In June 2013, President Obama outlined the Climate Action Plan — the steps his Administration would take to cut carbon pollution, help prepare the United States for the impacts of climate change, and continue to lead international efforts to address global climate change. For the sake of our children and future generations, we must act now (Climate Change, 2). According to the EPA the current policy of the Unites States of America is to cut down carbon pollution by reducing carbon pollution from power plants and accelerating clean energy leadership. In June 2014, EPA released the Clean Power Plan — the first-ever carbon pollution standards for existing power plants that will protect the health of our children and put our nation on the path …show more content…
“Someday, our children, and our children’s children, will look at us in the eye and they’ll ask us, did we do all that we could when we had the chance to deal with this problem and leave them a cleaner, safe, and more stable world?” - President Barack Obama, June 25, 2013 (Climate Change, 1). The answer can go both ways because there are pros and …show more content…
Tropical deforestation has been estimated to account for about 15 percent of the world 's global warming pollution, and the world cannot fully address global warming without addressing this source (The Union of Concerned Scientists, 10).
• Funding international adaptation to help the world 's most vulnerable peoples adjust to the effects of global warming from which they are already suffering. Adaptation actions will reduce or avoid tensions around such issues as water sources and food shortages, thus alleviating global security problems (The Union of Concerned Scientists, 11).
• Supporting the sharing and transfer of clean technology to developing countries will help these nations to lower their global warming pollution. U.S. businesses and green workers could benefit from the exports of clean technology (The Union of Concerned Scientists, 12).
The reason for selecting this course of action is because it doesn’t just involve The United States but instead consists of more countries and makes sure that the world is learning and educating itself over global
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.
Deforestation is the clearing of a forest and/or cutting down of trees for human benefits such as agriculture, wood exports, etc. Deforestation is the cause of numerous environmental impacts such as habitat loss, flooding and soil erosion. It can also cause climate change, by reducing the amount of rainfall and changing the amount of sunlight reflected from Earth’s surface and increases the risk of forest . Tree growth is important for biodiversity because they absorb carbon dioxide which is a harmful greenhouse gas . However, since deforestation reduces natural carbon sinks, it disrupts the balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air causing the amount of carbon dioxide in the air to increase. This poses a serious threat since carbon dioxide traps the sun’s heat and radiated light inside the earth’s atmosphere. So, with the increase in carbon dioxide more heat is trapped and thus adding to the effects of global warming. Among the many places where deforestation takes place, Amazon seems to be one of the most affected ones. More than 20 percent of it is already gone, and much more of it is severely threatened due to deforestation . It is estimated that the Amazon alone is vanishing at a rate of 20,000 square miles a year .
Philip, M., & William F. 2004, ‘Tropical Deforestation and Greenhouse-gas Emissions’, Ecological Applications, (no publication information), Volume 14, Issue 4, pp. 982–986, viewed 23 April 2010,
WPF/World Preservation Foundation, 2010, Deforestation statistics, sponsored by WPF, viewed 3rd November 2013, Available at: http://www.worldpreservationfoundation.org/blog/news/deforestation-statistics/#.UoFtypQY3TV
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 ...
CNN’s article “Pollution Is Driving Foreign Executives out of China”, by Charles Riley, concerns foreign policy, companies from around the world. They are complaining that they are “having trouble” because of the “rising concerns over intense air pollution” in China. By far, China has the worst pollution problem on the international level. Eventually, global warming will get a lot worse and there will be nothing that we can do about it. CNN states that “greater numbers” of people are complaining about the “choking air pollution, contaminated food, and water”. Some people are taking action towards reducing pollution such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Their main goal is to regulate pollution to a minimum so that operation does not become a risk factor. These actions include a proposal that will enforce reduction of coal. Their proposal states that it is “designed to cut carbon dioxide emission from existing coal plants by as much as 30 percent,” according to the Washington Post. The most difficult part of this mission would be to convince China to reduce its coal burning, as the majority of China’s development is run by coal. As for now, though, the EPA has only focused on U.S and its coal plants. By 2030, the agency seeks complete natural gas plant
In South America lies the largest and most wondrous rainforest in the world, the Amazon Rainforest. This 1.4 billion acre forest represents over half of the planets remaining rainforests, and comprises the largest and most bio-diverse tract of rainforest in the world. Ten percent of all known species on the planet are found in this rain forest, most of which have yet to be discovered. For the past century, the Amazon has been gradually decreasing in size due to agricultural expansion, ranching, infrastructure projects, energy exploration and illegal logging. At its current state, the Amazon is losing land equal to the size of the state of Delaware every year. The destruction of this forest releases 340 million tons of carbon per year according to the World Wildlife Foundation, or WWF, which in turn cause climate changes everywhere around the world. Undiscovered species can hold the key to curing a plethora of diseases, but if those species become extinct those keys are lost forever. If nothing is done to prevent this, the world’s treasure trove of bio-diversity will cease to exist, creating irreversible damage to not only the South American people but also the rest of the world.
The climate on the Earth is changing. Ice age is interleaved with the global warming. In the present age, the temperature of the Earth's climate system continue rapidly increase and it leads to global warming. Global warming is the process of gradual growth of average annual temperature of the atmosphere of the Earth and World ocean. The average temperature on the Earth was increased by 0.6C. There are various reasons of global warming, such as human activities, natural events, increasing of gases, such as carbon dioxide in atmosphere and solar activity (Global warming). Nearly 200 countries have signed Kyoto Protocol and they must reduce four greenhouse gases, in order to struggle with global warming. There are several perspectives about effects of global warming on environment. In this essay will be considered the impacts and consequences of global warming . In the process, it will be clarified that there are positive and negative impacts of global warming.
Creating more policies and organizations to support both the developed and developing countries to be able to generate clean energy for self-sustainability.
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.
This is alarming since recent data indicates these enormous forests are land-dwelling carbon absorbers that could help to slow worldwide climate alteration. The United Nations ' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates “eighteen million acres of forests have been destroyed worldwide;” and NASA forecasts “that if current deforestation rates are not reduced, rainforests could become entirely eradicated in a century.” The nations with substantial deforestation are Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, Africa (The Democratic Republic of Congo included), and remote areas of Eastern Europe. Indonesia, the country with the greatest deforestation within the last century, has lost approximately forty million acres of indigenous
Former Vice President, Al Gore’s speech, The Climate Emergency, was a highly accurate prediction of the circumstances our planet would be under in coming years. The facts relevant as of 2004 are still true in the year 2015. While many companies and individuals have learned to contribute to helping our plant go greener, the dangers of the climate change are still a pressing issue supported by scientific evidence. With occurrences such as extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and ice cap disappearances, global warming is physically being show on our planet and in order to prevent a complete reversed climate on our hemispheres, the population of Earth as a whole must ban together to reduce our carbon footprint.
To put things on a conclusive note, global warming already disrupts millions of lives daily in the forms of destructive weather patterns and loss of habitat (Houghton, 2007). What is already happening is only the tip of the melting iceberg, for it is our children and grandchildren who may suffer most from the effects of climate change. The effects of climate change are likely to be severe and irreparable. If we do not reduce the rate of climate change, hundreds of millions of people may be exposed to famine, water shortages, extreme weather conditions and a 20-30% loss of animal and plant species. While humankind has the ability to destroy the planet, we can also help to protect and sustain it.
Allen, Julia C., and Douglas F. Barnes. "The Cause of Deforestation in Developing Countries." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 1985: 163-184. Print.
... 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.