The United States on the Global Environmental Stage

For a country that is such a global superpower, the United States really sucks at environmentalism. The largest per capita carbon emitter in the world, it can barely take action at home, much less abroad, and yet blames other countries for climate change.

In terms of domestic action, the largest thing the United States has done for the environment is arguably to create the EPA - in the 1970s. Since then, there have been smaller things - the clean air act, to name one - but environmental action has largely been on the downturn, at least in terms of that done by the government. The rise of conservatism in the United States and its newfound association with climate science denial (remember, the EPA was founded by President Nixon, a republican) has made any sort of climate action incredibly difficult. While activist groups keep trying, and the Green New Deal has promise if enough of the aforementioned conservatives stop arguing that it is communist propaganda, the United States is ultimately a huge domestic slacker.

Abroad isn’t much better. We rarely fully sign on to international climate accords, and if we do, we leave them (looking at you, Donald). At the same time, we criticize those less developed countries (which we colonized), for being less climate friendly. We also join agreements that end up hurting the environment, such as NAFTA, and are constantly taking military action to protect oil, of all things.

Ultimately, the United States is a giant hypocrite when it comes to the environment, and needs to do better.