A study by the EPA in 2008 revealed that the U.S. was responsible for 19% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, the second highest behind China (http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/global.html). As many know, greenhouse gases are responsible for the depletion of Earth’s ozone layer, which in turn has attributed to a rapid increase in climate change. It’s a fact that climate change does happen naturally; however, the anthropogenic climate change is happening too fast, and thus creating potential problems for future generations. At a time where carbon and greenhouse gas emissions are a growing crisis on our planet, there must be more done than just saying we will make changes to enforce regulating the emissions produced by power plants, and denying the construction of any potential emitters, like the Keystone XL Pipeline to avoid the potential dangers the entire planet faces, there must be action, and it starts with President Obama.
Earth’s climate is constantly changing, but humans have greatly affected the process. Advancements in technology and industrialization are two major causes of this, as both have resulted in an increase of pollution in our oceans and in the atmosphere. The amount of emissions produced today is 16 times greater than it was in 1900, with that number only continuing to grow. Power plants specifically are extremely harmful as they produce massive amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. Of the total amount of emissions that the U.S. produces annually, 40% come from power plants as a result of the burning of coal, natural gas, and oil (http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/global.html). The sources of emissions extend beyond power plants and industrialization; everyday luxuries that Americans enjoy such as air conditioners, vehicles, air sols, and plastics are also emitters, and with a large population, these become problems that result in serious consequences.
The gases produced by the pollutants contain chlorofluorocarbons, or CFC’s for short. The CFC’s essentially attack O3 Ozone molecules, breaking them down to O2 molecules. Ozone is crucial to protecting the Earth from harmful UV radiation from the Sun; the ozone layer being depleted makes the Earth susceptible to these damaging rays. Fortunately, the Montreal Protocol held in 1987 between 43 nations saw the signing of a treaty that called for a “phasing out” of the production and use of CFC’s. This solved the ozone crisis, but also opened the door for the problem the world faces today. With CFC’s cut out of production, HCFC’s, or greenhouse gases began to be used instead, starting the human caused climate change, or the “greenhouse effect.” The HCFC’s in the atmosphere capture the UV rays from the Sun, retaining the heat and sending it back towards the Earth, increasing the overall surface temperature. Earth has now seen a shift its climate belts, which has led to an array of problems such as stronger, more frequent storms, a global rise in sea level, and an increased frequency of wildfires. However, the list of potential problems Earth and society will face within this century is much longer. With these potential catastrophic problems of the future in mind, President Obama must initiate government involvement in taking action against global warming.
Much more has been said than actually done when it comes to the federal government taking the climate change crisis into its own hands. It had been two years since the President made any account of the climate change crisis; however, on June 25, President Obama gave a speech in which his main point was regulating the amount of emissions produced by power plants in the U.S., the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. What confused several people, however, was that it had been assumed the EPA had been working on regulating these emissions in the past few years. Now the President is tightening up, as he has demanded new regulatory proposals to be completed by no later than next year. Also included in the president’s speech were standards for appliances and fuel-economy regulations for vehicles, which have both played key roles in the deduction of greenhouse gas emissions. While this call to arms against emissions has sounded great to those concerned with the problem, there must still be more done. Obama and his administration have an international commitment they must live up to, which include a 17% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 (http://www.nature.com/news/more-than-hot-air-1.13314).
The most evident way to meet this rather ambitious goal by 2020 is to disallow the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. This pipeline would run from the oil sands in Alberta, Canada to the gulf coast in the U.S., and while the construction of this pipeline would create thousands of new jobs, the environmental risks greatly outweigh the economic. The pipeline would not only result in more greenhouse gas emissions, but the inevitable risk of having an oil spill would also be harmful to the environment, just as seen in the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Instead, the government should focus on the research of cleaner and safer forms of energy that would not only benefit the environment, but create jobs as well. We owe it to the future generations to provide them with a clean, habitable environment. Obama no longer has to worry about reelection, just his place in history, and taking action against in the climate change crisis our world faces would surely elevate his status. Putting politics aside in order to ensure that the world will be able sustain future civilization goes along with the beliefs of the founding fathers, who claimed political leaders should “make decisions with an eye on a longer horizon than the arc of our own political careers.” Today, the longer horizon starts with tackling the emissions of greenhouse gases, slowing climate change, and protecting the environment for the future.
Pictures Courtesy Of:
Charts/Graphs: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/global.html
Oil Spill: http://www.flickr.com/photos/skytruth/4733160839/in/photostream/
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