Move over Saudi Arabia, the US wants to destroy the planet first.
Tate Coan, Online Editor
The U.S. is about to knock Saudi Arabia out of second place for largest contributor to the climate change massacre.
Even though the world is worried about the effects of climate change, the US doesn’t care as long as we see profits. You’d think the over $14 million salary of people like Exxon Mobil CEO, Darren W. Woods, would be enough but apparently big oil wants to add global destruction to their resume.
Overall oil production within the US has nearly doubled since 2008, according to Energy Watch, despite many scientists citing the burning of fossil fuels as the largest contributor to climate change. According to Rystad Energy projections, the U.S. is set to surpass Saudi Arabia in exports of oil by the end of this year and the combined exports of Saudi Arabia and Russia by 2025.
“The U.S. Having regained its position as the world’s top liquids producer in 2014, is poised to accelerate into the league of its own over the next six years and eclipsed the collective output of its two closest rivals by 2025” said Rystad Energy partner Artem Abramov.
Big oil companies either don’t understand or don't mind that the burning of fossil fuels is not sustainable due to both, it’s limited supply and it’s lethal effects. When fossil fuels are burned it releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse, and traps heat in the atmosphere. It is what keeps our planet warm but with too much carbon dioxide comes too much heat.
People living in poverty will be the most vulnerable to the effects with little access to resources to counter the outcome, according to a National Climate Assessment. Money protects you even from some of the biggest global issues. With rising sea levels, someone with little resources would be screwed in a flood but millionaires would only be minorly inconvenienced. If climate change damages weren’t left up to greedy men with enough wealth or age to escape its effects, we’d see bigger improvements. These men make enough money to buy some health insurance, a new house after a flood, water and a working air conditioner during the brutal summer months, and still have enough left over to fill the hole in their chest where their heart should be.
Although President Donald Trump has been a big advocate for big oil and consistently dismisses scientific evidence of climate change, he is not to be credited with this large surge, it’s actually thanks to Congress.
In 2015, Congress lifted a 40-year ban on oil exports and ever since, the oil industry has taken advantage of their newly found freedom. The ban was set into place when the US didn’t have enough oil to sustain its energy needs. Now that oil production has increased by 90 percent just since 2008, there is no longer a need to hoard, causing the country to lift the ban and start trading surplus.
According to the National Research Defense Council, we have 20 years before there is no turning back the effects of climate change and at this rate, we might be doomed.