Climate Change Solutions - Research Paper Example

Climate Change Solutions Introduction Climate change is a major challenge in the current world. The environmental changes associated with human activities are the main causes of climate change. In this realization, human agencies, governments and organizations have been keen to reverse the effects of climate change. These efforts were started in the early 20th century first by identifying the causes of climate change. Generally, climate change was identified as a result of human activities on the surface of the earth that either release harmful products or depletes the protective natural phenomena. This is a comparison of three climate change reports focusing on how each agency in the report proposes the measures to reduce the effects. This paper focuses on reports from United States Climate Action Plan, Risky Business, and US National Climate Assessment. The paper will, therefore, address each of the reports individually to identify the measures proposed in each. This will be followed by a concise comparison of the papers rationale, criterion and proposals. From the Action Report, measures to curb the effects of climate change should involve individuals and leaders in all levels of leadership. These levels are national, regional, state and local leadership. These measures are developed over the various pillars of success which include ensuring a considerable reduction in the amount of greenhouse gases emitted, preparing the country for the impacts of climate change and being in the forefront in the international efforts to combat climate change by first preparing the world for the impacts. With such a success focus, the biennial report suggests several measures to combat the effects of climate change. These measures are based on the three main success pillars. In the reduction of Greenhouse Gases emission, the report proposes several related measures. These include the focus on renewable energy with examples of solar, hydroelectric, geothermal and wind energy being at the top of the focus. Reducing the amount of carbon dioxide released into the environment by more than two-thirds will reduce the greenhouse effect and bring about a solution to climate change. From the second and third pillar, creation of awareness of the cause and impact of climate change is the main focus. In this line, the report suggests a local, national and global strategy to reduce the impact of climate change. The proposed strategy involve inclusion of all stakeholders and reduction of activities that cause climate change such as the destruction of forest and use of fossil fuels in industries and automotive. These measures will significantly reduce the emissions of carbon and hydrofluorocarbons into the environment (state.gov). From the second report by Risky Business, the risk of climate change in America is given a different perspective. According to the report, the every region in the country faces a different kind of risk. The paper in the introduction of risk quotes Theodore Roosevelt “Risk is like fire, you control it helps you, you fail to control it destroys you”. In this way, the report helps the reader understand the risk associated with climate change as a result of human activity. These activities are not static neither are they uniform. The differences in the activities confer the differences in the risk and thus the difference in the approach. The report illustrates the differences in risk depending on region by using examples of flooding in New York, Hurricanes in Alaska and other illustrations to relate the risk of human activity in the region (riskybusiness.org). This report, therefore, proposes a region-specific strategy to reduce the risk of climate change. This is by first acknowledging the ‘business as usual’ path that the country is taking and focusing on a change of activities. This change is region-specific and involves human actions. To express the main idea, the report gives a prompt. “If we were told—in any sphere—that we had at least a 90% chance of averting a disaster through changes we ourselves could make, wouldn’t we take action?” This prompt is aimed at creating interest in the target audience and challenge them to take action to combat climate change. The third report is by US National Climate Assessment. This report is not only more comprehensive but also wider. The report focuses on climate change as a problem of the present rather than the future. To shed more light on the problem, the report focuses the attention on both the various human activities and sectors such as agriculture, transportation and mining and the effects of the activities on climate. Further, the report looks at specific regions in America and the associated climate change aspects. The report uses research information from various credible sources to come up with sector-based and region-focused recommendations. For instance, in the transportation sector, the report addresses the impact of emission of carbon from locomotives. Towards a safer climate and environment, the report focuses on recommendations from various research papers which lobby for the use of cleaner fuel and renewable energy to run machines and automotive (amazonaws.com). Conclusion The three reports come up with proposals to reduce the impact of climate change. Through various foci, the reports have common recommendations. These are related to the reduction in emission of greenhouse gases and the shift of focus to the less harmful renewable energy sources. Regardless of whether the report focuses on a sector, a region or a combination of both, the proposed measures are identical. Another common aspect of the three reports is the importance of having to educate and create awareness among communities and nations on climate change and the measures to combat the same. This is because the inclusion of all stakeholders, individuals and nations will assist in arriving at desirable outcomes easily. The differences in the reports can be seen on the focus and the strategy used in expressing the main points. Whereas the first two reports majorly focus on individual research, the third report seems to be more comprehensive and uses secondary sources to come up with the recommendation. The third report seems to collect and combine the first two reports through shedding light on the two foci of the reports, the sectorial and regional in coming up with the final recommendations. Works cited Climate Change Impacts the United States. Retrieved from: http://s3.amazonaws.com/nca2014/high/NCA3_Climate_Change_Impacts_in_the_United%20States_HighRes.pdf? Risky Business. Retrieved from: http://riskybusiness.org/uploads/files/RiskyBusiness_Report_WEB_09_08_14.pdf United States Climate Action report. Retrieved from: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/219038.pdf Read More