Climate Change vs. Economy

Climate change has been a major topic of conversation and controversy around the world for many years before it was finally recognized as a global issue that must be dealt with immediately. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) climate change occurs due to the large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that throw off the balance of Earth’s natural carbon cycle. The human activity of combusting fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil) for electricity and energy is the main source of CO2 emissions in the United States. Too much CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere can become a danger to human, animal, and environmental health. Although there have been many conferences to seriously address this topic, a common solution has yet to be found as opposing opinions vary drastically. Scientists and environmentalists warn that if nothing is done about climate change, global warming will occur and will lead to irreversible damage. But finding a solution requires a large change in the Energy and Electricity Industry and will inevitably cost the government and the taxpayers a monstrous amount of money and the fear of losing jobs. Therefore the debate continues; does human activity really play a role in climate change and if so, is there an economically beneficial way of reaching a solution? The history of climate change dates back to the 19th century when physicist John Tyndall discovered the gases in our atmosphere and predicted that any change in their concentration could result in climate change (Spencer Weart, 2014, “1859,” para. 1). Today we know these gases as greenhouse gasses (GHG) which retain the sun’s incoming energy and slow the loss of heat into space. One of these gases is CO2 and if there is too much CO2 in the atmosphere, the greenhouse effect causes temperatures to rise. Although it is true that throughout history