Tag Archives: WikiLeaks

Carlamere_Climate Change

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The diagram starts with the Wikileaks article regarding the Copenhagen Accord. It shows the relationship between the Accord and the main countries mentioned in the Wikileaks report. The United States is a developed country connected to money and threats, spying and leveraging political allies. China is a developed country; like the United States, China also had a hand in spying through a cyber attack on the CIA. This was an attempt to find out what information the United States gathered on their spying activities. The next country is Ethiopia, which is a developing country. Ethiopia a part of political leveraging and threats made by the United States. The developing countries ended up thinking that the developed countries were taken advantage of them because of their political weakness in contrast to the larger more powerful countries. This does not seem like an attempt to reduce carbon emissions between the large and small countries alike; it reads more like a Dean Koontz book.   However, this is the world we live in; doing what is right is never as easy as it should or could be. Even when we can see the problems that we have created and know the steps that are required to slow the process of global warming we find ourselves hampered by the political system and financial greed. These are the reasons that have created the environmental mess that we call our home and will never be the way that we recover from the damage that we have done to our planet.

I like truth even though at times it can be tough to accept, but with the truth comes answers. I am thankful that Wikileaks published this information; we now know at least some of the problems we face as a society, when it comes to changing our actions. We have to start changing society’s mindset; this is done through persistence, transformability, and adaptability. Human action has changed the state of the Earth; this started approximately two centuries ago, during the industrial revolution. Humans affect climate change through mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation causes less greenhouse gas emissions, but also leads to more climate change, which promotes adaptation that creates better environmental impacts. In order to really make a change the first step we have to do is re-engineer our global economy to a low-carbon model that will redirect billions of dollars to counteract the damage we have done to the environment. The second step is for each person to create his or her own action plan on mitigation; by planning where we live might be the biggest factor in the amount of greenhouse gas we emit. Additionally, by choosing low-impact food; by eating less animal-based food for a plant-based diet will lower greenhouse emissions. Lastly, there is always a possibility to buy carbon offsets; however, this can lead to an ethical question. One can make a case that every person should do their part to reduce their carbon footprint and not just buy a credit that allows them to pollute as much as they want (Pennslyvania State University 2016).

CARLAMERE_GEOG030_CLIMATE CHANGE

References:

Pennslyvania State University. Climate Change. 2016. https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog030.

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Untitled document

Above is a diagram to illustrate the controversy and events surrounding the Copenhagen accord.  The main issue stems from the burning of fossil fuels; burning fossil fuels for transportation, energy, and industry releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.  Increased levels of greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun and are causing the global temperature to rise, which results in the many aspects of climate change.  The realization of this threat has caused alarm from increasingly more governments, which required a global agreement like the Kyoto Resolution to be handled.  The US is responsible for a huge portion of emissions, but has been reluctant to do anything drastic.  The Kyoto resolution resulted in the US State Department using bribes and coercion to persuade smaller nations to support a more lenient climate resolution.  These tactics encouraged many smaller nations to align with the US.  This support gave rise to the uninspired Copenhagen Accord which had less requirements to reduce emissions for the US.  The Copenhagen Accord will result in burning more fossil fuels which then restarts the whole cycle of greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, and diplomatic bureaucracy.

My opinion on this issue is kind of mixed.  I understand that restrictions on greenhouse gases generally would slow down the US economy, so I understand why politicians are not willing to do something that is not universally supported in their country.  However, the backroom nature of this diplomacy is concerning. What is even more concerning is that this story was not major new in the US and I do not recall hearing about it until now.  I understand there have been leaks of sensitive information that have potential repercussions, but I do not think this is one of these situations.  The only thing at risk in this situation is the public perception of our politicians; if they are being deceptive to the public then they should be held accountable.  The only way this systemic problem within the US government could be resolved is for the American public to come to a consensus on climate change and vote in politicians that share their views.  Unfortunately, given the current misdirection and confusion in the American public, I do not see this shift happening until climate change is irreversible and manifesting itself.