Ryan Gengler
27 February 2017
Instructor: Mrs. Nutter
English 121
Research Narrative Swedish Chemist Svante Arrhenius laid out the first basic ideas of climate change in 1896 (Weart 34). Some of these basic ideas were the causes of climate change, such as the greenhouse effect (Anttila-Hughes, Oppenheimer 11). At this point in time, this was all new research which influenced others to continue the research on climate change. As time progressed, more and more people began to believe in the effects of climate change due to the large amounts of research done since Arrhenius introduced the issue (Weart 34). Nowadays, the idea of climate change is argued whether it exists or not, without taking the large amounts of research into account. The
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Once Obama was elected into office, he wanted to start making legislative changes to battle climate change, but it turned out to be a rough start for him. None of the Republican House Representatives would vote for his proposals and plans, which made it difficult at first for Obama to do much towards climate change (Kramer 29). After various proposals being turned down, one of the proposals were actually passed. Obama was able to provide “[...] $80 billion in funding for renewable energy, which sparked the subsequent stratospheric growth in wind and solar power, and a substantial boost in vehicle fuel efficiency” (Hertsgaard 72). This was one of the first actions Obama was able to accomplish towards climate change, which ended up helping companies use renewable energy instead of fossil fuels for their energy. A mistake that Obama made during the early parts of his first term was that he did not make much of an effort to inform the common people about the issues and causes of climate change (Coen 306). This mistake made it hard for Obama to get much support or understanding from the people, which made it even more difficult than it was to propose ideas about climate change.
As time went on, it still was difficult for Obama to pass legislation, but he was able to get the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 passed to slow down the effects of climate change. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
He ordered the head of the EPA to declare carbon dioxide as a pollutant. His signature air quality achievement imposes new restrictions on mercury and other emissions from power plants (America Magazine). At a United Nations meeting about climate change in Peru, Barack Obama engaged China to agree, for the first time to substantial carbon reduction goals. This one action is likely to have more of an effect in mitigating climate change than other symbolic actions taken to date (Star
Once the idea that climate change was happening was more mainstream and not dismissed, another scientist picked up Fourier’s theory. He proposed the idea that carbon dioxide could be what was trapping the heat, and also that water vapor is good at trapping heat. Although, this did not explain why the Earth was so warm. The idea was again visited later on, but this time Svante Arrhenius discovered that a certain amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere equals a certain amount of warmth. This trend continued for years, scientists discovering new things about the atmosphere. How did the ice ages happen? How much carbon dioxide can the atmosphere handle? These were questions scientists have asked.
This paragraph will look at how President-elected Donald Trump can become the “Make America Great Again” President through the use of environmental policy. The Obama Administration has made real progress in developing a wide range of initiatives that reduce greenhouse gas emissions through clean energy policies. In 2009, “President Obama set aggressive energy and sustainability goals for the federal government
First, I am going to consider the issue, “impacts of climate change”, voted in 2014. This is an offer for an amendment to the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriation Act. This act is to prohibits federal agencies to consider
There are 7.3 billion people on Earth (United States Census Bureau, 2016). More specifically, there are 7.3 billion people who depend on Earth for food, water, and shelter. If there is one thing that every living organism has in common, it’s our dependence on the planet to survive. Unfortunately, since the Industrial Revolution, humans have been systematically degrading the Earth and its resources. President Obama’s final State of the Union address was structured around four main points, one of which was centered around innovation (2016). His points focused on the impending reality of climate change and America’s potential to lead the world down a path of sustainability and green innovation. His hour long speech devoted a mere five minutes to climate issues, further suggesting that climate change remains a less pressing issue than the economy, for example, and I felt that he oversimplified an incredibly complex issue. President Obama’s economic appeals paint a hopeful picture without acknowledging the potential pitfalls associated with climate capitalism. However, President Obama’s strong stance claiming that climate change is in fact happening is an incredibly positive step in the fight against climate change.
Since the first industrial revolution, in 1840, we have seen major changes to modern technology, and our way of life has been changed completely. With inventions like the cotton mill, the lightbulb, the car, and so many others, we can be more efficient, and provide new and improved services for ourselves, but there is a negative side to all this development. Many of the systems we have discovered are destroying the planet, and as we continue to ignore this obvious deterioration, it gets exponentially worse. As one of the most powerful and influential countries in the world, the United States has the ability to change this trend of destruction. Individuals can rally and recycle, but we need more power behind the cause, and the President can do that. The United States Constitution gives the President the ability to suggest and pass laws, with the help of the other branches; and it is time that they take a stand, and provide legislation that will lead the country to heal the Earth. The President of the United States has the Constitutional power-- and therefore the obligation-- to promote awareness of climate change and introduce legislation to help protect our planet.
As time went on, it still was difficult for Obama to pass legislation, but he was able to get the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) passed to slow down the effects of climate change. The ARRA was an act that was created by Obama, and was used for various reasons. The main use of The ARRA was for creating and saving jobs of the common people, but Obama was actually able
“All across the world, in every kind of environment and region known to man, increasingly dangerous weather patterns and devastating storms are abruptly putting an end to the long-running debate over whether or not climate change is real. Not only is it real, it's here, and its effects are giving rise to a frighteningly new global phenomenon: the man-made natural disaster.” BARACK OBAMA, speech, Apr. 3, 2006. Climate change is not a theory contrary to what many individuals believe and is in fact confirmed by major scientific agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States. Global Warming causes are mainly due to greenhouse gases
The European Union expressed its disagreements with The US (during Bush administration) on cutting emissions of greenhouse gases. Climate change required “clear vision, political courage and an extraordinary effort of international cooperation”, so it’s necessary for Europe and US to hold urgent talks on the issue in the Hague last year. However, the US president’s national security adviser said the process to cut greenhouse gases established in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997 was dead which provoked the EU leaders to take action. Bush’s administration strongly oppose the Kyoto Protocol because it exempts 80% of the world (major population centers such as China and India were not exempted) and it would harm to the US economy. He did the opposite of what
The concept of climate change has been around for quite a while. The earliest mention of climate change dates back to the 19th century. Swedish scientist, Svante Archenius was the first scientist to study the effect of CO2 on climate. (Rodhe et al 1997)
The greenhouse effect is just one of the many controversial topics being discussed by almost everyone today. Some believe that it is just a myth made up by the government to control its population while others avidly believe that it is a fact and try to incorporate it in how they live their everyday lives. But there have been a few scientists who have deliberated on this topic for years, Svante August Arrhenius, Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier and Horace-Bénédict de Saussure are just a few for example.
Within the past few decades, there has been no political or public discussion as heated and controversial as the debate over climate change. Climate disputes can be traced back all the way to 1837, when Louis Agassiz proposed a theory claiming that Switzerland had once been covered with large ice sheets, and have become a big part of the international scientific community since then (Archer and Rahmstorf 2010). Today, climate change is not only a scientific issue, but it has grown into an economic and political issue as well. The rising amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, most of which has been added through human activities, has caused a climb in the average temperatures around the planet. This can have huge effects on the future
In 2008 Eminent climatologist James Hansen urged U.S. President Barack Obama to support a carbon tax. Hansen was the first climate scientist to state publicly that greenhouse gas emissions were causing climate change, at a hearing before the U.S. Senate 20 years ago. All reputable scientists agree that climate change is man-made, and a huge challenge for human civilization. Political efforts for an international agreement to limit climate change have
Did you know that the United States is the second largest contributor of CO2, and the less concerned about it? Climate change has been a problem for decades, but just recently we start to see how big of a problem climate change is, and can be. Climate change is one of the biggest problems that we are facing right now, even if keep trying to act like is nothing. Everybody, the people, the government, and big companies are a big contributor of this phenomenon. The more we keep denying its effects, the more we are going to regret it later, and going to wish that we could go back and try to fix the issue. You going to know one day, and its going to be late. Climate change should be the U.S government main focus this decade and the ones to come. Climate change can affect a country in every way economically, destroyed …., cause a lot of deaths.
The planet has been experiencing considerable climate change for the last several decades. There have been many explanations toward the main causes of the increased warming of the planet. On one hand are the environmentalists who believe that the major cause of this increased warming of the planet is the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere induced by human activities. On the other hand, the scientists believe that there are natural causes of global climate change. While the supporters of the man-made theory of global climate change reason that the major greenhouse gas causing global warming is carbon dioxide, the advocates of natural causes