Obama’s Clean Coal Power Effort against a Republican Field

Every year that passes seems to be the hottest on record. While we are constantly told that climate change will be upon us, and that we should be more conscious of our efforts, most of us are not as aware of the issue as we should be. This 2015, temperatures in Europe and India reached record-breaking highs. 

As the Rolling Stone notes, The Guardian UK had to stop its live blog in the month of July because of excessive heat in its computer system. Then in India for example, the heat has been so strong that over a thousand people died because of it. While in the North American continent, California continues on its longest drought in history. 

Scientists have come out of their research shadows and began advocating their findings years ago, but many of us still do not listen to them. Take James Hansen, former NASA climatologist for example. He says that global sea-level rise could rise further than originally expected, up to 10 meters by 2065 as told by Rolling Stone. That would mean people living in Mauritius would have to find a new home in another country willing to take them in. 

Taking bold action to avoid this, Barack Obama issued his ambitious Clean Coal Power Plan a few days ago. Despite its difficulty in achieving it, it aims to cut carbon emissions from coal factories by 32 percent of 2005 levels in the next 10 years. A great plan indeed. 

However, it does not come without its critics. Republican nominees for the White House, like Jeb Bush, say it is a complete job-killer and unproductive for the American economy. Many fear that energy costs may go up because of it. Though these are good arguments at a glance, it fails to take into account the rise of renewables in the American economy as of late. 

As Derrick Z. Jackson of the Boston Globe reports, many Republican states have benefited from this rise, as Iowa and Kansas for example, already get “between 17 percent and 27 percent of their energy from” renewables. Moreover, Jackson also tells us that several companies like PepsiCo and General Motors have saved millions by focusing more on sustainability than ever before.

The tide is turning, and whether conservatives like it or not, caring for the environment is a bipartisan issue that affects us all. Obama’s efforts are encouraging, although with room for much more, but with the environmental problems that we have, that is what our planet needs.