BP was mining for some toxic gas on the surface of the planet when something went horribly wrong. Now they're pumping out 5000 Bcfe's of it per day into the southern hemisphere and its destroyed the red stripe we'd become so accustomed to.
There is an alien base situated directly behind the planet. Their own pollution and resource consumption is the direct result of the changes in the planet's atmosphere.
We haven't got long.
Anthropogenic global warming?
Well, it might just be a coincidence that StarCraft 2 beta has just been launched, but personally, I'm thinking "Ender's Game". Damned Zerg!