Gunderson – Mod 9

1. MOD 9 diagram

2. Once climate change and the idea that civilization is mostly responsible for it gained enough traction, the world began to take action. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol were adopted,
among other initiatives throughout the world. The United States realized that
the targets set forth in these deals were going to end up being extremely bad
for the economy, a short term effect in the grand scheme but something that
would be very significant to the American way of life especially considering
the state of the national economy at the time. Even though a global deal wasn’t
reached at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit, they were able to create the
Copenhagen Accord. The U.S. knowing that this was beneficial to us economically, as well as politically, backed this and began to diplomatically seek support using economic aid as encouragement to back the accord. The E.U. knowing the accord wasn’t the best deal for the state of climate change in the world but realizing that having the majority of the world’s greenhouse gas contributors on one page would be extremely beneficial for possibilities in the future. The United States ends up with 140 countries backing the accord, which would make it seem like the compromises that are made presently could be worth it in the future when a new deal could be negotiated between countries that are already members of the Copenhagen Accord. This seems like substantial progress
to me, especially when it’s hard enough to get some of these countries just to
sit down and discuss things like climate change.   

3. My views on this subject probably make me seem like an extremely indoctrinated American, I am a U.S. Marine currently serving at a diplomatic posting so I may have a unique perspective on this topic when compared to other people that are in more traditional roles as students. These cables should not have been exposed. Wikileaks compromised many lives when they did that and they are arguably responsible for American deaths. The State Department and various intelligence agencies have missions appointed to them by elected government officials that are privy to information that is being analyzed by many extremely qualified personnel. They have to balance consequences and try to make decisions that will be most beneficial to their constituency (also known as the American people). I can assure you that Julian Assange didn’t have consequences in mind when he released these to the world. As an American voter you should trust the government to make decisions on policies that affect the world and leave those kinds of things to those people that have resources, like the CIA, at their disposal. If you as an American don’t like the foreign policy of the government, that’s your cue to vote for changes. All of that being said, things like climate change and the processes behind the policies that the world’s governments are are adopting affect all of us. There should be more transparency so that if interested, people can have access to appropriate information to educate themselves on the goings on of the world and form educated opinions. 

3 thoughts on “Gunderson – Mod 9

  1. Hi Taylor, my name is Mara! I really liked your diagram. I thought it was very organized and easy to follow. I thought it was very interesting how you added your own personal experience of being a U.S. Marine into the module. I really liked reading your module because I gained a lot of knowledge from it. Great work! If you want to check out my module, here is a link to my blog: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/04/08/module-9-climate-change-6/

  2. Hi Taylor! My name is Jake. Your diagram looks very good. It is way more organized and neat than mine is. Some of your points within the diagram are very descriptive and informative. I also really liked reading your answer for number 2. The way you talk about the article lets everyone know that you pay attention to detail. I really liked reading your post. Good job on module 9! Here is a link to my post if you are interested in reading it: http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/04/08/module-9-jake-hughes/

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