Amercans' Concern About Climate Change Growing

Americans have now taken a new stand on the environment with more Americans now than ever believing that climate change needs to be addressed.  This study was done before Hurricane Sandy ravaged the East Coast, which seems to have even more people talking about the affects of climate change on the weather.

A survey conducted in September by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication reveals that 88% of Americans believe action has to be taken against climate change, "even if it has economic costs."  

This makes sense to the project's leader Anthony Leiserowitz because, in 2011, fourteen different weather events cost the nation one billion dollars.  With this amount of extreme weather and many events making the national news, Leiserowitz claims that "Many Americans were beginning to connect the dots [to climate change] themselves.”  Thus, Americans are now being able to see or infer the effects of climate change—something that Americans have been somewhat skeptical about for the last twenty years.

This project also asked participants who they thought should lead the movement for climate change action.  The study found the following information:

• 92 percent of Americans believe that the federal government should make the advancement of green energy a priority
• 31 percent said this should be a high priority
• 23 percent said a medium priority
• 8 percent said a low priority

http://news.discovery.com/earth/americans-want-to-curb-carbon-pollution-121115.html
This article was written by Larry O'Halan, a contributor to Discovery News on November 15, 2012.  Discovery News provides reliable scientific news.  This article relied on a Yale study (Yale Project on Climate Change Communication) and contributions from the project's director for information.

  http://environment.yale.edu/climate/the-climate-note/


How will President Obama address the issue of climate change in his second term?

What about oil is bad?

Information courtesy of Buls.org
Credibility,  The article was written in the early months of 2012 so i would consider the information to be very present with the time period and very up to date in recent news and politics,
To take on a less bias point of view, i am going to share with you some of the negative effects of oil drilling.  Obviously, the main concern with oil drilling that it has numerous effects onto the environment.  First of all, it is a fossil fuel that unfortunately has gotten us addicted to its magical powers of powering everything that we own.
      But a mistake that many people make is that we should stop all together with oil.  That would be a major mistake in our part is we totally alienate oil.  First of all, is a resource that has gotten us to become the Number 1 nation in our globe.  So if were to totally stop oil production, we are likely to see a massive blunder to our economy thus reflecting a major downturn to the poeple and to us as a whole.
       Another negative that oil has caused is that it has invaded on many plant and animal species.  THis has caused many plant and animal species to become endangered not only on land, but also on sea.  A major contributor to the on going problem with offshore oil drilling that is has caused may problem with oil spills.  As we have seen in recent years, its seem that offshore oil drilling has caused more harm that good.
Lastly, Dont get me wrong, i am all for alternative energy but to be honest how are we supposed to get all of this money for expensive energy like solar and wind.  What i am saying is that we should drill right now to help set us up in the future when we have gotten out of this economic crisis.

What do you think we should do about our pending energy problem?   Should we quit oil all together?

     
 

How Business Benefits The Environment

http://www.renewable-energy-news.info/wp-content/
uploads/2011/08/business-benefits-of-going-green.jpg

”Businesses can be the most efficient catalyst for creating a more sustainable planet” claims Margery Kraus, CEO of APCO worldwide. Major companies have global reach that allows them to directly impact environments beyond the boundaries of any singular country.”Big corporations are larger than many nations.” 

A recent study conducted by APCO Worldwide, a consulting firm focusing on environmentalism, found that many Americans believe that business is “less encumbered by politics and bureaucracy and has more resources to act and influence others to do so” than the government.

They have the power to efficiently implement environmentally friendly practices by making sustainable products that are made of recycled products and are recyclable themselves, and also using a clean production process that pollutes less.They are also able to build factories with efficient technology that could be above governmental standards in some places. Employees also can be offered incentives to use public transportation, and to recycle.

When businesses implement sustainable policies that benefit the environment they are helping themselves as well. They will have a healthy business that is better for the earth, and that benefit employees and consumers.Environmentally conscious businesses, especially global corporations, have a key opportunity for leadership and have the ability to implement policies efficiently, and gain real results. Business’ biggest incentive is that “you can't run a successful business in a failed world.” says Kraus.

Do you think businesses are really better equipped and more efficient in some respects than governments to address 21st-century environmental changes?

The author of the article is Margery Kraus. She is CEO and president of APCO Worldwide a consulting firm focused on environmentalism and sustainability. The company represents many of the world's largest corporations. The source is opposing viewpoints and was published in 2006.

Synthesis and Plan

Brett Goss
Blog post

                                    Synthesis & Plan
As of late I have opened many doors in the realm of regulation. These doors, so to speak, have lead me into the vast concept of regulation. In a previous blog post I spoke of the idea of placing regulation on a spectrum, I have been researching with the hope of traveling through the entirety of this spectrum.
A big idea that is sharply contested by partisans in the U.S. is how much the government should intervene in the marketplace. What methods work better in a Capital economy to promote growth and prosperity? There is viable reasoning from both sides yet as I progress my research I will inevitably travel more to one side than the other.
The morality card is played quite a bit as well and has presented itself as a very prominent concept in the world of regulation. Partisans constantly question the moral principles of their opponents when debating legislation. So another theme/idea that is present is not only what works more successfully, but what is more morally acceptable, Big Government or free markets? This idea is extremely interesting, and one's opinion of this idea may seal him to one side or the other.
However I still search for the answer to the question: What is the perfect amount of government regulation to grow an economy? Perhaps the answer lay neither with the libertarians nor the Big Government advocates. The answer to my question may lay on an area in the spectrum which differs from the former.

Synthesis and Plan

New studies have found that geothermal energy is the most efficient energy. According to this study consumers are getting the most out of their money,and being eco-friendly. The way geothermal energy works is, that steam and hot water go up to the generating station, and then cold water is pumped down. That way the water is being reused to heat up houses and create electricity. I have also researched about Pythagoras Solar, which has created a Photovoltaic Glass Unit. Pythagoras has established a relationship with  Arkema, China Sunergy and Flextronics, making the distribution of their products easier. Thanks to this company it is now easier for architects, engineers, and business owners to be green. In my research I also found that solar energy is becoming more popular, and that it creates a lot of jobs for Americans. That is , because the market is becoming more competitive, and solar energy is becoming more affordable for the common people. 

Could renewable energy replace everything that is powered by coal? 

What are some downsides of solar energy other than the price?

What could the government do so people start investing on renewable energy ?  

Synthesis & Plan

Poverty

The main topics I've been researching are what causes poverty, how to end it, and if really can ever end it. So far I have found articles about charitable organizations, and found that donating money doesn't always help. When we throw money at an organization, we believe we're doing the right thing and the best thing we can to help those in poverty. In reality, a lot of the money doesn't go to the cause and if resources are sent and provided, the countries don't have the ability to maintain them. I also learned that the lowest class is pushed to the side the most, for example in the election. The middle class was addressed as the "struggling" class, which is true (they are struggling), but the poor have forever been struggling.
I plan to find more ways in which poverty can be prevented and ended.

Synthesis and Plan

I have learned that the government does have quite a bit of control over the economy, in fact, they have a lot more than I thought.  They can control the economy in several different ways such as: Spending money, not spending money, or regulation.  One issue with this topic is that I am being pulled too much into the debate over how much control the government should have. Although I am interested in this debate, it is not my topic.  I have also learned about certain forms of government and their successes or failures with their economies.  For example, I talked a good amount about the Keynesian form of government in which the government spends massive amounts in order to assure high employment levels.

What are some others examples of regulation that the government has either put into effect, or at least tried?

How much does the government's role in the economy depend on what political party is in office?

How much of those decisions are made by the president?