Meanwhile on Earth 2 (pt. 1)
In 1985, China finds an alternate fuel source right underneath their feet, abundant and plentiful but only effective if used as soon as it's pulled from the ground. The new fuel, Tetroclone, is not easily or cost-effectively transportable to other countries, but revolutionizes China's energy needs. The U.S finds pockets of Tetroclone scattered throughout North America, but most of them are sparse and cannot be used cost-effectively. And so, like all other countries, the U.S. stays on fossil fuels, which are still cheap and relatively abundant throughout the world. As decades pass, scientists begin to track the emissions of Tetroclone and find that it is a major contributor to climate change; not just a few scientists; 97% of the leading climate researchers in aggregated studies around the world find that this change is contributing to destructive weather patterns, droughts, and large-scale glacial melting. China rejects this research and counters with their own research, at first, showing that climate change is not happening, and then later showing that the climate change is happening but is naturally occurring, and not at all connected to the use of Tetroclone. Later still, China concedes that Tetroclone is contributing, but not to a significant degree. Upon hearing the research, U.S lawmakers spring into action, at first heavily sanctioning the few pockets of U.S.-based Tetroclone, and then quickly phasing it out altogether. China, on the other hand, spreads the idea that these climate researchers are inflating their claims in order to gain more research money. As such, to "bring balance" in the scientific community, they heavily fund the 3% of the dissenting scientists to continue their research in debunking the other 97%. U.S lawmakers call these claims out as ridiculous. China gains a reputation for being anti-science, so much so that it becomes a meme. Late night talk-show hosts use it in their monologue. T-shirts, posters and cat videos come out ("I CAN HAZ SCIENCE?") China remains unmoved in their use of Tetroclone. After a particularly devastating pair of hurricanes rip through the eastern seaboard, causing unprecedented death and destruction, U.S lawmakers decide to take things to the next level. Sanctions are introduced against China. The U.S. pressures the U.N. to do the same. New memes and photos spread across the internet, this time showing the devastation of hurricanes Maxwell and Nannette, in bitter contrast with China's cavalier attitude toward its, now even increased use of Tetroclone. Hawkish Senators, in a race to be ever more patriotic, increasingly use the names Maxwell and Nannette in their speeches as calls to action against China. A rapid increase in U.S.military training exercises near China's border evokes strong reaction from Chinese officials. Just as 97% of the climate scientists claimed, longer droughts, heavier floods and more damaging weather systems continue to batter the globe. By 2015, U.S. lawmakers have thoroughly convinced the populace that China's actions are essentially an act of war.