In his 2008 election campaign, Barack Obama made climate change one of his top priorities, making several grand promises to reface American consumption, use cleaner energy, and create jobs while doing it, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/us/politics/19climate.html?_r=4. A recent article from World News Australia has noticed how it is weirdly absent from the current election: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1697495/US-Election:-What-happened-to-climate-change. Since 2008, even more research has been done to expose humans as having a significant effect on the climate, yet in his 2012 election campaign, Barack has all but ignored climate issues. More and more people have a great opportunity to become educated on climate change, and with that education, increasingly worried; yet, it remains absent from his current platform. As one of the most pressing issues of our time, it is unfathomable that it is to be placed on the back burner, and cast under a shadow of doubt, especially in the most powerful country in the world’s political agenda.
The question is: why? Some people blame the media because so much of climate change information, through outlets like Fox News, have been vastly incorrect, misleading, and unreliable. Therefore, since common media outlets are the vast majority of the population’s main information source, those without an actual understanding of the truth, are being influenced by the misconceptions portrayed in news. This can have disastrous effects, for example, half of Americans believe that most scientists believe that global warming isn’t even occurring. Research has proved that if a published consensus of climate change was done, it would impact the amount of support that climate change would get. Yet, the president himself is neglecting to stress the importance of the issue.
It is also not helpful that one of the most powerful political parties, The Republicans, are purposefully casting doubt on the matter of climate change in the minds of average American citizens. Presidential candidate Romney refuses to support climate change science. This has potential to be detrimental to the future of climate change science, but also can greatly impact the climate itself. If Romney is put in office, and refuses to support the research of climate change, it is fair to assume that he will not to anything to actually help reduce the negative impact that humans have on the environment in the heavily polluted US, only adding to the problem. Also, since America is such an influential country, many other countries in the world may adopt their lassiez-faire mentality, and start questioning the validity of climate change, even though the truth stares them in the face. This is a problem that cannot be ignored for long, and the US presidential candidates need to wake up and realize this. As Mr. Obama said in 2008: “Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all. Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response.”
Interesting read. I noticed the same thing throughout both the Republican caucus and through Mitt’s latest speeches. Although he, himself states that the main issue is the economy, Romney should realize that such things as renewable energy can be beneficial to the economy as it would lead to less foreign investments and American dependence on Oil.
I don’t mean to promote any political campaigns, but this is quite recent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21qRfPLK-84
Oh yeah, there’s also this Romney clip you may want to add to the post.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPmYZn-OsNk
Thanks for the speedy response Filipe! I am glad somebody else finds this topic interesting! I will check out the vids, thanks 🙂
Hey, great post! I’ve heard so much about these topics but have not understood the details until now. I thought it was very effective writing, especially the way you ended off with a quote, very strong. Even a couple more quotes would be great, they definitely back info up!
I really enjoyed this Jordana, you make great points about the unfortunate neglect that takes place in the political realm in regards to climate change. It comes with great timing as well.
I just thought I’d point out that in the last paragraph you put “will not to anything to…” I know you meant to put do instead of the first to, it’s such a small mistake but sometimes we overlook them, so just in case you didn’t see it. Great job once again 🙂
I really enjoyed the post, It reminds me of Obama’s state of the union speech 2012 where he was like ” Climate Change is not fiction but it’s reality ” . Corporate America is watering down the effects of Climate Change to make it look like a fantasy rather than reality.
Rename your links – give them proper titles
“even more research has been done…” – more research then what?
Refer to the president of USA as Obama, not Barack. (Or Mr. Obama, but be consistent)
“has all but ignored climate issues. ” – You want the converse of this statement, double negative
“More and more people have a great opportunity to become educated on climate change, and with that education, increasingly worried;” – past-tence present-tence issue
Paragraph 2 – repetition of the word vastly
“half of Americans believe that most scientists believe that global warming isn’t even occurring.” – Any references/citations for this?
“This has potential to be detrimental to the future of climate change science…” – Don’t doubt yourself, say “this IS detrimental…”
” it is fair to assume that he will not to anything to actually ” > to = do
US = U.S or U.S.A
Why has Obama ignored climate change?Is he influenced by his party or the american citizens to ignore it?
You have some strong insight in your post in regards to America’s opinions being the door to other countries adopting similar opinions.
All good points. Intelligent synthases.
Too bad it’s not about the climate, or any other thing a candidate may hold true; it’s just about getting elected.
Below are some quotes to hammer home your points. I don’t want to read the ny times to get on the same page as you. I just want to see that you source it. Lead your reader by the hand.
“We cannot afford more of the same timid politics when the future of our planet is at stake. Global warming is not a someday problem; it is now”
Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: Real Leadership for a Clean Energy Future, 8 Oct. 2008, Portsmouth NH
“Let’s be the generation that finally frees America from the tyranny of oil….We can turn the crisis of global warming into a moment of opportunity for innovation and job creation, and an incentive of business that will serve as a model for the world.”
Senator Obama’s Announcement for President. 10 Feb 2007, Springfield IL