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How Has Global Warming Changed American Culture

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Global Warming has changed American’s perspectives in many ways though-out the past centuries including: the way society views our environment, technology, cultural values, as well as expectations. According to Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein, The Real World; An Intro to Sociology; 4th Edition (pg.45), a paradigm shifts, “occur when new data force new ways of looking at the world”. In the 1950’s increased awareness was placed on global warming and the Green House Effect due to new technology showing that the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere were rising each year (Encyclopedia of Global Warming). As a result Americans were concerned with pollution for the first time in history; and in return, our cultures perspectives slowly started to change the way we look at the world. …show more content…

The Industrial Revolution propelled the use of fossil fuel bring progress to exceptional levels; however, this came at a price to the environment and untimely changed the cultural values as well as expectations of technology today. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (www.epa.gov), “climate changes prior to the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s can be explained by natural causes”. During and after The Industrial Revolution’s prevalent use of fossil fuel in factories and auto-motives climate changes could no longer be solely contributed to natural causes (www.epa.gov). In 1979 the second (2nd) oil energy crisis occurred which encouraged the Environmental Movement and the usage of renewable energy instead of technology that operated off of burning fossil fuels (Encyclopedia of Global Warming). As a result of the second (2nd) oil energy crisis the World Climate Research Program was launched in order to research international climate changes (Encyclopedia of

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