Some policymakers saw natural gas was seen as a “cleaner” alternative to coal in the early 2000s because it releases fewer greenhouse gases when burned, but it has also faced increased criticism in recent years because the production process can release methane, which is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Health policy and environmental advocates have also raised concerns that rollbacks of environmental rules under Trump or lack of enforcement could increase the risk of health problems for Americans by exposing them to more air pollution. reliance on renewable energy sources, petroleum and natural gas have grown, while nuclear has remained essentially stable, according to the EIA. Between 2010 and the first part of 2019, 546 coal-fired power plants shut down, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.Ĭoal plants continued to close despite President Trump’s promises to revive the coal industry, including the administration’s actions to ease environmental rules on coal plants they called overly expensive and burdensome. has declined since 2015 as natural gas and renewable energy sources became cheaper. away from sources seen as “dirtier” for the environment and contributing to climate change like coal. The last decade saw some major shifts in the sources of fuel used to provide energy in the U.S. ![]() Plastic recycling started decreasing in 2016. ends up in landfills, an amount that increased in the last decade as the amount of plastic products being produced also increased, according to EPA’s website citing data from the American Chemistry Council. may not be able to keep up with the amount of plastic waste generated by Americans.ĭespite recycling efforts, the vast majority of plastic waste in the U.S. Some of the focus on the issue also increased after China announced it would no longer take plastic from the U.S., increasing concerns that recycling in the U.S. While the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it can be difficult to measure the size because the “patch” isn’t a solid mass, a researcher who has been studying the area since the late 1990s said he saw an “enormous increase” in the amount of plastic pollution between 20. The most infamous example of plastics polluting the ocean is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch - an area where ocean currents accumulate plastic debris in the north Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California. (MORE: World Ocean Day 2019: Ocean plastics problem isn't going away, but here's what you can do to help)Īnd public awareness of the problem has grown as part of campaigns like "Planet or Plastic?" from National Geographic, encouraging Americans to reduce the use of disposable plastic products like straws, utensils, and water bottles. The process of withdrawing will become final next year. While American public opinion appears to be coalescing around the gravity of climate change, the government has been engaged in political whiplash over the past 10 years.įor instance, less than a year after the United States, under the Obama administration, formally entered the Paris Climate Agreement, which aimed to drastically curb carbon pollution, President Donald Trump signaled that the US would withdraw. More Americans said they support strong government action on climate change in 2018 than in 2008, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll released last year, but there is still disagreement about what steps the government should take and how much it should spend. ![]() The politics around climate change have also shifted significantly as more Americans are showing concern about the potential impacts or actions needed to limit the impact of global warming. ![]() Devastating and historic wildfires in western states and around the world in the late 2010s have also raised awareness of the link between climate change and factors that exacerbate wildfires, such as drought and deforestation.
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