domestic energy policy: 1 page essay, single space

By: Vidalea Vangie Castro

What are the global environmental implications of our domestic energy policy? Does US domestic energy policy have a major impact on the world? What changes should be made to reduce the negative impact of our energy use upon the global environment?

The United States policy on energy is to consume more fossil fuels than any other industrial nation.This is largely attributed by the heavy lobbying done by the coal, oil, and energy industries.The consumption of fossil fuels emits CO2, which is a greenhouse gas that causes global warming.Our global impact to the greenhouse gas emission is 30% while the US only contributes 5% to the world’s population. In the article Now the Pentagon Tells Bush: Climate Change Will Destroy Us, a report by the pentagon, it was revealed that in 20 years, wars will be fought over the issue of survival rather than religion, ideology or national honor.Millions of people will die from war, famine, and shortage of water. Major rivers will start to run dry like the Nile, Danube, and Amazon.If the temperature changes dramatically, the world will go into a state of anarchy. The threat of terrorism will be eclipsed by the threat of global warming and trying to stabilize civilization as we know it (Townsend and Harris, 2004). People in subtropical regions, islands, and coastal countries will be at risk. Third world countries will be seriously hit with severe drought and famine. The United States and Europe will be using their military to fend off millions of migrants fleeing from countries that can no longer grow food crops.

The ability for the US to dramatically change the global environmental impact was apparent during the 1988 Montreal Treaty. The US government pushed for stronger ozone guidelines when evidence of a large hole in the ozone was detected over Antarctica; the scientific evidence could no longer be ignored.At the same time researchers at DuPont had discovered an alternative to CFCs in aerosol cans, refrigeration, and air conditioning. With the support of industry and government willingness CFCs were severely decreased. The Montreal Treaty was updated so that industrial nations would phase out the use of CFCs by 2000 and the US would phase out their use by 1996. In addition, developing nations were given financial help in order to phase out their CFCs by 2010. It is estimated there should be a full recovery of the ozone layer by 2068 because of the major push from the US and combined global efforts.

The changes that need to be made to help reduce our negative impact on the global environment are to first reduce our energy consumption.Second the coal, oil, and energy companies must work towards more research in renewable energies such as wind and solar. Third, the US government has to change its policy on “climate change” and the citizens in the US have to push for better energy policies by overcoming scientific uncertainty and roadblocks. Fourth, we need stronger structural leadership that will push for better environmental policies. Last and most importantly, consumers and voters need to become concerned, educated, and involved citizen.