NPR KQED. (2021, August 19). A Federal Judge Has Thrown Out Approvals For a Major Oil Project in Alaska. Retrieved August 21, 2021, from https://www.npr.org/2021/08/19/1029223070/federal-judge-thrown-out-approvals-oil-project-alaska-conocophillips

 

A federal judge threw out Trump administration plans for a large oil project, due to the fact that the plan was flawed, and did not add mitigation measures to help polar bears. The company, ConocoPhillips, stated that they would review and “evaluate the options available regarding this project.” In October 2020, the U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt signed the record of decision that allowed ConocoPhillips to create three drill sites. It was stated that this decision would allow for a “significant contribution to keeping oil flowing.” 

 

It is significant that this decision for ConocoPhillips to establish drilling sites was thrown out, because of the negative environmental impacts that it imposed. The contract was lacking mitigation measures for the protection of species in Alaska, and these drilling sites may have been detrimental to the preservation of wildlife in Alaska’s North Slope. Nicole Whittington-Evans, Alaska program director for the Defenders of Wildlife stated that the decision was, “a win for our climate, for imperiled species like polar bears, and for the local residents whose concerns have been ignored.” This shows how important it is that we begin to take steps in the right direction towards protecting our environment, because it is the only one that we have, and we need to preserve it.