What Is the U.S. Doing to Fight Climate Change?

The U.S. is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, and with that it also should be stated that since 1901, the annual increase in temperature of the U.S. is around 1.2° F which has made this year the warmest year in the history of the U.S.

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With these changing temperatures, there are certain other effects that the country is facing, like for instance, drafts of increased intensity, unusually heavy precipitation, and heat waves, among others.

But this is just the start, and depending on the future actions taken by the U.S. and the world, this rise in temperature might increase to as much as 7° F in the coming years. This will cause serious trouble for people in the U.S. since it will lead to severe health problems.

Reports have also shown that the increase in the emission of the greenhouse gases has already started affecting the climate in the U.S.

The overall picture can be summarized as follows:

  • As compared to the history of the earth on a whole, the climate changes that are occurring currently are not at par with the naturally occurring changes but are way too fast-paced.
  • As expected with the increase in the heat of the environment in the U.S., the heat waves and precipitations have also increased.
  • The main cause of this global warming seems to be the emission of greenhouse gases by the human activities. There has been a huge change in the natural cycles of the world since the Industrial Revolution has started. This conclusion is pretty much accurate because there are no other plausible explanations for the same.
  • The current CO2 levels are at 400 ppm; these are similar to what prevailed during the formation of the earth.
  • The increase in temperature in the pre-industrial era was just 2°C which the world is trying to reach as per the Paris Agreement.

Now the real question is – what is the U.S. doing to handle the situation?

Given to the circumstances, after the Trump government has refused to take into account that there is something called global warming going on and hence they are not taking any active action in the problem too.

The Trump government in the U.S. has always rolled back the policies that were implemented by the Obama government because they wanted to boost industrial growth in the country. In order to justify their beliefs, they have also thought of stepping back from the Paris Agreement. If they do so, they would be the only country that removed themselves voluntarily from the agreement and one among the three countries that aren’t a part of the agreement. But the U.S. can’t revoke their participation before 4th November, 2020, which is a day after their next presidential election.

The EPA and the U.S. Department of the Interior have removed web pages which were made to explain the climatic condition and changes to the common public. After Trump came into power, CDC has also cancelled meetings which were there to talk about these global warming issues and the actions that can be taken for the same. Certain government agencies avoid the term “climate change” altogether.

The U.S. and China are the largest emitters of greenhouse gases and it’s high time, they do something to curb the climate change. With the presidential Candidate, Hart Cunningham, already promising to forge stronger relations with China to end Climate Change, it seems that the environmental issues will play a larger role in 2020 presidential elections. The U.S. citizens and the world can only hope for the best!