Voutsinos: Carbon emissions increase alongside American Skepticism

Long before the industrial revolution, carbon was recycled naturally through the transference between the Earth, oceans and the atmosphere. This cycle is life-sustaining, yet if humans keep pushing this pattern to its limit, carbon will soon no longer be able to recycle itself naturally. 

And this will inevitably happen unless we immediately start to hold ourselves accountable for the exacerbation of global climate change and begin to seriously reconsider how we use energy. However, there is serious doubt that humans are part of the problem, which of course is slowing down any real action to reduce carbon emissions. Until we recognize the consequences our actions have created, the environmental harm will soon reach a point of no return.

For now, the natural carbon cycle continues to suit human needs, but the environment is starting to lose its ability to keep up with human activities, thus vastly altering it. The biosphere, which typically is responsible for absorbing carbon before it rises up to the atmosphere, has dramatically shrunk in size due to the growth of cities and the decimation of forests.As carbon emissions increase and the sizes of forests decrease, the less effective the biosphere will be at absorbing carbon. In fact, if trends continue, it will no longer be able to sustain any more carbon at all. According to BBC News, European forests are actually reaching a “saturation point” in which a great number of trees will no longer be able to absorb carbon.

This is evidently another sign that our carbon footprint is getting much larger. Yet, despite the signs, cumulative global action has not yet been taken to seriously reduce emissions. Though the United Nations has made an effort through the Kyoto Protocol, the protocol is only as strong as its participants — and, of course, the countries emitting the most carbon have nothing to do with this effort. 

Coincidentally, these same countries happen to have the largest economies, directly in line with the mindset that being environmentally friendly is not exactly business-friendly   — at least if you’re trying to attract the investments of wealthy oil companies.

And unfortunately, the United States happens to be a prime example of this thought process in action. In fact, most of its population remains skeptical that the burning of fossil fuels is even causing any serious environmental damage at all, despite the signs in Europe and elsewhere. This skepticism is growing rapidly: In 2007, 71 percent of Americans believed that the burning of fossil fuels exacerbates climate change. In 2009, it dropped to 51 percent, and by 2011, the number of Americans who believed this was down to 44 percent.

This is a very steep decline in an amazingly short amount of time and is most likely correlated with the vast propaganda campaign funded by various oil tycoons across the United States. From 2002 to 2010, these wealthy individuals have secretly funneled about $120 million to groups whose main goals were to spark doubt in the scientific data behind fossil fuel’s involvement with climate change.

It is important to note, however, that 84 percent of scientists, who are not exactly known for their political agendas, believe that global climate change is indeed caused by human activity, i.e., the burning of fossil fuels. Despite this consensus among scientists, the corporate world continues to deny their claims in order to maximize its own short-term profits and power by fiercely lobbying against any environmental regulations.

Thus, our economy continues to rely on traditional uses of energy as government energy subsidies continue to favor fossil fuels over renewable energy sources. In fact, according to an IMF study, the U.S. is the world’s top fossil-fuel subsidizer. And along with the huge tax breaks oil companies receive from the U.S. (up to $4.4 billion every year), traditional energy isn’t going anywhere for a long time.

Unsurprisingly, these trends have led the U.S. to be the second-most-polluting country in the world, emitting 5,492,170 metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2010 — right behind China. So even though the U.S. represents only 4.5 percent of the world’s total population, it’s burning enough fossil fuels to make up for the entire developed world.

That being the case, unless the U.S. starts to change its attitude and reduce its carbon emissions, chief economist for the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol warns that “we will end up beyond what scientists tell us is the minimum. The door will be closed forever.” We see the effects of carbon emissions now with European forests and rising sea levels, but the longer America waits to regulate its emissions, the more dramatic the consequences will be in the long term.