Environmental Issues and Policies in the United States: Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Nuclear Waste Management
Overview
This paper examines two major environmental issues facing the United States: greenhouse gas emissions and nuclear waste disposal. The author argues that carbon taxes should be maintained to incentivize industrial responsibility for climate change costs, and proposes increased public participation in nuclear waste site selection to address federal-state-tribal disputes and public concerns.
What this essay covers
- Introduction to environmental issues and economic-political complexities
- Analysis of greenhouse gas emissions, carbon taxes, and partisan debate
- Examination of nuclear waste disposal challenges and proposed solutions
Preview
Environmental Issues and Policies in the United States
Environmental issues are complicated and challenging to solve because economic and political factors surrounding them. Greenhouse gas emissions is an environmental issue in the United States. The issue harms earth's climate by causing global warming, which is exhibited by frequent droughts and floods, ocean acidification, destruction of biodiversity and an increase in the sea levels (Von Burg, 2012). In order to combat the problem, the United States adopted carbon taxes to reduce the amount of carbon emissions from fossil fuels (Kosnik, 2018).
However, the issue of carbon taxes has generated numerous controversies. Republicans argue that high carbon taxes should be reduced to encourage investment. One the other hand, Democrats argue that carbon taxes should remain as they are to prevent pollution. I think that the carbon taxes should not be reduced because without them, industries would not contribute financially to the cost of dealing with climate change. If I were responsible for policies on carbon tax, I would also impose greenhouse gases emission limits on firms.
Another environmental issue in the United States is handling nuclear waste. Without proper and safe disposal, nuclear waste leads to cancer in animals and plants. Nuclear waste storage sites have been disputed between the federal government and state and tribal governments (Kraft, 2000). I think that the federal government has done very little to dispel public fear about nuclear waste disposal.