Week Eight

This week we spent our focus on discussing the important topic of climates and climate change and policies relating to climate change. We read two interesting articles written by our professor as well as Mahony. Both articles discussed very valuable information relating to climate change and climate change related policies. Something that I found enjoyable to discuss was the idea of how we need to listen to and take the information that well educated scientists present to us and use this information in order formulate important environmental policies relating to climate change. This makes a lot of sense in my mind. Why wouldn't we listen to the people who know the most about climates and changing environments when government and legislators are making policies? I think that it is a no brainer that scientists who actively are studying the issues first had should have more input into the decisions regarding environmental policies that will effect us all as opposed to a government official making the decisions on their own when they may have no prior knowledge or experience with studying the processes and effects of climate change. The IPPC should take as much information as possible from scientists when discussing environmental policies in my opinion. If this is done, I believe that the best overall outcome for everyone will be achieved. I don't believe that we should allow our capitalist society and focus on expansion as well as development be taken into account before the effects that these expansions are having on our climate are taken into heavy consideration. We need to make stricter environmental policies in an attempt to lower total emissions on our climate. We only have one planet earth to live on, and if we screw our environment up too much we will not be able to reverse these effects and will be forced to live with the consequences of our actions.