An oil drilling venture on the North Slope of Alaska would create jobs and revenue for the region, but it would also generate a significant amount of pollution-causing oil. And that's made it a lightning-rod issue on social media.
When Elise Joshi posted a TikTok video about the Alaska oil drilling project known as Willow in early February, she didn't have high hopes it would go viral.
While the project has both supporters and opponents in its home state, it has become a lightning rod on social media. Over the past week, TikTok users in particular have galvanized around halting the project, with a staggering number of people watching and posting on the topic. Some climate and anti-fossil fuel groups have been working with specific TikTok creators and accounts around Willow, but no one group has spearheaded the online movement around the project. Similar TikTok campaigns have sprung up in the past few years around banning oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and stopping the Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota, but few have captured as much attention as Willow.
The growth of #StopWillow TikTok has both befuddled and delighted legacy climate groups, some of which were wondering why it took so long for Willow to get noticed. Even though Biden has already cemented part of his legacy on climate by working with Congress to pass the most ambitious climate bill in generations, activists who fought Keystone XL and the Dakota Access Pipeline during the Obama administration say one thing remains constant: massive fossil fuel projects tend to fire people up.
TikTok creators were thin on the ground. Those who had braved the chilly March weather included Alaska Natives and elders who had flown over 10 hours from Anchorage and villages on the North Slope to DC. Robert Thompson is one elder who made the grueling journey from his home village of Kaktovik. "Willow presents an opportunity to continue that investment in the communities," Nagruk Harcharek, president of the advocacy group Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat, told CNN. "Without that money and revenue stream, we're reliant on the state and the feds."
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Emergency crews respond to building collapse in North YorkPolice believe there were no occupants inside at the time when part of the building fell on Saturday morning.
Read more »
'TikTok tics': How mental illness symptoms could be spreading over the internetResearchers believe that people — often adolescent girls and young women — are acquiring symptoms via posts from social media influencers
Read more »
'TikTok tics': How mental illness symptoms could be spreading over the internetResearchers believe that people — often adolescent girls and young women — are acquiring symptoms via posts from social media influencers
Read more »
TikTok to remain sponsor at Broadbent Institute conference despite security concernsThinktank to keep TikTok as sponsor at Broadbent conference, though federal government and several provinces have banned the app from devices
Read more »
'TikTok tics': How mental illness symptoms could be spreading over the internetResearchers believe that people — often adolescent girls and young women — are acquiring symptoms via posts from social media influencers
Read more »
TikTok could be banned in U.S. with upcoming bill to prohibit foreign tech: SenatorTwo U.S. senators plan to introduce legislation this week aimed at letting the government ban or prohibit foreign technology such as TikTok.
Read more »