Analyzing our Climate Change

Over the past 200 years our nation has been utilizing harmful fuels as well as partaking in acts which have been detrimental to our natural environment. As a result our concentration of greenhouse gases has significantly increased and has begun leading our temperatures to increase to levels past necessary. Many scientists and researchers predict the effects of global warming in the coming years could be devastating. Ranging from an increase of extreme weather to the disruption of ecosystem, we’re travelling down a dangerous path yet it doesn’t seem like much is being done about it.

In the primaries, climate change was a prime issue along with health care, foreign affairs and the economy. Just a few months ago candidates were using energy policies to attack the opposing. We’re weeks away from elections and it seems both presidential candidates have tossed the idea of the environment as an issue to the side. Sure our economy is in turmoil and should be our focus, but when our economy is dealt with will climate change still be pushed to the side? Candidates have continued to heavily discuss energy, which one would think would give our climate good hopes. After all, if we change the energy we consume which is contributing to the problem, we could reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. However the situation is not as good as it seems. As these politicians craft many of their energy policies the climate is not their first priority. Energy is a major issue for the candidates because of the implications it could have on our economy. So what is being planned out for our climate?

Although the debates yield few answers on what the candidates have planned for our environment, their respective websites offer slightly more insight. In the Obama camp there is a huge focus on implementing an economy based cap and trade program. It’s a policy that some feel is the first thing that should be done to address the problem. In addition Obama would like to reconvene with the United Nations Framework Convention on global warming in hopes of making the U.S. leaders on climate change. On a more commercial level they look to increase the amount of hybrid cars on the road and focus on researching technology that would provide cleaner energy such as clean coal. The McCain camp doesn’t disagree too much with Obama’s in relation to climate change. He also looks to implement a cap and trade policy. McCain also recognizes this is a global issue and looks to work closely with foreign nations to deal with climate change. Not only would companies in our nation have incentives for reducing emissions, McCain would have incentives for countries like India and China as well.

The candidates each provide compelling solutions to a difficult problem. However their solutions contain flaws. Obama for example has stated he would like to see a mass production of clean coal which would help the environment. The idea of clean coal is an oxymoron. What’s worse is a report published by Greenpeace detailing the numerous problems of clean coal. Perhaps most noteworthy is that we’re not expected to have the technology to mass produce clean coal until 2030, by then global warming will have taken a dangerous toll on our environment. Over in McCain’s camp there is an insistence of looking to participate in offshore drilling. It’s understandable that he’s looking for a means to reduce our reliance on foreign fuels, however let’s do it in a more eco-friendly manner. Drilling would only provide a short fix to a difficult problem and he would be better off focusing on alternative energy that would not only reduce our dependence on foreign fuels but also would be better for the environment. In addition to this his running mate, who many are lauding as an energy expert has, managed to make a statement which does not go well with her policies. She stated on numerous occasions that the cause of global warming and climate change doesn’t really matter, instead we just need to fix the problem. In most cases, big or small, it is very difficult to come up with a solution for a problem if one doesn’t focus on what’s at the root of the problem. With that said with the issue of climate change I am a supporter of Obama. Although each candidate looks to have cap and trade policies, with Obama’s policy by 2050 U.S. emissions would be cut by 80% as opposed to McCain who is only looking to cut by 60% in that same time frame. Obama is also in opposition of offshore drilling and is slightly opposed to nuclear energy, two unsafe ideas being proposed by McCain. Lastly Obama is looking to raise fuel standards while McCain only looks to enforce current standards. Obama has a more clear cut plan that would be safer and looks to accomplish more in the future so it’s not hard to pick him as my preferred candidate.

Perhaps to further the success of his policies our future president could look into an untapped resource known as star-power. Since the Olympics China’s harmful emissions have been in the spotlight. It’s interesting because it takes an event like the Olympics for people to even take notice at such an issue. I wonder however if China would ever have even been called out if the Olympics weren’t being held in China, but in a place where the emissions would not affect the athletes. Our society can become very focused on a particular issue when some kind of celebrity status is attached. Al Gore and Leonardo Dicaprio are prime examples of the powers celebrities hold and maybe even a possible solution to the problem. With his film An Inconvenient Truth he got average movie goers out to see an educational documentary, the fact that his film became the fourth highest grossing documentary proves so. Countless celebrities have posed and spoken out for PETA and as a result we’ve seen drastic changes in animal care. If the same is done for climate change then perhaps the issue will be acted upon with more hast.

The time to act is now, it’s an issue which has been in discussion for years, and it’s time a leader came along that actually focused on change. I would like for my children to grow up in a safe environment where there aren’t numerous storms and extreme weather. Where ice caps still contain ice and polar bears continue to roam. Our generation may not suffer, but for once let us not be the selfish beings that we instinctively are and let us do something for our future generation. They didn’t cause the problem and they shouldn’t have to be the ones to deal with the repercussions.