Conquer It

Now reread the second and third sections, "Legislation A Good Start" and "An Uphill Battle, But Try," of the article Should Congress consider comprehensive climate change laws?O pens a new window. Next, recall the claim, evidence and reasoning identified from these sections below:

Claim
Passing a sweeping national climate change law would be a good start to the United States taking on a leadership role for other countries and minimizing its effects on climate change.

Evidence
"More than half of the states and more than a thousand U.S. cities have adopted a diversity of policies that could substantially reduce the release of greenhouse gas emissions. They include innovative actions on renewable fuels, such as those made from vegetables. These cities have also been promoting energy efficiency, public transportation, building efficiency and more."

"The Obama administration has invested tens of billions of dollars in cutting-edge research on new renewable energy technologies, such as wind and solar power."

"The administration also brokered historic agreements with the auto industry. Fuel economy standards are set to be raised for cars to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 and should translate to impressive environmental savings, as cars will burn less gas."

"Equally important, the White House and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are developing regulations for coal-fired power plants."

Reasoning
"Yet the new regulations are not sufficient to tackle climate change, because there is no commitment by the U.S. as a whole. If there was, it might push reluctant nations around the world to do their own part."

"National climate change policy would send a strong signal to the world that the United States takes climate change seriously and it is prepared to step out in front on the issue."

Use information from the "Legislation A Good Start" and "An Uphill Battle, But Try" sections of the article, as well as the claim, evidence and reasoning above, to write an explanation about why Congress should consider comprehensive climate change laws. Be sure to refer back to the text for additional information that may be used to support the claim and strengthen your explanation. You must paraphrase and/or reword statements from the text as you organize ideas for an explanation written in your words.