My aunt once told me that being a college student is great because you can ignore the rest of the world, but it is terrible because you can ignore the rest of the world. It may sound weird, but she is absolutely right. The amount of things that are happening in the world right now that we are all painfully oblivious to is astonishing. Did you know that France is in the beginning stages of a revolution right now? I didn’t. If history class taught me anything, no one carries out revolutions like the French. I was also unaware of the controversy around all of the drilling that the Biden administration approved. Actually, I was not aware that the Biden administration approved oil drilling at all.
For those curious about what’s happening with the French.
On March 13th, the Biden Administration approved the Willow project. The Willow project opens up the drilling of oil in a massive petroleum reserve on the North Slopes of Alaska. This is in response to the increased oil demand due to Russia’s oil being unavailable for obvious reasons. People have been enraged with the president’s decision to open up new oil drilling in Alaska, and for a good reason. The oil industry is responsible for 38% of all methane emissions in the United States. Methane is by far the most harmful greenhouse gas.
Just this week, the Biden administration approved the sale of massive amounts of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico. Over 100,000 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico are expected to be auctioned off to oil companies. It is obvious that the Biden administration is trying to fill the void left by the Russian oil industries being sanctioned. However, this is the point in history where bolder solutions are required. It would benefit America as a nation to start looking away from oil and relying on other forms of energy, healthier forms of renewable energy instead. Many nations are using this time to prepare themselves for the future better. The United States is being left behind in the dust.
Timeline on how Germany has progressed with using cleaner energy.
We are only in college, but we must think ahead toward our future and our children’s future. If I have a child, I want them to be able to grow up in a healthy world and not have to worry about global warming and whatever else may end up happening. As every day goes on, that hope becomes weaker, and reality becomes grimmer.