© Courtesy of The Cool Down TikToker for The Willow ProjectThe potential repercussions of the so-called "Project Willow" are causing waves of panic in the news, media and social platforms, including on TikTok, where one user (@.definitelynotray) posted a video expressing sadness about its future.
The video drew comments and responses on the app — and one TikToker shared an emotional argument for staying positive in the face of bad news.
Almaray project.
ConocoPhillips, one of the world's largest oil companies, has proposed a large-scale oil exploration project called Project Willow on Alaska's North Slope that will take decades. Supporters claim that this new project will be a new source of income for the region.
However, opponents of the Willow project fear carbon contamination of the hundreds of millions of barrels of oil the project will produce. ConocoPhillips expects the Willow project to produce 600 million barrels of oil over its lifetime.
Convenience
Alaina, known as The Garbage Queen (@thegarbagequeen) on social media, is a sustainability scientist and climate interviewer from Appalachia. He has dedicated his platform to educating the public about climate science and solutions.
In one of his recent TikTok posts, he responded to the panic over the Willow project.
"Take a deep breath and know that even if Willow gets the green light, it's not over for our planet," he said to kick off the video.
Wood admitted that the sheer scale of the Willow project has many people online stunned.
"Yes, it will make tackling climate change more difficult, but it's not impossible," Wood admits.
He then explains that fighting climate change is like a war and "we may lose some battles, but we will win some."
From policies like the Low Inflation Act, which gave every American thousands of dollars to reduce carbon emissions, to the everyday actions we take to create cleaner air and how we use public transportation, there are many victories in these so-called battles.
"If we surrender now, there is no way we can win the war," adds Wood.
Wood's admission that the Willow Project made him feel depressed, anxious, scared and angry.
"What I do to help is take breaks and know that when I come back, the war will still be there," he said. "Please do whatever it takes to take care of yourself and keep fighting Willow no matter what."
While we wait for the Biden administration to make a decision on Project Willow, it's important to remember the steps we have taken and will take to connect with nature and find reasons to take action.
Commenting on the video, Wood wrote, "It's honestly a scary thing to deal with, so it's good to feel what you're doing. Don't let it hold you back or give up on your future."
For many viewers, Wood's video was a break in a seemingly endless stream of shocking news.
"I'm just a kid wondering how limited my future is with climate change, so I really need this," one user commented.
Another user echoed Wood's sentiments, saying, "The moment you accept the idea that nothing matters, you're doomed!" Our actions matter - one of the simplest direct actions you can take to stop CO2 emissions is superheated aircraft. Pollution from Project Willow is a signature petition from Change, Action Network, and Daily Kos.
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TikToker responds to controversy over controversial 'Project Willow': 'Game Over for the Planet' debuts on The Cool Down
