1. Research and find an alternative/opposing point of view to Climate Change as proposed in the Introduction.
There is one benefit of climate change that the United States sees across the country. That is a longer growing season because winters are shorter and less harsh. With a longer growing season and warmer weather that means that production will increase. Finding positives for climate change can be difficult because the cons of climate change are vast and very detrimental to the planet as a whole.
2. What obligations do we have to future generations?
We are under obligations do everything we can to pass on a world that is making strides to correct and stop climate change. One way we can do this is making sure we do not overlook the small things, the book stated that we have a way of not noticing small environmental issues but focusing on the larger issues. We have to understand that yes, the larger issues have a sudden and drastic impact on the environment but the smaller ones that build up over time are also important. The United States has a tendency to pass bills and legislation in response to the large disasters but our follow through is lacking. We spent billions of dollars following the Clean Water Act to try and rectify water population, but over 45 years later we have seen very little improvement as a whole.
3. Is our commercial exploitation of animals immoral?
This question is one that doesn’t have a clear-cut answer for me. I was born and raised on a farm and work in a sales yard that profits greatly off of dairy cattle being sent to slaughter. I know that a large number of the people I work with do everything they can ensure the welfare of the animals. I think that the commercial exploitation of animals is a necessity in our society today. Two to three generations ago people were much more dependent on themselves or their communities for food. My grandfather would talk about trading for eggs with the neighbor when he was growing up. Even my father raised and butchered cows, pigs, and chickens to feed the family while he was growing up. These examples are much less likely today as we are more likely to buy our meat and produce from the store rather than grow it. In order to feed the United States population, animals have to be raised on a commercial scale. Every sales yard, feed lot, and butcher house are owned by different people and therefore the level of care can be drastically different. Do I think there should be some stronger guidelines in place to make sure animals are being treated fairly, yes; do I think the practice of producing animals on a commercial scale is immoral, no.
4. Who should pay the cost for protecting the environment — those responsible for causing the pollution or those who stand to benefit from protection and restoration? Explain your position.
This is a tricky question and I honestly feel that it should be treated like a tax. My loosing a few a few dollars on my pay check does not drastically affect my standard of living. If we were deducted $2 every paycheck, I would be paying $48 a year for environmental protection and restoration, if every working American paid that it would bring almost $6.2 billion a year. If we as a country can not make a difference in pollution with that then we need to take a hard look at what is causing the pollution. The reason I think it should be looked at like a tax is because every person on this planet has contributed to the issues we have. My car lets of pollutants every time I start it. I do think that when companies violate the EPA standards and blatantly pollute they should be fined. That fine should go in to fixing the issue that it caused and be treated as a way to hopefully deter any further pollution.
Positive Negative Effects. (2019). Positive and negative effects of climate change – Essay and speech. [online] Available at: https://www.positivenegativeeffects.com/climate-change
Statista. (2019). U.S.: number of full-time workers in April 2019 | Statista. [online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/192361/unadjusted-monthly-number-of-full-time-employees-in-the-us/