10-30-2014
Gov Extra Credit
Coach
Climate Change in the U.S. Climate change in the United States has become a very popular topic over the last few years not only within the U.S., but also internationally. Because of the high level of greenhouse gas emitted, nations often worry about global warming becoming worse over the next few decades. The climate of the U.S. has risen greatly over the last few decades, and it had the warmest year in 2012, since 1980. From 1950 to 2009, the
American government's surface temperature record shows an increase by 1 degree
Fahrenheit. Global warming has caused many changes in the United States according to the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, trends include lake and river ice melting earlier in the spring, plants blooming earlier, multiple animal species shifting their habitat ranges north, and reduction in the size of glaciers. Although scientists are still trying to figure out how to put a stop to global warming, but they are far from finding a way to end it.
The United States is second in the world when it comes to the emission of greenhouse gas being released into the environment. In 2009 it released 5,420 mt,
17.8% of the world's emission at the time. In the cumulative emissions between 1850 and 2007, the U.S. was at the top, involved with 28.8% of the world's emission.
China is the only country that has beat out the United States in the output of CO2.
The U.S. produced 5.8 billion metric tons of CO2 in 2006, compared to 6.23 billion in China. Per capita emission figures of China are about one quarter of those of the
U.S. population. Accoding to the data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration the top admitters by fossil fuel in 2009 were: China at 7,710 million tons (mt) (25.4%), the U.S. 5,420 mt (17.8%), India 5.3%, Russia 5.2%, and Japan 3.6%. In the cummulative emissions between 1850 and 2007 the top emitors were: 1. the United
States 28.8%, 2. China 9.0%, 3. Russia 8.0%, 4. Germany 6.9%, 5. UK 5.8%, 6.
Japan 3.9%, 7. France 2.8%, 8. India 2.4%, 9. Canada 2.2% and 10. Ukraine 2.1%.
Many scientists throughout the world and the U.S. have theories and what could