An Introduction
Global Warming and Politics: Every day we hear the words global warming and climate change without actually understanding what is being stated. The people are bombarded with propaganda furnished by the media. Depictions selected by the media show of massive world disasters with the inclusion of statements that purposefully link global warming and climate change. These statements not only confuse the audience but also spread fear in all directions; no citizen goes untouched by the mainstream media’s audio and visual politically driven rhetoric. Propaganda style reports of global warming create situations in which the public is prone to act upon group thinking and peer pressure (Lessing, 2007). For citizens to be well informed in order to make logical, rational decisions in regards to climate change policies; information which includes definitions of terms used should be easily accessible and understood. According to Michael Taylor (2006), director of The Great Warming, “The world’s scientists are in agreement: climate change is real….” We must accept responsibility. Accepted responsibility is demonstrated through necessary action taken in order to achieve sustainable, harmonic and healthy environments without the creation of additional government control. To accept responsibility does not mean that we must lower our living standard. New ideas and technologies are encouraged to be explored, generated, and shared, no matter how small or how large. We are the greatest country in the world and Americans are most generous. We donate our time and money to help those that are less fortunate than ourselves. Jaroslaw Anders (2007) stated, “The United States is the single largest donor of foreign economic aid…Americans prefer to donate their money through the private sector…” by helping ourselves we help others. Although citizens should strive to become successful stewards of the earth, they should remain skeptical of mainstream media’s hidden agenda promoting global political power and control through the use of fear and impending doom.