Sign on to Rep. Grijalva's letter to pause the Willow Arctic oil project.

As your constituent, I write to you today asking you to sign onto the Congressional letter to suspend Willow Project development permits until well-founded litigation against the project is resolved and all stakeholders voices are properly considered. The Biden Administration has the legal authority, and a moral responsibility, to pause operations and prevent irreversible ecological damage to the region before litigation is finalized. It is especially important that a pause be enacted before blasting of the tundra with explosives to mine gravel for drill pad foundations. This will only be the first of many permanent damages ConocoPhillips' project brings to the fragile north slope of Alaska. The impacts of this industrial activity are more than ecological. As you can imagine, transporting groceries to the North Slope of Alaska is very expensive; so the people of the nearest town, Nuiqsut, rely heavily on hunting local game, like caribou, for food. While drilling does not hurt the caribou directly, the loud, aggravating industrial activity motivates them to move and live elsewhere. If they are not nearby to imprint on the area when they’re young, their populations may never return to the region. This is a huge food security issue for a town so tied to subsistence hunting. In fact, The Record of Decision for the Willow Project acknowledges that the development will drop the supply of local subsistence resources and increase Nuiqsut’s suicide rate. Willow is also a carbon bomb. Willow is going to emit 280 million metric tons of carbon during its lifespan, the equivalent of two million new gasoline-powered cars per year for the next thirty years. Willow is an appalling betrayal by a President who campaigned on ending oil and gas projects on federal land. But Willow isn't just bad for the climate and environment, it's bad politics too. Recent polling reveals that 78% of Republicans, 76% of Independents and 87% of Democrats want the current administration to take action against polluters who knowingly harm the environment or conceal information regarding health risks. I urge you to listen to your constituents, and the nation at large in our opposition to ConocoPhillips’ fast-tracked construction efforts. Please protect the community of Nuiqsut from irreversible damage by signing onto Rep. Grijalva’s congressional letter urging the DOI to do so.