The US and the Environment

Question 1

Why do the geographical features of the US influence America’s approach to the environment?

Answer 1

1. North America has wilderness, Europe doesn’t
2. Vast amount of natural resources/landscapes = enough to spare
3. Leads to a difference in discourse between US and Europe

Question 2

Name four of the USA’s oldest environmental groups.

Answer 2

1. Sierra Club
2. Friends of the Earth
3. Greenpeace
4. Earth First!

Question 3

What are the five main domestic obstacles to US environmental reform?

Answer 3

1. Power of corporations & agribusiness = businesses have the same constitutional rights as individuals & support from individual states
2. Reliance on fossil fuels e.g. coal & oil = prevelance of cars, car based infrastructure
3. Patterns of consumption & diet e.g. meat production & consumption
4. Monoculture & agricultural control e.g. control McDonald’s has over potato farming
5. Attitude - “The American way of life is not negotiable” G.W. Bush

Question 4

What are the four main international obstacles to US environmental reform?

Answer 4

1. The US is the world’s most dominant power (hegemon)
2. Power of corporations
3. Power of agribusiness
4. Power of oil companies

Question 5

Who is currently the world’s largest emitter of climate change gases & how many planets would we need if every country consumed & polluted as much as the US does?

Answer 5

• China (21% of global total) = but per capita it is 1/5^th of the US
• US (20%)
• We would need several planets if all the people in the world consumed & polluted as much as the US does
• US outsourced production to countries like China & India then blame them for CO₂ production which is produced on their behalf essentially

Question 6

How did George W. Bush regard climate policy?

Answer 6

Climate policy regarded as a direct threat to the economy/employment = seen as having one or the other

Question 7

What are the arguments to America taking full responsibility for climate policy?

Answer 7

• Against = responsibility has to be shared, important to anticipate future emissions
• For = US was the single biggest polluter & hence has special responsibility

Question 8

How has climate change policy been addressed on a global scale?

Answer 8

• EU took lead on pushing for a global climate agreement
• Carbon emitting industries (e.g. oil, agriculture, manufacturing) objected to policies to reduce CO₂ emissions
• Copenhagen Accord
• Kyoto Protocol

Question 9

How did the Bush administration address climate change?

Answer 9

• Bush & Cheney = oil men
• Global Climate Coalition (GCC) formed in 1990s by industries to establish a view of climate change science as uncertain, prevent climate legislation, discredit scientists, block Kyoto Protocol e.g. Koch brothers
• In his first months of office Bush reneged on campaign pledge to regulate CO₂ as a pollutant and withdrew US from Kyoto Protocol
• He argued that participating in Kyoto would put U.S. firms at a competitive disadvantage and cost the economy jobs
• Subsequently US did little to alter reliance on fossil fuels at federal level, get vetoed, more done at state level

Question 10

How has the Obama administration addressed climate change?

Answer 10

• Vice President Joe Biden long term supporter of green initiatives
• Obama introduced different policies & reformed how climate change was discussed
• Political leadership worked to re-define public perceptions of climate change
• Working to regain international cognitive and structural leadership on climate change – EU main leadership at the moment

Question 11

What was the key difference between the way the Bush administration and the Obama administration approached climate change?

Answer 11

Bush administration focused on costs of climate policy action, Obama highlighted possible benefits of action

Question 12

What did Obama’s ‘New Green Deal’ try to achieve?

Answer 12

• ‘Green New Deal’ similar to European idea of ecological modernisation = focus on economic opportunities arising from developing clean energy sources, new technology, and moving towards low carbon economy
• Obama quick to accept need for major cuts in GHG emissions as called for in Europe and some states (California, Florida New York)

Question 13

What has California had to do in order to solve its geographical issues?

Answer 13

• Water shortages = create monocultures
• Importing bees to pollinate plants

Question 14

What does the Obama-Biden New Energy for America Plan (2008) aim to do?

Answer 14

• 80% reduction in GHG emissions by 2050
• Cap & trade scheme to be introduced
• $150bn over 10 years in clean energy, energy research and development funding, developing clean coal technology, revisiting nuclear energy, major increase in fuel economy standards
• Programme to shift the US away from carbon-heavy fossil fuels

Question 15

How has the Middle East influenced Obama’s plans to limit US dependency on fossil fuels?

Answer 15

US dependence on Middle East oil seen as dangerous to U.S national security, bad for economy, and threat to climate

Question 16

What are the three objectives that are critical priorities for the domestic U.S. policy debate?

Answer 16

1. Voluntary GHG emissions reduction targets for big emitters
2. Calls for the establishment of ways of measuring and verifying all countries’ emissions cuts against their commitments
3. Opens paths for financing of mitigation and adaptation measures in developing countries to promote transition to clean energy technologies

Question 17

What role did Obama play in the brokering of the Copenhagen Accord and how successfully has the Obama administration managed to stick to its promises?

Answer 17

1. Obama took lead in brokering Copenhagen Accord with leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa
2. Broke through years of negotiating gridlock
3. Two months after the Copenhagen Accord was negotiated, Obama announced that the US government would reduce its GHG emissions by 28 percent by 2020 (compared to 2008)
4. White House has continued to take the initiative, keeping pressure on Congress to act so that it can lead internationally

Question 18

How has the Republican party hampered attempts to change the USA’s approach to environmental policy?

Answer 18

• Half of Republicans in Congress question climate change, no Republican freshmen 2010 who admit the science is real
• Senate has Republican bloc against climate action; Mark Kirk and John McCain repudiated past support for cap-and-trade
• Republicans have majority in the House - vetoes
  
  • moves to bar Obama from funding programmes regulating GHG emissions etc
  • moves to cut funds for White House climate adviser & the State Department climate envoy & to de-fund the IPCC and UNFCCC
  • moves to reduce EPA budget and restrict its authority to act on climate change
  • moves to stop EPA regulating e.g. mountaintop mining removal and coal ash.

Question 19

How may climate change policy in the US change in Obama’s second presidential term?

Answer 19

• Restated commitment to action on climate change
• Still gridlock = Republicans still control the House
  
  • Republicans have support from corporations (e.g. Koch brothers) who don’t want their interests impacted
  • After mid-term elections Inhofe (anti-climate change) may become chair of Environment Committee
  • Gridlock means that the initiative is going to have to come from the individual states

Question 20

What are the three main ways climate change policy has both changed and is still being hindered?

Answer 20

1. On the one hand, climate change is no longer simply portrayed as an environmental threat, but also as an economic opportunity.
2. On the other, Obama restricted by Republican opposition in Congress
3. This is a particular feature of the US system in two ways:
   
   • High degree of CC scepticism
   • Divided powers, e.g. President and Congress under different party control