Module 9 – Climate Change

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My diagram begins with the interaction of greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, and the subsequent damage to the environment. This interaction is the core issue and it is at the top of the diagram because it is the reason for all of the information found below it. My diagram shows that the negative effects of climate change are real and that there is a real need for a solution to this growing problem. From there, I show how the UN(United Nations) has made an effort to fix this problem by calling a summit of all UN countries to propose a solution. The first summit produces the Kyoto Protocol, which is not accepted by the US. A later summit held in Copenhagen was arranged in order to create a deal that all countries could agree to. The deal that was proposed, the Copenhagen Accord, was highly controversial and my diagram shows that many UN nations were not eager to support it. The US had strong support for the Accord because it greatly benefitted our economic interests. The bottom half of the diagram is modeled to represent the actions the US took in order to gain support for the Copenhagen Accord, as well as the results such actions had. The diagram shows that the US engaged in numerous questionable activities in order to gain support for the accord. Included in these activities by the US to control other nations were spying, bribing, threatening, and offering aide. The diagram depicts how these tactics have largely resulted in these nations agreeing to support the Copenhagen Accord. Whether the remaining countries end up supporting the Accord is for time to tell.

I think that the State Department cables should have been released, and I am very thankful that they have been. I think it is important that the world know how these international treaties are created and supported. I was surprised to see such dirty tactics being used by the US, and I am ashamed that they would approach such a worthwhile goal of fixing climate change with such shady politics. It is apparent that the Accord benefits the US greatly as seen from the intense effort the US put into convincing other countries to support the Accord. I think that negotiating a climate change solution with the main concern being money is ridiculous from the get-go. It is apparent that all of the participating nations are more concerned with protecting/building their economies than they are with saving the environment. I think that the shady tactics used by the US to garner support for their Copenhagen Accord are absolutely despicable, and completely dishonest. When you consider the issue at hand, and realize that it is a problem that will not be solved without collective action, it becomes apparent that every country will need to participate in order to bring a halt to climate change. However, with the current culture of corrupt politics, it may be some time before a solution is found that actually benefits the world, rather than a few countries economies. The best approach to fix this situation would be to hold a UN summit on climate change and enforce transparency. This way, diplomats will be more likely create solutions that help the environment rather than their economy. After all, the world belongs to every human and organism that lives here. It should be our right to know about the solutions being proposed as well as the interests of those proposing them.

One thought on “Module 9 – Climate Change

  1. Hi James my name is Cassie and this is the link to my blog post: http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/04/07/climate-change-cassie-hess/. I enjoyed reading your post and seeing how our opinions on the article are both similar and different. While I see your point on why the leaks should have been released, I can also see the argument for keeping them private. I think that the politicians might be able to come up with a quicker solution if they have less pressure from the public. I also think that revealing the shady actions of countries like the United States might motivate them to act more ethically. Either way, no nation should be looking at this mainly as an economic issue. This is an issue of sustainability for the future and we must do whatever we can to solve it.

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