Anna Griebel

American Politics 1014

Word Count: 948

Climate Change from a Political Standpoint

Climate change has been a hot topic arising in politics over the recent years.
You could call the issue of climate change a tragedy of the commons. This dilemma
has officials having a hard time coming to a common consensus over what the best
solution is. In this paper I will be discussing what climate change is, some solutions
suggested, and the views of climate change from the republican and democratic parties.
So what is climate change anyway? Climate change, or global warming is the
warming of the earth, by increased levels of carbon dioxide in the air, and the burning of
fossil fuels. The earths temperature has risen by 1.5 degrees in the past century. This
number is expected to keep rising according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The effects of global warming are being seen throughout the world. Many places have
seen changes in rainfall, resulting in more floods, droughts, or intense rain, as well as
more frequent and severe heat waves. The planet's oceans and glaciers have also
experienced some big changes - oceans are warming and becoming more acidic, ice
caps are melting, and sea levels are rising. (EPA, 2015). The earth has gone through
periods of warming and cooling, each lasting thousands of years. This period of
warming can cause devastating impacts, with glaciers disappearing and the increasing
use of fossil fuels.
Politicians around the world are disagreeing on the issue and its impacts. Some
believe that the earth rising just a few degrees will not make that much of a difference,

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while others believe the issue needs to be addressed immediately. There has been a
recent effort to address this problem in Paris, France. This year, the United Nations
Climate Change Conference was held. The United Nations is working with the French
government to come up with a binding agreement on reducing carbon emissions. A
recent article talks about how they are close to making a decision. There are many
ideas being discussed about what needs to be in this treaty. One of them is that
developed countries such as Australia and the United States need to start recording
their carbon emissions in some shape or form. Underdeveloped countries are insisting
funding to help reduce their emissions and provide green resources for their citizens.
(Taylor, 2015).
This conference has shed a lot of light on recent climate change. People started
recognizing climate change several years ago. In 2005, former Vice President Al Gore
released the movie, The Inconvenient Truth, discussing global warming and his take on
it. In an article by the Washington Post, he was asked many questions on his present
opinions on global warming. He said things like, The difference between 32 degrees
Fahrenheit and 33 degrees Fahrenheit seems larger than just one degree. Its the
difference between water and ice. And by analogy theres a similar difference between
renewable electricity thats more expensive than electricity from coal and renewable
electricity thats less expensive. And In spite of the continued release of 90 million tons
of global warming pollution every day into the atmosphere, as if its an open sewer, we
are now seeing the approach of a global political tipping point. (Gore, 2013).
Keep in mind that not all people have the same views on climate change. Many
politicians either dont think its an issue, or simply think there is no such thing. This is

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where we get into a political dispute between democrats and republicans. The parties
have different views on how we should deal with the issue. In the late 1970s and mid
1990s, support for environmental spending was only about 10 percent higher in
democrats than republicans The gap between opinions on climate change began to be
more apparent after the United States signed the bill Kyoto Protocol in 1997. This was
a bill regarding reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the air, saying that human
activity was partially contributing to global warming (Dunlap, 2008). Republicans started
questioning what the exact role of this bill was. Republicans started criticizing the
purpose of this bill saying it was not needed. They did not only criticize the bill, but also
started not believing in global warming, saying it was so called a hoax.
Not all republicans feel this way, but the gap between republicans and democrats
is significant enough to see a noticeable difference. On the other end of the spectrum,
democrats have a different view on the situation. Democrats are committed to curbing
the effects of climate change, protecting Americas natural resources, and ensuring the
quality of our air, water, and land for future generations. From investing in clean-energy
to protecting our ecosystems, the Obama administration and Democrats are working to
address our biggest environmental challenges, paving the way to a more sustainable
America. (DNC, 2015). This website also gives lots of information about what the
Obama Administration has done regarding climate change. Some of these things
include laying out action plans, increasing use of solar energy, issuing new fueleconomy standards, regulating carbon dioxide emissions, etc. As you can see, the
support on global warming/climate change is very different between these two parties.

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In this essay, I discussed what climate change is, some proposed solutions, and
the difference in opinion between democrats and republicans. I also talked about the
United Nations Climate Convention and how France and the UN are trying to come
together and fix the crisis. Lastly, I addressed Al Gore and his movie The Inconvenient
Truth, and his newest opinions on climate change. Through reading articles and
research, I have presented an understanding of the impact and controversy surrounding
global environmental issues.

Reference List
Al Gore explains why hes optimistic about stopping global warming, Ezra Klein,
last modified August 21, 2013, accessed December 3, 2015,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/08/21/al-gore-explains-why-hesoptimistic-about-stopping-global-warming/.

A Widening Gap: Republican and Democratic Views on Climate Change, Riley

E. Dunlap and Aaron M. McCright, last modified October 2008, accessed December 5,
2015, http://www.environmentmagazine.org/archives/back%20issues/septemberoctober%202008/dunlap-full.html.

Climate Change is happening, Environmental Protection Agency, last modified

November 4, 2015, accessed December 3, 2015,
http://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/basics/.

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Climate change negotiations in Paris 'close to the finishing line', say French,
Lenore Taylor, last modified December 10, 2015, accessed December 3, 2015,
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/11/climate-change-negotiations-inparis-close-to-the-finishing-line-say-french.

Environment, Democrats, last modified 2015, accessed December 5, 2015,

https://www.democrats.org/issues/environment.