An announcement on January 10, 2012, by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, that the Doomsday Clock, a symbolic timepiece whose sweep toward midnight signals global environmental disaster, is moving closer to the bewitching hour; it is now 11:55 p.m. (Doomsday Clock, 2012). Significant causes of the Doomsday scenario are economic. Global nations' fiscal reforms, expenditure cuts and deregulation including elimination of rules led to worse environmental states. This led to The Green Movement. The Green Movement centers on concentrated questioning, critical analysis, and exploring fundamental root causes of problems (Foundation for Deep Ecology, 2012). This initiative looks to build a green economy where public and private investments are the engines that drive jobs and wealth while reducing the carbon footprint, diminishing pollution, and protecting ecosystems. Friedman (2006) calculates that the energy sector (including oil, coal and gas) receives about $3 billion in federal funding for research and development, with another $5 billion in private sector and venture funds. If accurate, that amounts to roughly 0.8% of revenues in the energy sector. In contrast, Friedman asserts, manufacturing sectors average 6-8% of revenues. The movement looks to tax carbon-intensive fuels. It is seen as a more economically efficient mechanism but it is probably politically unfeasible. Another option is imposing policies to encourage an eco-friendly country. Morgan (2007) presents the following list of criteria for policies aimed at mitigating climate change, a list which is also applicable to the support of eco-innovation. An effective policy must be: 1. Well-targeted: so that subsidies go only to those who are meant and deserve to rece... ... middle of paper ... ...h rightly prods both China and America." Buffalo News, The (NY) 16 Dec. 2007: Newspaper Source. 2. Periodical Article: Hill, Robert J. "A Deeper Shade Of Green: The Future Of Green Jobs And Environmental Adult Education." Adult Learning 24.1 (2013): 43-46. ERIC. 3. Journal: Johnson, Daniel K.N.Lybecker, Kristina M. "Paying For Green: An Economics Literature Review On The Constraints To Financing Environmental Innovation." Electronic Green Journal 1.33 (2012): 1-10. Professional Development Collection. 4. Periodical Article: Walsh, Bryan. "The War On Coal." Time 178.20 (2011): B1. Middle Search Plus. 5. Journal: Davenport, Coral. "Climate Fight Could Move To The Judiciary." National Journal (2011): 19. TOPICsearch. 6. Website: "New York State Department of Labor." New York State Department of Labor. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. .
I am neither a pessimist nor a doomsday activist, but I do justify the reality of a situation being presenting itself. How can we expect to remedy the problem if no one even knows what the problem is? We must choose if we care enough to alleviate the environmental impacts or continue on with our daily lives? That is the conundrum of the 21st
...ing the conditions faced by coal miners and their families in addition to events leading up to the uprising. However, some additional research should be done in regards to the West Virginia Coal Wars and the Battle of Blair Mountain.
"The Toll from Coal." Catf.us. Clean Air Task Force, Sept. 2010. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Jost, Kenneth. "The Federal Judiciary." CQ Researcher 8.10 (1998). CQ Researcher. SAGE Publications. Web. 01 Mar. 2011. .
U.S. Department of Labor. U.S. Department of Labor, n.d. Web. The Web. The Web. 08 Feb. 2014.
The United States can decrease its dependence on oil-producing nations and improve the environment without robbing every citizen's pocketbook. The gasoline used in most cars today produces pollution, endangers people's health, forces us to be dependent on OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Companies) or other oil production organizations, and contributes to global warming. The main reason people have not converted to cleaner, healthier fuel is that hybrid and electric cars are more expensive than the cars and gasoline we are using now. However, we could implement a program for selling cleaner fuel at a lower cost than it is now offered. If this program were organized correctly, the increased costs would be minimal in the long run and the benefits would be enormous. After considering several possibilities, I concluded that alcohol-burning cars are more practical than other environmentally friendly options because electric and h...
The environment in America today is far from Eden, but there is a valiant battle being fought by many to return the earth to a more "natural" state. Green and clean is the preferred vision of the future1. This trend towards environmental awareness, or environmentalism, is a prominent theme in today’s American society. Politics, industry, marketing, and media all use the environment as a means to sell themselves. With such a high profile, it seems almost unbelievable that there was a time when the word environment was little known or not used. However, the period was not so long ago. Even before World War II nature was referred to as wilderness and wilderness existed to serve humans2. The shift from nature existing to serve humans to humans protecting the environment was not a very complex project, but rather one of many small influences and their resulting effects. Hence, the rise of environmentalism in American society is the result of gradual social changes, which created a shift in social values.
In 1989, seventy five percent of Americans identified themselves as environmentalists, and the number has continued to grow since then (Walls 1). Environmentalism is now the most popular social movement in the United States, with over five million American families donating regularly to environmental organizations (Walls 1). Environmentalists today focus on what kind of world they hope to see in the future, and largely deal with limiting pollution and changing consumption rates (Kent 1 and 9). Modern environmentalists also have much different issues than those Carson’s America faced. With climate change becoming more threatening each year, protection of the natural world is needed more than ever. Pollution has caused the warmest decade in history, the deterioration of the ozone layer, and species extinction in extreme numbers (Hunter 2). It not only threatens nature, but also human populations, who already suffer from lack of clean water and poisoning from toxic chemicals (Hunter 16). Unlike environmental actions in the 1960’s, which were mostly focused on protection, a massive increase in pollution has caused efforts to be focused on environmental restoration (Hunter 16). Like in the time of Silent Spring, environmentalists are not only concerned with one country. Protecting the environment remains a global issue, and every nation is threatened by the
Nordhaus, Ted, and Michael Shellenberger. Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. Print.
The two policy options I will consider are the continuation of the current stimulus package or the introduction of a carbon tax. Both policies would be effective in achieving the President's aim of reducing negative effects on the environment and growing the economy, although through different mechanisms. There are other policy options such as cap and trade schemes, reliance on the market and government-sponsored research programs (Frank, Jennings & Bernanke 2009 pp 328-329) ...
Coal in the 1930’s: The First Lame Duck? European Union. 2002. Great Sutton Street, London. .
The Web. The Web. 04 Feb. 2014 -. Chaszeyka, Michael A. & Co. The "Objections On Climate."
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. (n.d.). U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved February 5, 2014, from http://www.dol.gov
Sustainability Revolution: Earth, the planet we call home, is a complex system made of interdependent parts and pieces of life that are constantly changing. Earth’s planetary system has maintained a balance of dynamic equilibrium—it has been sustainable— since its beginnings about 4.5 billion years ago. This balance, however, has been progressively disrupted by us—humans— especially during the last few decades. Mother Nature has provided us with natural resources and the habitat for all species to sustain life on our planet. Since the industrial revolution, we have maintained a belief that these resources are infinite, and that economic growth and our attempts to improve our standards of living can continue forever. All forms of human economic
07 Dec. 2011. . " Eco-Friendly State Laws and Green Mandates. " Black News, Opinion, Politics and Culture - The Root.