A Climatic Debate

By: Shawnara Troup

Background on statement made:

Climate change is a major issue in today’s world. With the subject on many people’s minds, it is no wonder that it appeared in this year’s presidential debates.

Candidate Hillary Clinton voiced her concerns on the matter, by issuing the following statement:

(Above) Hillary Clinton

“So I have a comprehensive energy policy, but it really does include fighting climate change, because I think that is a serious problem. And I support moving toward more clean, renewable energy as quickly as we can, because I think we can be the 21st century clean energy superpower and create millions of new jobs and businesses.” 1

-Hillary Clinton 

       The statement was made during the candidates’ second political debate.  It was brought up during a question that addressed the individual’s plans to procure a workable energy policy. Each candidate spoke of creating jobs and each explored a different route of action. These routes would ultimately impact climate change in major ways.

Donald Trump spoke of his focus on cultivating a policy that would encourage growth and the utilization of the major energy sources, such as coal, natural gas, and oil. His major point was that he was going to create the pathway to help America pay off their debt.

(Above) Donald Trump

Hillary Clinton countered with a stance that would ultimately abolish the coal industry, and replace the energy sources with clean sustainable resources. Her points mainly rested on her view that America was already at a point where it was self-reliant when it came to procuring its own energy. 2

  Each point would in fact have a major impact on the outcome of climate change.

Purpose of this blog article:

Our future lies before us in a pair of individuals, poised to step into the role of the President of The United States. Their conflicting views on a major problem that plagues today’s ever complicated world sets them apart from each other. This issue is Climate Change. This article explores the concept of climate change and its potential to impact everyday life.

Evidence for and/or against claims:

Climate change is a much more serious problem than is normally anticipated. This issue can be the direct cause of many different problems such as extinction, melting ice caps, health problems and severe weather reactions. The Presidential Candidates have a responsibility to view this topic in all seriousness. An environmental issue such as this is the backbone to the problems of the future.

(Above) Climate change throughout the years.

One such outcome was found in the extinction of the Bramble Cay Melomys, a small rodent native to the Australian Great Barrier Reef Area. The small mammal was driven to extinction due to rising water levels that occurred because of melting ice caps. Many other animals suffered from the absence of this essential part of the food chain. 3 This ultimately shows that the alteration of one key component in the environmental machine will affect many different aspects.

With such high impact results, it is imperative that the issue be taken into account, and steps be taken to minimize our global footprint. There are many different ways to do this, but it is very is very important to realize the impact that we already are making. If we explore different options in creating a new highlight of industry that focuses on sustainable energy, we can ultimately create a difference.

In making a transition to renewable energy sources we can create more jobs, while transforming our climate into a more stable version of its current self. Much of this will call for current nonrenewable energy industries to make a change to a renewable source. This causes some problems in transition, but in the long term, can be a great benefit to eliminating the dangers of climate change. 4

If we do not address Climate change, we will continually come to be aware of the effects all around us. These can be found in very common places. Such as there has been a reoccurring problem of haze in cities. This is a concern, because haze traps harmful pollutants, in the air and brings it into close proximity to the ground. As a result humans inhale unclean air, and this can ultimately have harmful long term effects. This is a direct result of the climate changing air flow patterns. 5

This exposure to pollutants has a proven negative outcome on young children. It can cause respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis, and even has been known to trigger heart attacks. But it has been theorized that with a decrease in Climate Change, it would minimize the amount of pollutants that travels through the air. This could be accomplished by taking steps away from the accruing of traditional fossil fuels, and nonrenewable resources.6

It is a common consensus that if we act now, we can in fact counter the results that occur after climate change. Much of what we know is that the ability to counteract Climate Change is based on the location and economic standing of your country. 7 As Americans, we ultimately have the ability to change what could be a disaster in the making. If our leaders choose to broadly pursue a plan to make it happen is essential to our future. 

Conclusion:

In conclusion, it is essential to say that stopping climate change is necessity that cannot be ignored. We live in an ever changing world where real outcomes of this dangerous occurrence surround us daily. Hillary Clinton was absolutely right in stating that it is a problem. It cannot be set aside in an attempt to ignore it. The evidence states key points that show the dangers that will and can occur if left unchecked. We can see that it would be foolish to disregard the extinction of species, pollution, health hazards, that accompany this ever present problem. This point was driven home when it was said that making a transition to more sustainable forms of energy will ultimately become the solution to this ever present problem.