Becca Monaghan
Mar 27, 2023
content.jwplatform.com
The SImpsons has been subject to speculation for 'predicting the future' for some time now. And now, another event has taken centre stage.
Earlier this month, US president Joe Biden approved a controversial oil and gas drilling project in Alaska, which understandably drew backlash.
Located on Alaska's remote North Slope, the $8bn (£6.6bn) proposal is expected to allow the production of an estimated 180,000 barrels of oil a day.
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Well now, a viral TikTok has drawn attention to a segment in the 2007 Simpsons movie which saw the family move to Alaska. Homer highlights how different it looked from a poster he had.
As the family reaches their destination, a guard hands them $1,000 at the checkpoint and explains: "Welcome to Alaska. We pay every resident a thousand dollars to allow the oil companies to ravage our state’s natural beauty."
The snippet sent viewers into a frenzy, with one jokingly theorising: "Simpsons already showed us the willow project & now Biden has signed off on it. The Simpsons gotta be some government officials making that show in their free time."
Another said: "They didn’t predict it, they were giving you a trailer."
@georgzwanzig0 #joebiden #alaska #thewillowproject #earth #Movie #thesimpsons #future #tiktok #why #fypã‚· #fyp #fy #fypã‚·ã‚šviral #fypã‚·ã‚šviral #fy #fy #fy #america
Willow Project has since been hit with criticism that the project doesn't align with Biden's pledges associated with climate action.
"This is a huge climate threat and inconsistent with this administration's promises to take on the climate crisis," Jeremy Lieb, an Alaska-based senior attorney at environmental law group Earthjustice, told CNN.
Over a million letters of protest were sent to the White House, along with a petition calling for it to be stopped. TikTok has also witnessed a surge of young activists creating awareness online.
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