Earth Charter Chicago

Global Warming

Global warming is the main economic and environmental challenge of our time. The continuation of the enrichment of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere is changing the global climate. These changes affect human health, air quality, food production and agriculture, forestry, water, coastal resources, energy needs, infrastructure and ecosystems and wildlife. The effects of global warming, including an international consensus and scientific projects, they occur with greater rigor in the future. And as the United States is responsible for more than 20% of total emissions of greenhouse gases, they must participate, if the problem is to succeed. But the United States is the only major country in the industrialized countries not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, which, limiting emissions of greenhouse gases for the period 2008-2012.

In the United States, it seems likely that in the coming years in some form of comprehensive legislation for the environment are adopted. President Barack Obama supports a wide cap-and economy-trade greenhouse gas program, as well as the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (Senator Barbara Boxer, D-CA) and House Energy and Trade Commission (Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-CA). This, however, are the latest developments. While some in Congress have bills to the CAP or limit GHG emissions in recent years, the law is admitted to the house.

In the absence of federal action in the past ten years, more and more international scientific consensus in the reports of many heads of state and local, work on a “bottom-up approach to climate change. This article provides an overview of key national and local programs to protect the climate, including regional initiatives. Other articles in this issue of end of support of some of these programs in detail. This article concludes with some tips and speculation about the possible role of the state and local innovation in a future federal program.