Introduction
A massive oil drilling project in Alaska just got approved by the Biden administration. I’ll tell you what this means, and why climate activists are so upset. Plus – how Buffalo Wild Wings is responding after being sued over their boneless wings.
Those stories and more today on… Notice News Daily.
Biden Approves Massive New Oil Drilling Project
Hi everyone, Jonathan here. Happy Wednesday from Notice H-Q in Brooklyn. Our top story today – this is the National Petroleum Reserve in Northern Alaska, on what’s called the state’s North Slope.
The 23-million acre area is home to migratory birds, threatened polar bears, endangered beluga whales, and according to experts, billions of barrels of oil.
On Monday, the Biden administration gave the green light to a controversial oil and gas drilling project in the region, drawing criticism from environmental activists.
The oil company – ConocoPhillips – will spend 7 billion dollars on the project, known as the Willow Project.
The Biden administration only approved three drilling sites to reduce the impact on wildlife habitats, but it’s nevertheless set to be the largest oil project on public land in the U.S.
Oil and gas extraction releases harmful pollutants into the air and water, and poses significant threats to the climate, land, and marine ecosystems.
The CO2 released by burning fossil fuels like oil are far and away the largest contributor to climate change, and critics say the oil project flies in the face of Biden’s goal to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030.
One environmental group called Biden’s decision “incredibly disappointing.”
Sound: “We don’t have time to compromise when it comes to addressing the climate crisis. Biden can’t have his cake and eat it to when it comes to handling an existential crisis.”
Biden’s approval of the project appears to go back on a campaign promise. Here’s his response to a voter question about Arctic drilling.
Sound – Biden: “And by the way, no more drilling on federal lands. Period, period, period.”
The project, though, has had bipartisan support, including from Alaska Native leaders. They say it will bring jobs and much-needed tax revenue.
The chairman of the oil company said the drilling project “fits within the Biden administration’s priorities on environmental and social justice.”
Headlines
Here’s what else is making news right now…
Iran has reportedly pardoned more than twenty-two thousand people who took part in protests after the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, while in custody of the country’s morality police. Late last year it was falsely reported that as many as 15-thousand imprisoned protesters had been sentenced to death.
California is facing catastrophic floods as another “atmospheric river” storm drenches the state with torrential rains. This is their 11th atmospheric river storm and comes as the Northeast is facing its own powerful storm.
And – This may look like a classic K-Pop group, except – they don’t exist. At least, not in the real world.
The four members of the South Korean girl group “MAVE:” are virtual pop stars, on a virtual stage, and every part of their performances are computer-generated by web designers and A.I. – and they’re going viral on YouTube.
Buffalo Wild Wings Hit With Class Action Lawsuit
What’s the difference between boneless wings and chicken nuggets?
A class action lawsuit has just been filed in Illinois against Buffalo Wild Wings over their boneless wings.
A class-action lawsuit is a lawsuit filed against a group or business on behalf of a group of people, in this case, customers of Buffalo Wild Wings.
The man who filed the lawsuit says describing the product as boneless wings leads customers to believe they are actual chicken wings that have been deboned, full of wing meat.
But the lawsuit says the products are not wings at all, they’re just slices of white meat that are deep-fried, making them no different from chicken nuggets, meaning the name is false advertising.
Lawsuits like this are actually fairly common in the United States.
For example, a man sued Subway in 2016 because their footlong sandwiches aren’t actually 12 inches long, and in 2006 a man who looked like Michael Jordan sued Michael Jordan because of the emotional damage he received being mistaken for him.
While they make for funny headlines, lawsuits like this actually slow down the legal system.
Even if they’re settled out of court, lawyers and judges have to spend time reviewing and filing the lawsuit, pulling them away from more serious cases.
Buffalo Wild Wings responded to the lawsuit saying “It’s true. Our boneless wings are all white meat chicken. Our hamburgers contain no ham. Our buffalo wings are 0% buffalo.”
Conclusion
That’s it for today – but let’s see how closely you were paying attention. Go take the Notice News quiz on our website noticenews.com.
I’ll be back tomorrow with more from us, Notice News.