The role of Politics on Sustainability Measures

Keywords: Sustainability, Politics
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

Climate change has become more relevant in recent years, specifically with warmer seasons and a large influx of hurricanes. To counter the growing threat that climate change poses, countries around the world have been developing suitability methods to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. For these sustainability measures to be effective, the countries’ federal governments, along with state or province governments, must be in agreement with these measures to pass them into law. However, specifically in the United States, sustainability measures are often overlooked and blocked by different administrations that take office, especially in recent years, which can harm the country's ability to reduce its carbon footprint. The main goal of this study is to vet what are the general opinions of not only students in college, but also those who are more knowledgable on the topic of sustainability, on what they think the role of the government has on supporting and passing sustainability legislation, and how much it affects the fight against climate change. I plan on conducting in person interviews, as well as an online survey to get the general opinions on the main purpose of this study. With the results that I gathered from surveys and interviews, I plan on doing statistical analysis to compare the results to see that each participant showed any similarities. I also plan on comparing past administrations efforts with sustainability to see if any of the results line up with what the participants answered.