Research paper on Global Warming

Environmental Studies/Environmental Science

Assignment 2

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The issue of global warming remains the most important problem facing the biosphere

eclipsing all others and requiring a broad range of responses by humans that challenge the

very way we define economics and progress.

Environmental scientists generally agree on the scale, pace and intensity of the problem but

not on the solutions. Policy makers must devise an international system that will reduce the

most prevalent greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide in a short period of time. The suggestions

made so far do not follow a “command and control” model but offer instead market-friendly

solutions. Two of these are

a) the “cap and trade” system whereby carbon emissions can be traded in a free market and

gradually reduce the production of the gas, and

b) a carbon tax that would use the market to accelerate carbon gas reductions in an

environment where the costs of emissions would be graduated upward to affect the largest

producers.

In the articles provided here the two perspectives are given an examination that advocate for

one or the other or even both. Four of the articles are general global waming pieces. Six

of the articles are on the impacts of global warming. Five are on the two approaches.

Pick at least two from the first batch, and at least three from the second batch for you

bibliography. Then pick three from the third batch. Download all the articles and read them.

Make up your own mind which system you think is better.

Write a short paper (less than six pages) on your arguments based on the papers provided.

(Yes, you can research this further if you would like and add to the list of papers.) Write in

your own words a paper that a) shows you understand the arguments given regarding global

warming or human caused climate change and b) some diuscussion of likely impacts and c)

the policy options represented in the two arguments. The titles in italics are general overviews

of the problem. The rest are on imapcts and then the last are specific as to the cap n’ trade vs

carbon tax policy options.

The paper must be original. You will get no points for plagiarism. DO NOT PASTE TEXT

FROM INTERNET SOURCES. Make sure you reference your new sources as well as the

ones provided. Use college standards for citing of work. In the body of the text, authors

should appear in parenthesis with the year of the publication. DO NOT USE FILENAMES or

URLs AS CITATIONS! It should be author, title, publication and date. Consult the library for

proper “APA” citation style. These can be footnotes or endnotes. You should provide a

bibliographic list at the end.