When an American secretary of state travels abroad, one may expect a few stops along the way complemented by a few speeches on foreign policy. John Kerry, the United States’ top diplomat, did just that last week while in Indonesia.
The speech was certainly focused on foreign policy, and yet, it is making waves around the world for what the former Democratic nominee for president called “the greatest challenge of our generation”: global warming.
“In a sense, climate change can now be considered the world’s largest weapon of mass destruction, perhaps even, the world’s most fearsome weapon of mass destruction,” Kerry said, according to the Associated Press.
In his speech to Indonesian students, Kerry emphasized the importance of clean energy and even mocked those who don’t believe in climate change.
“The science is unequivocal, and those who refuse to believe it are simply burying their heads in the sand,” Kerry said, as reported by AP. “We don’t have time for a meeting anywhere of the Flat Earth Society.”
The statement followed a successful meeting with China in which both countries agreed to minimize greenhouse gas emissions, AP reported. The arrangement is part of Kerry’s larger plan to eliminate a global dependence on fossil fuels. The Secretary of State’s strategy is supported by President Barack Obama, whose administration is currently trying to make an impact while dealing with the political realities of Washington.
Nearly every Republican and even some members of the president’s own party are hesitant to enact some of the changes the administration would like to pursue, saying that the only result would be killing jobs.
“This message was crafted by well- funded lobbyist groups that do not want climate legislation,” Kathy Dhanda, a DePaul professor and climate change expert, said. “The special interest groups backed by energy and oil interests lobby for their own self-interest since the environmental legislation would force these companies to cut emissions.”
On a divisive issue with a divided Congress, Obama has been largely limited to executive action, making good on a promise made in this year’s State of the Union address to act even with a gridlocked Congress. So far, the president, among other actions, has ordered the EPA to write new efficiency standards for trucks and has pressed world leaders to come up with a comprehensive climate change agreement.
For a worldwide climate pact to work, the United States would probably have to take a lead role, as it is the second largest producer of carbon dioxide emissions, ranked only behind China. And with a 95 percent probability that climate change is due in large part to anthropogenic activity, the debate among scientists has largely moved to how fast change is occurring.
It can be seen in the nation’s rising oceans and shrinking polar ice caps. According to a study conducted by Ian Eisenman, a climate scientist at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in California, the ocean grew 8 percent darker between 1979 and 2011.
“The effects of the ‘positive feedback loop’ create a domino effect on the environment. The darker oceans mean that there is less ice present that will reflect the heat from the sun back into space,” Therese Delli Paoli, an advanced placement environmental science teacher, said. “With the oceans warming, it changes the dynamics of ocean life. Species are now threatened due to the warmer temperatures with possible extinctions occurring and weather changes, while ocean currents are disturbed, and that affects the climate in such a way as what happens with El Ni’Ûαo.”
With a lot of damage already done and seemingly much still at stake, many are trying to find economical and convenient methods to become cleaner and greener. A current market-based method that is used is cap and trade.
“A common example is cap and trade, whereby a cap of emissions is set in place and companies trade permits to meet their emissions,” Dhanda said. “In such a system, a clean company can potentially sell its permits in the market to an older company that might need an excess set of permits to cover its emissions.”
One potential obstacle for the president in his effort is the current way tax subsidies are given out. Many go to subsidize dirty sources of energy like coal and gas, according to Dhanda. Until that is changed, she says it will be difficult for clean energy to compete.
“The government should give tax incentives to corporations who produce ‘green’ technology,” Delli Paoli said. “It is time for our government to stop looking the other way and be proactive and innovative in reducing the overall emissions.”
While Obama is attempting to take action on his own,cooperation of Congress and members of the world community may be needed to enact meaningful reforms.