Climate Change : The United States

The world economy is a very complex system; in the system harmful externalities disrupt capital flows and determine economic productivity. Most notable of these externalities is inadvertent global warming. Spending towards research and regulation of climate change at both the national and international level are very important in determining current and future business trends. Economists and scientists worldwide continuously debate the pros and cons of emissions reduction and what consequences can quickly follow. Though many have different views on the issue, all can agree that the immediate and long term effects of climate change have become an economic matter of paramount importance. The sweeping impact from climate change will have important fiscal, financial, and macroeconomic ramifications that influence global commerce standards.

Since the beginning of International Relations and foreign policy, especially in the United States, environmental issues have not been its top priority. this problem has gained much momentum sense the environmental movements of the sixties and the passing of landmark pieces of policy. From domestic policy decisions of the Clean Air and Water Acts to the international ban on CFC’s, environmental policy has showed a degree of promise and precedence. Many critics of past and current mitigation efforts have pointed out that our current efforts are much too slow and International Protocols and not lived up to their projections. In order for climate policy to be successful it must appertain to three distinct criteria; It must be adopted broadly, have the ability to stay in place indefinitely, and it needs to have incentives to reduce emissions that make it beneficial for firms and the public sector to invest (McKibbin 2006, 9). According to some it will be motivation, not feasibility as to the deciding factor of whether or not we are successful in mitigating and adapting to climate change (Jamieson 2013, 466).

Imagine your hometown underwater; the places you once hoped to show your grandchildren lost completely and swept away into an abyss. It doesn’t sound great, does it? Unfortunately, this could very well become reality. Maybe not during this generation, but eventually. Climate change is a severe issue that affects us all. Icecaps are melting, sea levels are rising, and many Americans are either unaware of the issue or have listened to major politicians dismissing the issue without much knowledge of it.

The Unites States of America is currently working to combat climate change in order to protect people from its effects. By combatting climate change, the USA hopes to prevent its effects from becoming worse in the future because the USA cares for its citizens and doesn’t want them to keep experiencing the consequences of climate change. The USA is putting great effort into dealing with climate change and also hopes that other businesses, organization, and individuals will join them in their effort (Environmental News Service). One concern the USA has towards climate change is its cause of natural disasters. Climate change is bringing more natural disasters by making weather patterns stronger, and weather patterns are becoming stronger as climate change grows which is bringing more natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and drought to the USA (Rice). One example of a natural disaster that occurred in the USA as a result of climate change is the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma. In this event, a tornado rated 5 on the Enhanced Fuijta scale hit Oklahoma and had a negative impact on this city by destroying many of its houses and buildings also resulting in the destruction of businesses such as schools (Cable News Network). Another major concern of the USA towards climate change is that it will cause a rise in the global sea level which will result in many of its coastal cities to be submerged underwater. There will be a permanent 4 feet rise in the global sea level

Recently, the environment issues are becoming more and more serious. The increasing of greenhouse gas emission and pollutions lead to many environment problems related to climate change. The climate change impact our urban life in many aspects. As the biggest metropolitan area in US, New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area has a population about 19,831,858 by year 2012 (U.S. Department of Commerce, US Census Bureau, 2012) The population has been increased by 1.35% since 2010. The increase of population again increase the consuming of resources and increase the carbon dioxide of the statistical area which aggravate the global warming. At this moment, planners and government should take the impacts from climate change that will be critical concern to our area into consideration and applying a climate change management planning policies.

Climate change and its link to increased terrorist activity will directly and indirectly affect the United States in the next ten years, while also laying the foundation for climate change to become one of the most pressing security challenges that the United States will face in the coming years.

In order to examine and combat global warming, Senator Bernie Sanders and Barbara Boxer introduced the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act of 2007 on Jan 15th, 2007. The act was proposed to increase performance abilities for electricity generation and motor vehicles with the choice in emissions “cap and trade” system. Unfortunately, the bill failed to pass committee in 2013. (Environmental Defense Fund, 2007)

A cap-and-trade program sets a maximum level of pollution, and distributes emission permits among firms that produce emissions (Carbon Tax, 2013). The purpose of which is regulation of specific emissions by stationary and mobile sources, and setting a specific level which all emitters are re-quired to meet. Cap-and-trade possibly has less of a direct economic component to it than the other alternatives to reducing emissions described due to the ability to trade permits versus the expendi-ture of resources improving technology, with some arguing it is to the detriment of the environment. As stated in the article found in Reclaiming the Environmental Agenda, by Ashford, N. et al., 2008, “being a market-based instrument, ‘the cap-and-trade option suggests that at least this form of MBI may be more environmentally effective than the usual command-and-control alternatives, in addition to being more economically efficient.” (Ashford, N. and Caldart, C., 2008, p. 908).

As human exploitation causes temperatures to increase, in turn disturbing the biodiversity of several species, laws and regulations created by organizations are becoming increasingly more valuable. Over billions of years, Earth has endured several periods of mass extinction and has recently entered another era of mass extinction. Maintaining and protecting the biodiversity of species and their habitats is beneficial since genetic variability increases species ability to adapt. To avoid the further effects of climate change, carbon emissions must be drastically reduced across the globe. The World Wildlife Fund works to prevent the effects of climate change by partnering up with local communities and governments through restoring beach vegetation to shade marine turtle nests in the Caribbean, secure access to fresh water for elephants in Thailand during periods of drought, and identify areas where polar bears can live on solid Arctic sea ice for decades to come.

Cap and trade is a system aimed at diminishing the rate at which carbon is emitted into the atmosphere by creating an economic system based on meeting a certain minimal threshold or paying low-emitting companies for the right to emit in their place. For example, if company A only emits half of the emissions cap, that company can sell (or trade) the remaining credits to company B, should company B choose to emit one-and-a-half times the cap. A main objection to the cap and trade system is that it is not a strong enough means by which to curb emissions of fossil fuels and is inferior to specifically stronger carbon taxes. While initially appealing, the notion of simply strengthening carbon taxes fails to properly stifle carbon emissions and to adequately incentivize “green” development in comparison to the cap and trade system, preventing carbon taxes from occupying a central role to mitigate carbon emissions.

Tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere every day and the consequence is the destabilization of Earth’s climate and damage to existing and endangered ecosystems. In order to avoid these ramifications, carbon emissions must be reduced. Industrial nations like the United States rely heavily on the burning of billions of tons of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas, as their primary source of energy generation. Unfortunately, this has led to the United States being one of the top leaders in carbon emissions in the world along with India and China (Woodard, 2007, pg. 27). A proposed solution that has already been implemented in several nations is the carbon tax (CO2 tax), which puts a price on and taxes the carbon dioxide emitted from the burning of fossil fuels and makes polluters pay the price for the emission of their negative externalities into the environment. As fuel follows through with the combustion process, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere where it remains. The carbon dioxide traps the heat in the Earth’s atmosphere leading to a rise in global warming and climate change (Carbon Tax Center, 2016a, What’s a Carbon Tax section, para. 2). A carbon tax can quickly and easily be implemented by the United States federal government and has the potential to conserve the environment by reducing carbon emissions,

The 21st century has begun with one of the most challenge security threats to the United States of America have had to face. The perils of climate change have the ability to impact the national interest concerning power, prosperity and peace. The continued challenges around the world, and domestically, it is critical the US implements a comprehensive grand strategy. Cooperative security gives the US the best possibility to achieve the goals that will lessen the effects and place the US ahead of the international agenda. Combating climate change will require successful policies such as international climate pacts, collective-action and cap and trade initiatives. In the past, we have seen the US shy away from such accords worried about the

At this point in time our possible solutions to the global warming are few; our technologies aren’t advanced enough to take the brunt of energy production and wean away from fossil fuel, and we have been too passive for too long regarding our CO2 emissions that’s it’s not feasible to either use cap and trade, or a flat out reduction of CO2. At our current rate of growth, energy from alternative energy sources will be around 8% of the total energy usage by 2025 (Butler 3). This is not nearly enough to be used as a feasible solution to combat our rising CO2 production, and by the time this is feasible, sever climate changes may have

Climate change is a prominent issue around the world. Pollution, deforestation, emissions and carelessness of humans pose threats to the earth’s flora and fauna. Animals, plants, agriculture and ecosystems themselves are being harmed by the constantly rising temperatures. Earth’s wildlife is a key factor of survival, producing materials needed to make necessities, food, and recreation. Many countries are experiencing the negative impacts of climate change, including the United States. If temperatures continue to rise, much of the US’ wildlife will be diminished.

There is an issue on this planet that will define this generation. The issue is climate change. Global warming. A world on the collapse as our oceans are acidified, our air polluted, our forests disappearing, and human rights issues getting worse. It seems that people are not aware of how big climate change actually is. It’s not something that only takes place on the ice caps or in the forests on the far corners of the world. This is an issue that happens here, and now. It’s real. It’s happening.