The Kyoto Protocol

The world is changing. Spring feels like winter, and autumn feels like summer. The temperature differences between day and night are becoming increasingly wide. This is one of the few effects of global warming. The Kyoto Protocol is an agreement among countries presented by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that attempts to protect the environment by decreasing carbon dioxide emission, as such emissions harm the environment. The US, however, recently opted out of joining the committee by implementing the “Clean Air Act.” The US pulled this trick due to the hindrances that environmentalism would bring to economical growth. If the US were to agree to the proposed reduction in carbon dioxide emission, it can save the next generation, be acknowledged as a superpower nation, show strong global leadership, and experiment with to improvements to future technology.

If the US joins the Kyoto Protocol, we can consider our next generation safe, for now. With careful environmental precautions, people would be less vulnerable to natural disasters caused by rising temperatures. These changes, when they occur, create a disturbance in the food chain, causing major extinction of plants and animals, dramatic changes that are ultimately detrimental to the world. There have been several record-breaking earthquakes around the world in the last few years, with the largest catastrophe being the earthquake in Haiti a few years ago, which caused extreme numbers of people to pay the price for the problems we have created here in the US. If awareness of global warming is put into action, these kinds of disasters can be decreased in magnitude, leaving another generation to survive a great deal longer.

As one of the world’s largest and most powerful nations, the US should widely be known as one of the forerunners in solving the global environmental problems. If our nation starts to build plans by itself without a discussion with other nations, it will inevitably cause tensions around the world. If a group of nations makes a plan for solving a global crisis, the US should be involved, not merely as a participant but as a leader. 

Furthermore, if the US joins the cause, technological improvement concerning the environment will rapidly increase. If the US is given a limit on CO2 emissions in the country, we would undoubtedly make eco-friendly technological innovations. The US has the capability to create cars that use solar energy, electricity or any other renewable resource such as wind, hydroelectric, and more. These innovations would be traded or shared with other countries, leading the Earth to be a cleaner environment. The US can share its innovations in environmental preservation and renewable resources to other countries affected by global warming, as the problem requires international effort.

If the US participates in the Kyoto Protocol, it could help our next few generations stay alive—the world can look upon us as a responsible and developed nation, and it could greatly improve new technological innovations. Studies have shown that just an increase of six degrees celsius from Earth’s original conditions could bring complete catastrophe. At the world’s current pace, we will hit this point in the next century, at the earliest around 2040. Although it sounds like there is still some time left, there isn’t. To save our posterity and even think about the present, the US should consider sacrificing some of its treasured economic growth and join the Kyoto Protocol. 

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A Call for Reason