Oil For All!

Oil For All!

by Sierra, Sarah, and Victor

*Knock Knock*

Noises come from inside and the door opens a small crack.

China peeks out to see who dares to disturb her and lets out a miniature gasp of surprise. There, standing on China’s doorstep, was the U.S.A.

“Hi China, I’m sorry to disturb you, but I haven’t heard about whether or not you signed the Kyoto Protocol that cuts down on emissions. You haven’t, right?” U.S asked accusingly.

“Oh keep your stars on, I haven’t signed anything, just like we promised.” China retorted. The U.S. let out a sigh of relief.

“Ok, keep up the good work China!” and with that the U.S. turned to leave.

“Wait! Hold on a second!” China called after her and hurried to meet up. “I have an idea about climate change. Now, I know we haven’t always been the best of friends, but I was thinking that you’d want to join me in a little experiment.”

“And what did you have in mind exactly?” U.S. asked cautiously, not wanting to agree to anything that might give way to trouble.

“For a couple years now, I have been formulating a plan to create an oil rig in the center of the Pacific Ocean. It would greatly enlarge the oil industry economy, therefore increasing the already fast incline that we are seeing in global warming. By making one oil rig, or more if you want, we can increase production in the oil industry.” China explained.

“Yeah, I can see where you are going with this...but get to the good part. I want to hear about how increasing oil production will move global warming along in a positive direction and will eventually lead to massive devastation!” the U.S. interrupted, feeling anxious to learn more.

“I’m getting there. When oil companies create oil, certain compounds, called greenhouse gases, are released into the air. These gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide) build up in the atmosphere and prevent natural sunlight from escaping. Before the greenhouse gases came into play, natural sunlight shined through the atmosphere and got absorbed by the earth during the day and excess bounced off back into space to make a cooler night. It’s how the earth kept its temperature in check.”At that, the U.S made a gagging sound. “I know it’s horrible, but here’s the good part. Now, the greenhouse gases emitted by these companies clog up the atmosphere like a stuck toilet. These gases don’t let the sunlight past them; instead they reflect the light back down onto the already heated earth! So, as you can see, by installing this oil rig, we’ll be helping to add those greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, thus helping the economy and changing life forever! We achieve two goals in one broad stroke!” China stopped and smiled triumphantly.    

“I don’t know… It seems a bit extreme… well, it’s not like anyone cares about the environment anyway considering the ways citizens treat it, plus, I can see the rationale behind your thinking, China. Oh, whatever! The outcome will be massive. Severe weather such as droughts and hurricanes will become more frequent, the melting ice will create massive flooding, and loss of land and lives. Plus, the increase in greenhouse gases will annihilate major species of animals and create an inhospitable planet! It’s a great plan and I’d love to help in anyway I can! I’ve got to go right now though, but I will skype you later and we can chat about plans. I can’t wait to destroy the only home we’ve got! Bye!”

The U.S scampered out into the street and disappeared into the night.

Only a matter of weeks later, the improperly constructed oil rig exploded and started to leak thousands of gallons of oil per day, without anyone knowing about it. This went on for years, leaking massive amounts of precious oil and endangering thousands of countless species that call the Pacific Ocean their home. Before anyone had any thoughts about trying to resolve this problem, every single living cell in the ocean had been mercilessly destroyed by this catastrophe. Once the United States and China started pretending to solve this grave problem, all the damage had already been done, and it could not be reversed. The damage that was caused to the fragile ecosystem of this ocean would change life as we know it for thousands of years to come.