Impact on Environment By Greer Brodie-Hall Katie Caruso Kori Khanna Elias Levinson

Background Saving the environment is a serious subject that affects everyone all ages, races and religion. It doesn’t matter where you live; the environment is something that we rely on heavily and we can’t live in a harsh one. Wasting and littering deeply affects it. We cannot go on much longer like this. With a destroyed environment, the climate will increase and melt out polar ice caps which hold 1.6% of all water in the world and will flood major cities near the coasts and all cause natural disaster like hurricanes, tsunamis and many more. We need to save the environment before it’s too late.

Issue The environment is where we, as humans, live and survive. Without the environment being in top condition, it can effect our living. As we slowly ruin our resources from the earth, the future generations will have the consequences. Since 1970, wildlife has declined by 27%. If we keep that rate, the wildlife will be close to nothing. Bad things will start to happen to the earth like: pollution, global warming, acid rain, waste, and biodiversity loss. People need to start taking care of the planet so it can provide for us in the future like it has in the past.

Costs The cost of generate electricity using Coal is around $0.04/KW/h. To generate power from gas and oil is a little bit more but still in the range of $0.08KW/h. Wind power cost is about $0.12KW/h (currently). On top of the current $ 78 billion annual loss from land-based ecosystems caused by factors including pollution and deforestation, the cumulative loss could amount to at least 7 percent of annual consumption by Research shows the world's commercial fisheries are likely to collapse within 50 years unless trends are reversed. That would be devastating for the 1 billion people who rely on fisheries for protein and could lead to up to $80 billion to $100 billion in income loss for the sector.

Impact on Future It is said that 11 percent of the earth's natural areas could be lost by If we keep up the lifestyles that we are choosing, there will be no hope to prevent this from happening. So we have to start now to save our environment. People strongly believe that with the ice bergs melting, the sea will rise, causing low lying lands to flood and all of our resources in those areas will be destroyed. A dramatic change in the weather will occur, including warm winters throughout different climate zones. All animals that live in specific climate zones may become endangered or they must change their living habits.

Democratic Viewpoint For 30 years in public life I have committed to environmental protection. My commitment is driven by the belief that we can safeguard the environment and grow our economy. I have fought hard to reduce the threat of global warming by supporting renewable energy and increased funding for climate change research. I have also called on Bush to stop blocking progress and to engage in international efforts to mitigate the threat of climate change.” -John Kerry, June 17 th, The democratic party wants to “make our air cleaner and our water purer”.-

Republican Political Viewpoints: You can provide a total package and let people have different avenues and different ways to heat and light their businesses. How does government enforce that? They have their hands in pretty much everything. I'm sure there'll be a role for government--and at some point, government needs to get out of the way, as well." Does not believe climate change is entirely man-made. Opposes a cap- and-trade program, feeling it would create higher costs for families and businesses, but backs what he calls "reasonable and appropriate" development of wind, solar, nuclear, geothermal energy. Republicans know that economic prosperity is essential to environmental progress.

Citations Pictures Sources from Issue and Costs Slides: international?_s=PM:WORLD Democratic and Republican Viewpoints Slides: impact on future/costshttp:// Graph: