Introduction
During the presidential elections in the USA, global warming has become one of the most discussed issues on political agenda. Lomborg (2012) proves that between 1992 and 2012, very few steps were taken to solve the problem of global warming. The policies implied before failed, because green technologies were expensive and unreliable. Consequently, economic sacrifices barely affected the emission reductions, and that resulted in abandonment of climate policies. Nevertheless, after the Copenhagen Consensus in 2009, climate economists suggested three changes to the U.S climate change approach. First, making green energy cheap is very essential as it will require investment in green technologies. Second, investing in geoengineering will help runaway climate change. Third, the fact that the effects of human actions are bringing their outcomes very fast should be recognized. Therefore, the President has to dramatically increase funding for green energy.
Considering the following article, it was quite disturbing to learn that in the last 20 years, the global emissions were only reduced by less than 1%. Despite the collective efforts, the largest countries of the world still continue their policies, which result in making more profits, as well as carbon dioxide emissions. It goes without saying that it would take a lot of time and money to make any difference. However, the political leaders should provide more strict policies and enhance the investment in green technologies.
Article 2: “Most Facebook Users Have Taken a Break from the Site”
A survey conducted by Pew Research Center’s American Life and Internet Project has found that 61% of the Facebook users have voluntarily taken breaks from it on a daily basis. The main reasons for that were the lack of time and privacy and security concerns. Wortham (2013) proves that despite 92% of users still maintain their profiles, more than 50% of the users confirmed that their profiles are as much important to them as the previous year. To enhance its users, Facebook recently have introduced a new tool called Graph search.
As a matter of fact, the social sites’ boom has reached its highest point. Owing to that disturbing fact, Facebook needs new tools and programs not only to maintain their profit, but to increase it. Some people spend a lot of time working; therefore, some working programs should also be introduced in Facebook. This could solve the problem of taking breaks and profit decrease.
Article 3: “Cut Power Plant Pollution”
No political leader is able stop global warming single handedly, and Barak Obama is not an exception. Wagner (2013) states that signing in Executive Order 13514 and establishing 28% emission reduction goal for the federal government, Obama and his administration is advised to use “tried and true” market approach of putting a fee on carbon dioxide. The similar action was taken in 2010, when the 5-cent fee was put on plastic bags, and it succeeded. If the Congress refuses to take measures, Obama is recommended to take the regulatory efforts which would mostly affect power plants, transportation, and other stationary sources.
As a matter of fact, the most effective way of reducing the carbon emission is to enlist the U.S. market corporations on a grand scale and put a direct cap on carbon emissions. In order to achieve the declared goals, Obama should use the Clean Air Act to punish the worst polluters. Otherwise, his mission to reduce emissions in 83% before 2050 will not be accomplished.
Article 4: “U.S. Charges Three with Hacking”
Motivated by the commercial gain, three European men invented the computer virus, which infected more than a million computers worldwide, including the NASA computers. Sengupta (2013) states that Russian, Latvian, and Romanian criminals were accused of developing, modifying, and hosting control services. Criminals were arrested in 2012 in their home countries; now they are waiting for extradition.
In conclusion, the problem of hacking remains unsolved. It needs to be legally controlled; however, the Internet still remains uncontrolled in most countries, namely in Russia. The world community needs actions to be taken in order to prevent such issues in the future.
