Viral social media trend calls for Biden to #StopWillow, a controversial oil drilling plan in Alaska
CBSN
As the Biden administration comes closer to announcing a decision on an Alaska drilling plan called the Willow project, social media users are calling for the project to be stopped.
The project, pitched by petroleum refinery company ConocoPhillips Alaska, would entail drilling in the Willow oil field, a federal oil reserve in Alaska's petroleum-rich North Slope, according to The Associated Press. According to the company, the project could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day, or 1.5% of total U.S. oil production.
ConocoPhillips initially asked for five drilling sites, but the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said in February that three sites would be a "preferred alternative." There is bipartisan support for the project in Alaska, AP reported, and some indigenous groups close to the area support the plan because it would provide more revenue and create jobs in the area.
