if) it could help pay this ever-expanding national debt, among other things.
Last week, a federal judge upheld the decision by the Biden administration to uphold the decades-old agreement it inherited and allow for construction of the project to begin.
The plaintiffs are the Sovereign Inupiat for a Living Arctic and the Center for Biological Diversity. They’re represented by Earthjustice, a not-for-profit law firm that says “The Earth needs a good lawyer.” It was formerly the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund.
Ironically, the Ford Foundation created the “public interest” law movement, with tens of millions going to organizations such as environmental legal groups such as Earthjustice, according to InfluenceWatch. Yes, those Fords, the ones who developed the Model T, which made travel by automobile accessible to everyone.
(Surely Henry Ford is rolling in his grave as the wealth he initiated is being used to stand in the way of producing the very fuel source the vast majority of his company’s vehicles still use to operate.)
Be that as it may, the 30-plus-yearold Willow project is derided by environmentalists because it will tap into enough oil to continue fossil fuel production for decades.
How ironic as well that the royalties sent to the government could help pay for incentives to put more Ford electric vehicles on the road, thereby decreasing oil demand and extending this vital resource for even longer.