.
What could you do
to stop this giant fire tornado?
Or anchor this floating house?
Or keep these portable toilets
from flying away?
If your answer is
"probably nothing,"
then you're just like most of us
who stare blankly at images like these
on our screens every day.
Sure, we know that these are the kinds
of extreme weather disasters that
were predicted to get worse
with climate change.
And yeah, we know what to do to avoid
the worst impacts of climate change.
But as long as there are giant corporations
and trillions of dollars
clinging to the oil industry,
it all seems pretty overwhelming.
So maybe it's time to give up.
These companies are not going to stop
polluting on their own.
So,
if they burned through all the oil
would it really matter in the end?
In 2018, the Earth had about 1,730 billion barrels
in crude oil reserves,
with oil companies pumping out about 94.7 million barrels a day.
The Wall Street Journal estimates that
ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP and Total
pocketed about $84 billion dollars that same year.
These corporations are making a pretty penny on
burning oil and releasing carbon into the atmosphere,
but each one of us, and the planet, are paying a very high price for it.
Increasingly extreme weather disasters,
human misery, and massive extinction,
among many other impacts of climate change,
show us that we need an immediate and ambitious transition into renewable energy.
We can't afford to keep burning oil and
other fossil fuels as these companies would want us to do.
So, what are our options for a viable future?
Throughout the years, society has had a love/hate relationship with oil.
On one hand, it's used to create a lot of products we use everyday.
And no, I'm not just talking about filling up our gas tanks.
I'm talking about shaving cream,
toothpaste, deodorant, dentures, lipstick, contact lenses, dishes, cameras, yarn, and
you get the picture.
This didn't just happen out of nowhere.
Oil companies have worked hard for years to make sure people depend on their products,
while misleading the public about the climate damage they were causing.
According to Richard Heede from the Climate Accountability Institute,
90 carbon producers are responsible for nearly two-thirds of global industrial
greenhouse gas emissions between 1751 and 2010.
And of those 90 polluters, the top four contributors
are the all-too-familiar oil companies Saudi Aramco, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and BP.
Simply put, burning oil releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere,
which then makes the average temperature on Earth hotter.
A study led by the Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that
carbon and methane emissions from the 90 largest carbon producers
contributed to nearly 50% of the rise in global average temperature between 1880-2010.
And yes, we know you've probably seen hundreds of graphs, animations,
and presentations explaining how bad the impacts of a hotter planet can be.
But now, those impacts are becoming very real and making our planet less safe.
A changing climate leads to increases in the amount of extreme weather,
including deadly heatwaves, severe drought,
and wildfires.
And it doesn't stop there.
Increasingly hotter temperatures, and more droughts,
lead to lower corn and wheat crop yields.
Having less food available causes prices to spike, and food shortages.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
has predicted that reaching beyond 1.5 °C (2.7 °F)
would make extreme temperatures more likely,
increasing heavy rains in some regions while creating record droughts in others.
We haven't even reached that limit and there have been unprecedented bushfires
and floodings in many regions.
The same panel estimates that climate change will make those already in poverty even poorer.
It will also have a negative effect on displacement and immigration flows,
particularly on communities that depend on agriculture.
And we know all that could ultimately escalate into social conflict,
and create political tensions between countries.
So what would be a good replacement for oil?
Any other fossil fuels, such as coal or gas, would cause a lot of the same problems.
And replacing everything we use oil for, by turning to renewable energy,
would be too expensive, right?
Well, in reality, replacing oil and even fossil fuels in general
with renewable energy would actually save us money.
And we already have a strategy we can use.
In the US for example, the transition to clean and renewable wind, water
and solar energy would start with an investment of $7.8 trillion.
And this investment would pay for itself over time from energy sales.
It would create 3.1 million net US long-term, full-time jobs
and save 63,000 lives from air pollution each year in the country.
It might sound a little too good to be true,
but we're already seeing strides towards making it a reality.
In 2018, the world had more than one terawatt — one trillion watts,
of solar and wind capacity installed.
And by 2023, we'll have another terawatt of capacity, at half the cost of the first.
As Elon Musk puts it: "We have this handy fusion reactor in the sky.
You don't have to do anything, it just works.
Shows up everyday and produces ridiculous amounts of power."
This all sounds great, but do we still have the luxury of continuing to burn oil?
Not exactly.
You see, if corporations keep extracting the reserves of oil
and other fossil fuels we know about,
there will be nearly 942 billion tonnes (almost 1 trillion tons)
of carbon dioxide released into our atmosphere.
That would result in global warming of 3 °C (5.4 °F),
4 °C (7.2 °F) or even higher,
which is way beyond the limit of 1.5 °C (2.7 °F)
that experts agree is the "point of no-return" for our planet.
So instead of playing the waiting game,
it's time to actually do something
about all the environmental problems we see in the media.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed, and thinking of climate change as only your responsibility,
start putting it on the real culprits:
the corporations that produce the most carbon emissions,
and the governments that let them get away with it.
Get out there and vote, whenever you can,
for government leaders who will push for enforceable social and environmental laws,
and won't be captured by corporate interests.
Maybe one day, more governments will take a strong stance against these corporations,
and make them pay every time they hurt us and our planet.