There is a critical threat to life on earth; it has been researched for years, written about and heavily debated for decades. This threat is climate change. This split in discussion about climate change is large, some people are desperate for a resolution, while others are not concerned about it at all. The reality is climate change is happening and a solution needs to be made. Recently, President Trump has been discussing pulling the United States from the Paris Agreement, a global treaty dealing with climate change. However, I believe the best thing for the United States to do right now is to keep the Paris Agreement ratified. There needs to be more passion behind climate change, more people need to write their congressmen, to voice their concerns to get big people behind it. I believe when people are educated on climate change and what is at risk, more people will try to make sure the United States stays ratified in the Paris Agreement 

To understand the debate, one must understand the fundamental theory behind it. People hear the terms climate change and global warming, and most of them can’t tell the difference. Global warming is a theory that is believed to be caused by an increase of “greenhouse gases”. Greenhouse gases are naturally occurring gases in the atmosphere that trap heat. Greenhouse gases are necessary to keep the Earth’s surface warm enough to support life. These greenhouses gases include: water vapor, carbon dioxide CO2, nitrous oxide N2O, methane CH4, and ozone O3. These greenhouse gases are essential to life but pose a problem when there is an excess of them. The theory of global warming is that human activities like, fertilizer use, burning of fossil fuels, and deforestation release more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The idea is that the more greenhouse gases are in the atmosphere, the more heat gets trapped (Greenhouse). While climate change is the result of global warming, it includes extreme weather, heavy rains, diminishing biodiversity and rising sea levels. While global temperatures have changed in the past, scientists have found that temperatures have risen rapidly in the recent years. People often believe the words climate change and global warming are interchangeable, and I believe it leads to a lot of confusion, as to why certain things are connected to global warming or vice versa. It is important to recognize the difference between climate change and global warming to understand the discussion completely. 

Climate change has a long history of research. The first to pose the question of how the humans may be affecting the climate was Svante Arrhenius in 1896. Research did not actually take off until the mid-1900’s. Scientists started to study patterns in global temperature and weather. The idea of climate change was then doubted because scientists instead discovered global cooling occurring. Then in 1980 scientists believed that there was a hole developing in the ozone layer, which protects the Earth from UV rays. This hole was believed to be caused by chloroflourocarbons, which were found in refrigerants and aerosols. The world government then made the international agreement in 1987, banning the production of chloroflourocarbons. Which was believed to have stopped the global cooling, and climate change research was then resumed. Admittedly, the rocky start of the research of climate change is why there are a number of people that have doubts about climate change. It is important to understand that research has become conclusive and that global temperature patterns have shown that there is evidence for climate change. 

 The recent event of the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef, is an example of climate change. The Great Barrier Reef is known as an “ecological treasure” and supports many types of sea life. Recently the Great Barrier Reef has faced its largest coral-die off, 67% of the coral has gone from lively colors to a white “bleached” color. This major “bleaching” event is believed to be caused by global warming. Greenhouse gases are believed to have contributed to the rising ocean temperature and the acidity of the water. While it is possible the reef could rebound, scientists believe it is unlikely due to climate change (The Great). Ultimately, what is at stake here is the Earth could change as we know it. Many people say climate change is an impending doom. Climate change will cause the Earth to be inhabitable for many different species affecting the biodiversity on this planet. Humans have to be held accountable for their actions, and the effect they have on the Earth. Climate change is happening because of human interaction, and it is our responsibility to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. 

Climate change is also a difficult task to confront because it is a global issue. With global issues, it is necessary to have global cooperation, which is difficult when not all nations leaders prioritize climate change as high enough of a problem. There have been many global efforts made to combat climate change. The first global effort, was by the United Nations in 1988, which was the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or IPCC. Their purpose was to review and report on scientific findings of climate change. They came out with a lot of reports, and in the first report in 1990, actually claimed there was a lack of scientific consensus on how much human interaction played a part in climate change. It wasn’t until 1995, when the IPCC first reported that climate change was likely connected to human interaction. Then in 2001 the IPCC released a report that human interaction was definitely the cause of global warming (Introduction). The reports the IPCC came out with about climate change not having enough evidence has contributed a lot to the argument that climate change is not real. Since those initial reports all the reports after stated that climate change is real

The second global effort was in 1992 where scientists called for world leaders to meet, where they established a treaty, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or FCCC. Their goal was to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions. After the IPCC reported that human interaction was likely the cause of climate change, the Kyoto Protocol was put in place. This is the third global effort, made in 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was an international agreement enforcing FCCC. The Kyoto Protocol was the first policy made to try and cut greenhouse emissions. The Kyoto Protocol was found to be ineffective and expired at the end of 2012 (Introduction). The Kyoto Protocol was believed to be ineffective due to many things. They failed to set emission limits on developing countries at the time, like China and India. China and India quickly became the world’s leading greenhouse emitters. The United States also refused to ratify the protocol, which the United States is one of the top emitters along with China and India (Introduction). In short, the Kyoto Protocol failed because of a lack of global cooperation. The Kyoto Protocol is a direct example of why cooperation is necessary for fighting climate change. It is especially important for the top greenhouse gas emitters, to cooperate, because they are the main reason for the problem. 

The fourth and most current effort was the Paris Climate Agreement which was put into use on November 4, 2016 and was ratified by 143 of 197 parties, including the United States (United). The Paris Agreement was made with the goal of limiting greenhouse gas emissions, and included laws about greenhouse gas emissions. The Paris Agreement was ratified during the Obama administration, and with the new presidency there has been a lot of discussion about whether the United States is going to keep its ties with the Paris Agreement. It is important for the United States to keep the Paris Agreement ratified. The United States needs to participate on a global scale, as seen with the Kyoto Protocol. The only way to effectively fight climate change is to have a global effort, especially from the countries that are contributing the most to the problem.

The US has made its own efforts in trying to fight climate change. President Obama presented the Clean Power Plan. The goal behind the plan was to regulate emissions without economic consequence. The plan was to be enforced through the Environmental Protection Agency, and included having every state make detailed plans to cut down emissions. The plan was a good idea, and it was refreshing to see President Obama make efforts to try and combat climate change (Marimow).

The reality is that the Environmental Protection Agency should not have to step in and regulate, like Laurence Tribe said “the EPA is inappropriately stepping in where Congress has failed to act on climate change” (Tribe) 

Politicians have come out with claims against climate change. Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA, has said he does not believe human activity contributes to global warming. He claims that measuring the effect human activity has on the climate is difficult, “I think measure with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do and there’s tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact, so no, I would not agree that it’s a primary contributor to the global warming that we see” (Pruitt). While Pruitt holds a high position, that is important to climate change, his opinion is questionable. He has openly been against the EPA, because he does not believe in climate change and believes the EPA is unnecessary, before becoming head of the EPA. He does not seem to have concern for the EPA, or what the EPA is responsible for. Brian Schaltz, Hawaii Senator calls Pruitt a “climate change denier” and unqualified for his position. Schaltz talks about how climate change is backed by a century’s worth of research (Scott). I agree with Schaltz, there has been decades of research, that has been reviewed and discussed. Although, even with established research there are a large number of people that share the same views as him. 

Donald Trump, the current president, won the election as a Republican. He made many promises to people that identify with Republican or conservative ideas. This is relevant to climate change, because it has become a part of party politics. Riley Dunlap and his colleagues have run an analysis on party politics and climate change in the US, and it has shown that climate change is indeed divided between the two parties (O’ Riordan). Dunlap believes the divide is due to many reasons. One of the reasons being feeling separated from politicians, and don’t feel they truly represent them. Another reason is that people see climate change as a low priority, they are more worried about competition for jobs, terrorism and low income. In other words, with these different reasons it’s clear to see why Trump supporters tend to not be concerned about climate change. This data shows people believing that climate change is a low priority concern, is a reason for the big divide in the United States. Dunlap believed that the outcome of the election will affect the US’ participation in the Paris Agreement (O’ Riordan). Now that Trump is president, he has promised to cut ties with the Paris Agreement.  There is a split in the US on climate change, whether people don’t believe it’s happening, or that people don’t prioritize it. This split is something that needs to be overcome for there to be an effective effort in fighting climate change.  

The United States now faces a problem. The US is one of the top greenhouse emitters, meaning we have a responsibility. The US has a responsibility to cut greenhouse gas emissions down, and the best way to do that right now is to stay ratified in the Paris Agreement. Staying ratified in the Paris Agreement currently may be an issue with how divided the country is. It is important for Americans to take a stance on climate change, but it will not make a difference unless we all come to a consensus.  It seems the main reason for this divide on the topic of climate change is due to a lack of understanding. Climate change is complex, there are many aspects to it, and a lot of science that may be hard to understand. The best way to combat this issue is to spread awareness and to try to educate people. Climate change is a real threat, it is already affecting the Great Barrier Reef and may soon affect other life on earth. 
