The Global Warming Conflict: USA vs. Other Countries Essay -- Environm

The Global Warming Conflict: USA vs. Other Countries In my paper, I plan to explain why the United States and other nations cannot get along when it comes to environmental issues. I plan to break up the paper into three sections that contains what global warming is and how it affects the world, the United States problems and conflicts with other counties about this subject, and my own conclusion based on the information I have found. Global warming is a serious issue in today?s society. World powers such as the United States, Japan, Canada, and Australia can usually see eye to eye with each other about global warming. Other countries, either less developed or more climate aware, do not agree with the countries that are more industrial, because they want strict regulations on air pollution that the more developed countries do not want. The more industrialized countries complain because they say that in order to keep the world going at a safe and orderly pace, they cannot have a change the lifestyle that we are used to today. Both sets of countries know that the amount of greenhouse gasses need to be lightened, but cannot come up with a viable solution. In order to understand what the countries are talking about, one would have to know why the earth is warming and what exactly is causing it. Greenhouse gasses are what is causing the earth to retain more heat. Greenhouse gasses ?that have increased over the industrial period are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N20), and chlorofluorocarbons CFC-11.? (2-453) The increase in these gases has caused global warming and it continues to rise today. Factory smoke stacks, car emissions, forests burning, and energy usage that burn fossil fuels produce the highest percentage of the gasses that harm the Earth and continue our warming trend. (5-1) For example, the United States, for the nine month period of January to November 2000, ?had the warmest nine month period since records began in 1895.? because we use the most fossil fuels and put out the most greenhouse gasses (6-1). This was all caused by the growing industrial age that we live in today. Why do greenhouse gases produce global warming? ?Infrared active gases (IR), principally water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and ozone (O3), naturally present in the Earth?s atmosphere, absorb thermal IR radiation emitted by the Earth?s sur... ...hat take and do not give. We should do our part in conserving energy, using less fossil fuels, regulating standards for factory emissions, and use better public transportation or the world will keep diminishing slowly. Works Cited 1. Horner, Chris. ?Scientists Continue To Assail Climate Treaty.? http://www.globalwarming.org/cop6horner.htm 2. Fellows, Hall, Killeen, Ledley, Schwartz, Sundquist. ?Climate Change and Greenhouse Gasses? Vol. 80, No. 39. 28 September 1999 p. 453- 475 http://www.agu.org/eos_elec?99148e.html 3. Fuller, Jim. ?Ministers Unable to Reach Agreement at Climate Change Conference? 25 November 2000. Http://globalchange.gov/news/hague_conference_2000_11_25.html 4. Johnson, Kirk. ?Global Warming Moves From Impassioned Words to Modest Deeds.? New York Times 19 November 2000 http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/19/science/19CLIM.html 5. Revkin, Andrew C. ?Effort to Cut Warming Lacks Time and Unity.? New York Times 24 November 2000 http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/24/science/24CLIM.html 6. Zengerle, Patricia. ?World Powers Trade Charges on Climate Talks? Failure? 26 November 2000 http://dialynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001126/ts/environment_climate_dc_28.html