Big Oil asks: Economic Stability or a Habitable Earth? I say, Habitable Earth.

By Chanah Park

Cypress High School

The economy of many countries depend on their oil supply, a resource that they have shed blood and went to war over protecting.

Notable figures like Vladmir Putin have even gone as far as to call green energy sources the biggest threat to the stability of the Russian economy. Considering the fact that he is the current president of Russia, this makes a lot of sense. Russia is the second-largest exporter of oil worldwide and oil is the number one export of the country. Many other countries, like Saudi Arabia, the number one oil exporter in the world, Iraq, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates also feel threatened by new green technology. And, I believe that their concerns are entirely valid. If one’s country depends entirely on the mining and export of oil, then of course green energy initiatives are going to face adversity when trying to get rid of natural oil. So we as a society are left to choose between the prosperity of the world economy or a habitable Earth?

In the question stated, I used the term “world economy” instead of “the economy of a few Big Oil countries” because if the oil companies based in these countries go out of business, it will not just affect a few countries with direct ties to Big Oil, but the world’s economy.

It is understandable how the fight against climate change got political so fast. Countries all over the world are starting to recognize the effects of global warming and adverse results of climate change similar to that and because of that, they are starting to revise and add laws that ensure a cleaner country. Countries, like Russia, may have seen this as a way of weakening the Russian economy and a direct attack to their economic stability.

Although it is understandable and I am able to sympathize with their fears, I do believe that saving the Earth we live on is far more important. High schoolers Lois Chun, Erin Choi, and Kenneth Yang agree.

When we are faced with a tough decision, we must consider the facts:

Fact #1: Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas (one that absorbs and radiates heat.)

Fact #2: The burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, etc.) causes carbon dioxide along with other greenhouse gases to be released into the atmosphere.

Fact #3: Carbon dioxide is the primary contributor to global warming.

Fact #4: We must act now before it is too late and we are left with regret.

I am aware that the collapse of Big Oil will cost the jobs of millions, possibly drive those millions into poverty, and that this sort of progression may even instigate some sort of war between oil-dependent countries and their opposites. But when we are able to see past the possible adverse effects, we can see the bigger picture: the time to act for our posterity is now, for money pales in comparison to the value of clean, breathable air.