The most hot button issue in today’s global affairs is the rapid effects of climate change. Over 99% of climate scientists agree that the effects of human activity are causing the world to heat up at alarming rates. All the major nations in the world, bar the United States, have a consensus that there is a problem and we need to solve it. So what exactly is being done to combat the problem? Is the international community doing enough to limit the future problems that could arise if there are not any changes made? There is no overwhelming consensus on whether the policy taken to fight climate change is effective or not, but there are two sides to the issue: yes, what we are doing is helping, and no, we are not doing enough to help. The first …show more content…
I few the problem of climate change as the more important universal problem facing the world today. Those in charge rather stay with the status quo so that they do not have to make any revolutionary changes. The major effects of climate change will not occur during their lifetime, so they rather pass it on to the next generation in line. I also agree with their views of the inefficiency of the Kyoto Protocol. All of these factors, and more, and the reasons why I view the currant climate policy is not enough to combat climate …show more content…
Leiserowitz is a professor at Yale University and believes taking more policy measures in the United States towards a greener nation is not what lawmakers should be doing, and not what they want to do. He claims that public opinion for any leaders who pushes America away from the same levels of greenhouse gases would decline, due to the overwhelming dependence and production of these gases (Leiserowitz, 2006). Also, it is very expensive to transition to cleaner energy, according to Leiserowitz, and neither the government nor the businesses would want to pick up the tab. The concern about the loss of jobs in the energy field is a question of concern as well, because so many people work in coal, crude oil, fracking, and other energy dependents, that transitioning to clean energy would cause unemployment. The American voters themselves would much rather kick the can down the road than actually take these issue head on, and if someone is running on the idea of changing the whole way the United States’ energy is ran, it would be hard to rally up public support for them (Leiserowitz, 2006). Leiserowitz sees the costs fossil fuels as the main reason why nothing has been done in the United States. Eleanor Denny and Jurgen Weiss view a lot of positives with not rushing to make major changes in environmental policy. They
...m fossil fuels, there remains alternative resources that can easily be taken advantage of. So why isn’t the United States taking this deeply into consideration and improving this dilemma? The energy crisis of the 1970’s continues on into the present as Americans search for new ways to fuel the consumption. This remains unresolved.
It is the responsibility of the developed world to change. They have the resources and technology to significantly curb emissions and dampen the effects of climate change. As the world’s second largest emitter of Co2, and as the world’s largest economy, the US must become a leader in the battle against climate change. However, historical incidents of environmental degradation indicate that will power is simply not enough. Unless environmental problems are seen and felt, the US population has been slow and reluctant to act. Unfortunately this lack of will power is still present. As a citizen of the United States, I see no hope for change without the help and intervention of government. Without economic incentive, individuals and firms will not change. I believe that the US government must intervene and implement emission reduction policies, and work toward limiting emissions to the earth’s natural sink function.
Portions of the United States experienced an exceptionally cold winter this year. Here in North Carolina we had three months of overnight temperature below freezing with temperatures in the 20s. I have lived in the Raleigh area for 25 years and have never experienced a winter so consistently cold with thick layers of ice on windshields every morning and frost on the roofs of homes that remained frozen until the middle of the morning. The act of cleaning up snow and ice brought back memories of growing up in the 1960s in the far north of New Jersey where temperatures remained below freezing for months and the ice on local lakes was solid enough to support the weight of a tractor to plow away the snow so everyone could ice skate, and we did skate there for at least two months. Recent winters in my hometown have been so mild that the lake did not freeze at all and even the Canada geese did not migrate south, but remained there in NJ. This winter, while we were freezing inside our homes back here in Raleigh, the news media continued to debate the global warming issue. The conflict between the weather outside for me vs. the news reports of global warming made me pause and question where the truth lies. My research uncovered that global warming is very real and, in fact, explains the shift in air currents that caused the extreme weather this winter that is negatively impacting millions of lives. In conclusion, the time is now when politicians must legislate strong actions to minimize man’s contribution to global warming and enact measures to provide emergency assistance wherever these violent weather patterns cause crises.
Climate change, never has such an impending natural disaster been so heavily ignored. While this problem of Greenhouse Gasses holds more long-term implications than any other problem found today, little to nothing has been done to address this problem. Through the last century, industrialization has revolutionized the world, in all aspects of life from comfort to industry. While this has obviously had its benefits, it has also created a world that is almost entirely dependent on carbon dioxide producing technology. This has caused the single biggest problem when it comes to curbing this issue known as climate change. That problem is the simple fact that in order for the people to make a positive unified change in the C02 levels they produce, they’re going to have to make sacrifices. These sacrifices range from giving up or reducing their use of various CO2 producing technologies, to paying new taxes such as carbon taxes. The causes for Climate Change and the lack of action to curb it are, of course, complex, but there are at least three significant factors: High prices required to produce and implement low-carbon technology; lack of political and corporate support; and an extensive public reliance on technology (Weeks). More than this, the public, along with the government, have been unwilling to sacrifice either money or effort, which has only served to exponentially increase the problem at hand.
Climate change is a major issue that is only going to get worse. Climate change is a change in global or regional climate patterns. It has become more apparent since the mid to late 20th century onwards and is attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels. Climate change has been an important issue for decades that has effects on the environment and people of the world with the end result potentially being catastrophic. Although many believe that prolific use of fossil fuels is the direct cause of climate change, there are many more underlying causes including population expansion as well as irresponsible consumption of natural resources that have
Although it is often a topic for contention in politics, global warming over the span of several decades, has led to climate change, which has had an alarming impact globally. Climate change needs to ...
The first part of this essay discusses what the human species has done to deal with the problem of climate change. While some improvements have been made, the problem has not been addressed aggressively enough to stop the damage. What is amazing about this is the denial of so many people that problems exist. If they do realize the risks, they are simply not taking actions to contain the damage.
It is becoming increasingly certain that climate change will have severe adverse effects on the environment in years to come. Addressing this issue poses a serious challenge for policy makers. How we choose to respond to the threat of global warming is not simply a political issue. It is also an economic issue and an ethical one. Responsible, effective climate change policy requires consideration of a number of complex factors, including weighing the costs of implementing climate change policies against the benefits of more environmentally sustainable practices.
Climate change has been an extremely controversial topic in recent history and continues to create much debate today. Many questions concerning climate change’s origins and its potential affect on the globe are not fully understood and remain unanswered. What is climate change? Is climate change happening? Is it a natural cycle of the world or are there other catalysts involved such as human activity? What proof is there? What data correlations show climate change is accelerated by humans? How serious is climate change and how will it affect the future of our globe? What are we doing to address climate change? Should we really be concerned about climate change? Questions such as these have made climate change a very serious issue in today’s world and created the ideology of climatism. The issue of climate change has affected many different aspects of our lives and the world we live in. Policymaking, human activism, technologies, emission control, global warming, alternative energy sources and many other things have been greatly affected by the mania of climate change. This research report will present climate change in a light of common sense and rationality that will take a grounded discussion of the science behind climate change, global warming, human activity, and how the ideology of climatism has corrupted and driven the actions to combat climate change.
The Earth is currently locked in perpetuating spiral of climate change. While the global climate has unarguably been changing since the dawn of it's manifestation, the once steadied ebb and flow of climate change has become increasingly more unpredictable.The risk of rising sea levels, and drought plaguing the fresh water supply, during the time that flooding and sporadic storm conditions turn once fully inhabited regions into uninhabitable death traps. Climate change catalyzed by human's increased production of carbon dioxide, is more noticeable than ever in our recorded history (United States, 2014 National Climate Assessment). Thankfully however, with the changing weather conditions due to carbon related emissions, the change in public opinion about their personalized influence on climate change is also increasing. Kevin Liptak Jethro Mullen, and Tom Cohen note that In reaction to the most recent governmental report on climate change, even the U.S. government believes that a stronger approach needs to be taken to correct our self-generated cataclysm.
In conclusion, global climate change is a very long discussion with many ways to improve the environment, but a long journey to finding a solution. Although we can 't do away with our main sources like power plants, cars, and factories we must continue to find solutions to making our environment safer and suitable to live in. Hopefully in the near future we will have a better understanding of how to address our global climate changes, but for now, we can focus our ideas on preventative ways to not harm ourselves and our
...empts at doing our part. But what is really needed is change at national and global levels. Only by convincing leaders to create laws that improve our energy policy, and pushing companies to adopt sustainable business practices on a global level, can we see real change. (EDF - Environmental Defense Fund , 2015) We need laws, polices, and infringes…..etc. whatever it takes in order to get our CO2 emissions under control. There are plenty of ways to improve on the current state of global warming like limiting global warming pollution, utilizing renewable energy, drive smarter vehicles, or even drive less. However small the action any change in our normal day to day can still help tremendously especially when done by a large number of people. We have to remember that this is the only planet we have and global warming is a global issue that needs to be taken seriously.
Climate change can be solved once we are willing to adopt certain changes to our everyday lives. In our society, the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and the nations decaying infrastructure, are all reasons as to why climate change has become such a subject of great importance. If we are able to change these three parts of our society we can help the environment and slow down the gradual changes of our climates.
In the modern era, climate change is a variation of weather over a long period of time, and it is the most important and controversial global issue. It is arguable in different positions, especially on science, culture, and politics. These three fields all cause a lot of latent concerns. The science of climate change brings out several harmful phenomenon, such as global warming. With respect to the climate change, the culture of humanity may be changed because the changing climate is the most important key factor of forming today’s human societies. Instead, climate change is now a political issue, which will affect the public attitudes directly. In other words, it means the government tends to review and provide latest information in order to adapt and retard the climate change. Over a long period of time, climate change has been taking place because of human activities that affect the scientific, cultural, and political sides.
... of extreme weather and melting ice caps are indicators of global warming. Because these things will affect society, there are important decisions that have to be made in the present as well as in the future to secure people’s lives and lifestyles. The world community is aware of this serious issue and do already prepare for projects to slow down global warming, but they still have to improve. If the world leaders stop worrying about this issue, the future generations could be in danger. The future lifestyles will be affected by the decisions made in the present day. Society has much to improve to save energy and to lower greenhouse gas emissions. There are also small things people can do to help. Individuals can live a life without wasting energy or polluting the environment. Without effort, global warming endangers the quality of life for the future generations.