WHEN WILL WE DRAW THE LINE

The government should prioritize the future of the planet rather than corporations

by anna writer/photographerzwahlen

We’ve all been urged to “go green” since our first introduction to environmentalism in third grade, when we learned to recycle and reduce our carbon footprint. However, the recent approval of the Willow Project demonstrates a lack of commitment of the U.S. government to reduce America’s carbon footprint as a whole. Instead of approving more carbon emitting projects like Willow, the government should be using its power to work towards reducing emissions by, at the very least, incorporating emissions mitigation into harmful projects.

The project is expected to emit 277 million tons of carbon dioxide over the course of its operation. While many in America are cutting back on their own emissions, big oil companies and large corporations are being given the green light by the U.S. government for further climate destruction, each approval being unaccompanied by any form of emission offsetting amendments.

Despite the predicted environmental impacts of the project, it has many supporters in unions and bi- partisan legislatures. They argue that the project will cut emissions by enforcing regulations stricter than that of the companies whose oil America imports and will create jobs for the local populations.

The Willow project does have the emissions and global warming despite immediate economic concerns. benefits of a lesser evil. It has been cut from five drilling pads to three and provides jobs while cutting imports. However, it remains true that more needs to be done to curtail

It was well within the hands of the government to offset the negative impacts of the project and others like it in the long run. In fact, an amendment to the approval of the lease was ultimately dropped which would have, according to Biden, mitigated at least 50% of the project’s emissions.

Rather than the lax conditions under which the Willow project was approved, the U.S. Government should be operating in more environmentally conscious ways. With the approval of a new project, there should be increased investment in renewable energies and environmental conservation.

The world is only being pushed closer to the edge of the cliffs of disaster by the passage of acts like this. Without at least some modicum of restraint in our pursuit of oil, we can’t hope to see investment in renewable energy.

While it may be true that oil and fossil fuels are a necessary and quick resource for the present day, there has to be a middle ground between demand and climate progress.

Over a decade after the original films’ release, “The Hunger Games” series has returned with renewed interest and content on TikTok and other platforms. Marking the 11th anniversary of the first film, Netflix released the movies for users on March 1. Fans were quick to pick up right where they left off in their love for the series.

Freshman Avery Clement said TikTok helped her and others get more engaged with the series.

“I think [TikTok] has brought attention to many theories and edits of things in the books and movies that makes people want to watch [the series],” Clement said. “They might not have read about it, but they see stuff on TikTok and it sparks interest.”

Despite the series’ recent TikTok revival, its fan base has been steadily expanding since 2022. In June of last year, Lionsgate announced that it would release “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” movie in November 2023.

According to Vogue, Rachel Zegler will play the role of Lucy Gray Bird and Tom Blyth will play Coriolanus Snow, the original story’s antagonist. Unless the film significantly departs from the novel, most of the actors from the original films are not anticipated to return for filming.

The prequel is set during the 10th annual Hunger Games, 64 years before the events depicted in the original films. Seeking fortune for his family, Snow mentors Lucy Gray from District 12, the country’s poorest district. He sees potential in her and plots to help her win.

Despite Snow’s seemingly protagonist role, the prequel references his villainous characteristics. Junior Audrey Holick believes that people won’t sympathize with Snow.

“I don’t think that any book will cause people to sympathize with Snow because he is such a bad guy. I am sure that no matter what backstory we get, he will still be a hateable character,” Holick said via text.

The movie series has helped cement each actor as the face of our favorite and least-favorite characters. Reading the book series has helped Clement attribute certain characteristics the movies failed to capture.

“I would say my favorite characters are probably Joanna, Finnick and Peeta,” Clement said. “I think that they have a lot of character depth, and I like how that is revealed throughout the books.”

Holick’s favorite character is the protagonist of the original series, Katniss Everdeen. Everdeen is relatable through personal narrative, and Holick is able to see things from Everdeen’s perspective.

“The movies do a good job events wise, but character wise they differ because you’re not inside Katniss’ head. You don’t often see her opinion on things,” Holick said.

The universal love for the plot has allowed people to come up with their own speculations about the actuality of events in the books and movies.

“I saw a TikTok once about the bowl and how the [characters] got reaped for the first time. It was all Prim’s name. Snow wanted Katniss to volunteer, which I don’t think was ever true. He saw her hunting or something and wanted to have her volunteer,” Holick said.

These theories can change the meaning to the overall plot of the series, Clement said.

“It could change [the plot] by making it even more real,” Clement said. “Like, that the Capitol had really planned out everything going on. To think of what we knew could have been even more.”