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<title>Opinion: Trump’s Triumph and Climate Change</title>
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<date>12/02/16</date>
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<p type="intro"><situation>Climate change has been a pressing issue coming into the
2000s, with countless local and global efforts taken to reduce the catastrophic
effects of this problem.</situation> The Obama Administration has taken several
steps in the right direction to reduce our dependency on non-renewable resources
which would definitely benefit our planet in the long run. <opinion type="main">However, Donald Trump’s surprise win means that climate change budget may be
reduced dramatically.</opinion> How will America’s stance on climate change
shift over the coming years?</p>
<p type="body"><opinion type="opposing">Let’s start by discussing the praised efforts of the Obama
Administration with regards to combating the devastating potential effects of
climate change.</opinion> Obama’s two main energy acts, the Clean Energy and the
Recovery Act, both include creating new "clean energy" jobs and technologies, making
America more energy independent, and reducing carbon emissions (WhiteHouse.gov). In
2009, over $80 billion in clean energy investments were provided by the Clean Energy
and Recovery Act. These investments were mainly in renewable energy, funding local
energy projects and training people for green jobs. Additionally, carbon tax on
industry was increased, resulting in fewer pollutants in the air. Although the
benefits of the act aren’t always noticeable, the fact that non-renewable resources
are conserved is a definite plus for the environment. </p>
<p type="body"><opinion type="general">However, the political environment may soon take
a massive U-turn, eliminating the steps that are currently being taken to make
America more environmentally friendly.</opinion><situation> Our President-elect Donald Trump believes that climate change is a
“hoax” and plans to withdraw from the Paris (Climate Change) Agreement, a plan
ratified by 112 countries aimed at keeping the global average temperature from
increasing by 2 degrees Celsius (The Verge). </situation> Trump tweeted
<quote>“The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in
order to make U.S. manufacturing less competitive” (Twitter) </quote>. Trump
claims that this was a joke, however, he believes that the effects of climate change
are not adverse (CNN). Many say this is because he wants to keep the hundreds of
thousands of US jobs which are centered around manufacturing and are dependent on
large amounts of fossil fuels. <opinion type="general">If energy policy tightens,
those currently employed will be at risk of losing their jobs.</opinion></p>
<p type="conclusion">Barack Obama is doing all he can in his last few months as
president to make sure America is in the best place in terms of minimizing the
adverse effects of climate change. America currently emits 15% of global CO2
emissions, and having Trump as commander-in-chief will, if anything, increase that
number. So what impact will this disregard to climate change by the Trump
Administration have for America? Only time will tell. Our best bet to make America
great again is to bank on Trump’s recent changing views. </p>
<source>https://www.whitehouse.gov/energy/news
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-climate-change_us_583b16e3e4b000af95ee85dd
https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/obama-says-new-tax-most-elegant-way-stop-climate-change
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2014/08/us-renewable-electrical-generation-hits-14-3-percent.html
http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/22/politics/donald-trump-climate-change-new-york-times/
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/150823110830-donald-trump-rolling-stone-1024x576.jpg</source>
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