One of the few aspects about climate change that we have gone over briefly in class, but have not gone into depth with is the political and economic impact of climate change. The majority of the short stories we have read also have neglected to go into depth on the political and economic impacts but these are some of the most important aspects in the fight against climate change. I ultimately believe that political legislation and the impact of the economy due to climate change, will be the largest driving force in favor of doing something about the problem. One of the major reasons why I enjoyed “An Athabasca Story” and the various photo essays on the Tar Sands in Canada was they tied together issues that are relevant today, issues such as the Keystone pipeline, with the Cli-Fi genre.

My interpretation of “An Athabasca Story” by Warren Cariou involved a central metaphor, with elder brother being representative of the average individual, while the worker he encounters is representative of the big oil companies or big business in general. While I don’t claim to be an expert on big oil, I know a bit about the impact that they have on our political system and economy based on a variety of sources, one of which being a film. “Who Killed the Electric Car” was a documentary that I watched back in highschool, that showcased the effect that a large corporation such as the oil companies can have on politics. Below is the trailer from the film which focuses on a variety of culprits who played a part in destroying the electric car idea back in the late 90s, one of which being big oil. The portrayal of big oil in the film was very similar to the short story.

Elder Brother, “freezing and chattering” (71), desperate for the basic necessities in life encounters what he hopes is an individual who can provide him with some warmth and shelter. What he encounters is an individual who has no remorse and shows no empathy towards Elder Brother. When questioned who he is, Elder Brother says “I’m cold” (71). Instead of receiving help, Elder Brother is told very rudely by the man “Well you’ll be a lot worse than cold, if you don’t get the hell out of my way and off this goddamn property” (71) This man is only concerned about the job and creating a profit for this business. Like I stated above, I think Elder Brother and this worker are metaphors for a large issue, an issue that we are facing today and will likely still face in the future.

The oil companies have a huge impact on our economy and the amount of money that they put into politics is extremely scary. They have more of an impact than most of us realize, and we are often at the mercy of them. Many of the other short stories that we have read in this course have shown this type of government that has a grip over society. They regulate many vital things such as water and access to resources as seen in “The Tamarisk Hunter”. I see the oil corporations capable of having this impact, and unfortunately one day, we could be in the same position as Elder Brother, begging and hoping for basic things such as food and shelter, only to be met with nothing.

One major thing that climate change is going to eventually threaten is our ability to access vital resources. This is a common motif through the majority of the stories that we have read, whether it be water in “The Tamarisk Hunter”, food and shelter in “Diary of an Interesting Year”, or fuel in “The Siphoners”. Most of these Cli-Fi short stories deal with lack of resources or their availability. It is very difficult to picture a world where resources such as food and water are not readily at our disposal, but this could easily occur if climate change progresses at the rate many believe it will. Due to our countries’ major dependency on oil, it could be the first resource that is limited and I wouldn’t put it past the oil companies who have been known to exhibit their power in order to gain as much profit as possible.