CP2 Late?

This story first appeared in Munster High School’s ‘Crier’ on Dec. 13, 2023.

If you go back to early 2023, the Willow project, an Alaskan oil drilling project, was seen everywhere. Opposition to it was all over social media—informational videos, petitions, protests, and much more. While #StopWillow was trending around the world, another big project was in the works: CP2. 

Calcasieu Pass 2, or CP2, is a multi-billion dollar liquefied-natural-gas export terminal project in Louisiana that is soon to gain or be denied approval. This project could produce 20 times more annual emissions yearly than the widely disliked Willow Project. I hadn’t heard of it until recently, which is surprising, considering that I try to stay at least semi-informed and up to date on important future-altering events like this. With CP2 facing its final approval stages soon, as well as the end of the COP28  (United Nations Climate Change) conference this week, people need to know how bad it truly is. 

CP2 has been described by experts from The Guardian as “a carbon mega bomb” putting every effort to conserve our future and help reverse climate change at risk. Releasing 197.3 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, compared to Willow’s 9.2 metric tons per year, it is blowing the previously dreaded project out of the water. 

This would be detrimental to the climate fight. Currently, we are trying to keep the earth from warming 1.5 degrees Celsius. It might not seem like a lot, but it is. 

When you think about the earth, that 1.5℃ change is a lot for it to handle, especially remembering the different climates around the world, which are sort of like our organs that function completely differently and have different needs. 

A person is generally considered to have a fever at 100 degrees Fahrenheit; a two degree difference and your body already starts to shut down. You risk your body completely shutting down if you get to 105 degrees, only a 7 degree difference than normal. That 1.5℃ change is about 2.7℉, and unlike the human body, once it gets past that small temperature change, the path towards irreversible damage is set. 

So when you think about CP2 and the fact that it “doesn’t have anything to do with” you, remember that it does, and it matters. It could be a factor that, if denied approval, helps us fight for our future on this planet, and the future of many that will come after us.