[ WP ] Oxygen is scarce . The US government has imposed a curfew ; you do n't want to be stuck outside after dark .

DRYAD PROGRAM PROPOSAL 
 
 Dear Oxygen Crisis Advisory Committee, 
 
 With almost all the trees gone after a horrific blight swept the globe, oxygen content in the atmosphere has begun to decrease dramatically. Of course, `` dramatically'' on paper only looks like a few tenths of a percent every year, but it has become clear that within a couple of decades the atmosphere's oxygen content will drop below breathable levels. This information has been kept private from the general public, but ultimately this confidentiality will be untenable. 
 
 With other planets settled in nearby star systems, an evacuation of Earth was proposed. This avenue has been explored briefly but the potential cost was far more than any government or benefactor is willing to provide. We propose an alternative, reversed option: bringing new life to Earth. There is plant life on nearby planets that shows a promising ability to spread and repopulate at an enormous rate, and it could easily replace the long-gone trees of Earth. 
 
 This option is limited by time, but it is the only option available that we can think of. The most viable tree-like lifeforms for transplant exist on Alpha Centauri Bb, called *dryads* by the astrobiologists studying them. Despite their viability, they have an unfortunate life-cycle: they bask in the sun during the day, showing off their beautiful flowers, but when the night falls they begin to hunt. Dryads are carnivorous plants, much like Venus flytraps, and they seek their food while the other life on their planet is sleeping. They will grab hold of any unsheltered animal life and drag it into their roots, before sitting on that food and digesting it over the next day. 
 
 Obviously, this presents a danger to the American and global public. Given the urgency of the situation, we recommend that this danger be accommodated rather than rejected. We propose that with the introduction of the dryads into the American wilderness, a curfew be imposed on civilians for their safety. We recommend that civilians remain within their homes from sunset until sunrise each night until oxygen levels are replenished and the dryads may be replaced with a suitable artificial plant such as those proposed by [ REDACTED ]. 
 
 We understand that this proposal will exact a great cost on the nation, both economically and psychologically. It is, as we have said, the only option presently available. We trust that the OCAC will make the correct and wisest choice for the American people. 
 
 Sincerely, 
 
 [ REDACTED ] 
 
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