Organize the Evidence for Thinking through Sources 29

Document Links:

Document 29.1 GEORGE W. BUSH, Press Release on Global Climate Change (2001)

Document 29.2 LESTER BROWN, Outgrowing the Earth (2004)

Document 29.3 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Environmental Justice Act (2007)

Document 29.4 BARACK OBAMA, State of the Union Address (2012)

Document 29.5 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, Climate Change Facts (2012)

Organize the Evidence for Thinking through Sources 29

The following exercises provide an opportunity to use the sources collectively to respond to a guiding question.

Guiding Question: What factors have contributed to the emergence of environmental concerns as major political issues since 2001, and what considerations have shaped the federal government’s changing environmental policies in the twenty-first century?

Instructions

Below are three topics that might find a place in organizing an essay responding to the guiding question. This exercise asks you to identify which sources would provide relevant evidence for that topic. Select the best answers for each question. Choose ALL that apply. Click the “submit” button for each question to turn in your work.

Question 29.16

1. Which of the sources provides specific evidence about the reasons that environmental concerns have been a major focus in American politics during the twenty-first century? Choose ALL that apply.

R6Xlb9MAHXF7O4A0MNT1YQ== Document 29.1: George W. Bush, Press Release on Global Climate Change
R6Xlb9MAHXF7O4A0MNT1YQ== Document 29.2: Lester Brown, Outgrowing the Earth
R6Xlb9MAHXF7O4A0MNT1YQ== Document 29.3: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Environmental Justice Act
R6Xlb9MAHXF7O4A0MNT1YQ== Document 29.4: Barack Obama, State of the Union Address
R6Xlb9MAHXF7O4A0MNT1YQ== Document 29.5: Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Change Facts

Question 29.17

2. Which of these documents provides specific evidence about the reasons that some political leaders and policymakers have elected not to make environmental issues a top political priority? Choose ALL that apply.

R6Xlb9MAHXF7O4A0MNT1YQ== Document 29.1: George W. Bush, Press Release on Global Climate Change
kcVtUDKfaIWTKrqEI7di7A== Document 29.2: Lester Brown, Outgrowing the Earth
kcVtUDKfaIWTKrqEI7di7A== Document 29.3: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Environmental Justice Act
R6Xlb9MAHXF7O4A0MNT1YQ== Document 29.4: Barack Obama, State of the Union Address
kcVtUDKfaIWTKrqEI7di7A== Document 29.5: Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Change Facts
Correct: Document 29.1: George Bush lays out his reasons for withdrawing the United States from the Kyoto treaty in this 2001 document. Document 29.4: Barack Obama articulates his proactive approach to environmental issues in this address but also justifies his expansion of oil drilling and fracking in the United States, despite their contribution to the buildup of greenhouse gases.
Incorrect: Document 29.2: Lester Brown makes a compelling case for why world leaders and policymakers should make environmental issues a top priority. Document 29.3: The legislation demonstrates the ways poor Americans and people of color are more vulnerable to environmental threats and makes a strong case for the government’s need to take environmental considerations very seriously. Document 29.5: The EPA makes clear that global warming is already occurring and that individuals can take steps to improve the situation.

Question 29.18

3. Which of the following documents provides specific evidence about the reasons that some political leaders and policymakers have pressed to make environmental issues a higher political priority in the twenty-first century? Choose ALL that apply.

kcVtUDKfaIWTKrqEI7di7A== Document 29.1: George W. Bush, Press Release on Global Climate Change
R6Xlb9MAHXF7O4A0MNT1YQ== Document 29.2: Lester Brown, Outgrowing the Earth
R6Xlb9MAHXF7O4A0MNT1YQ== Document 29.3: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Environmental Justice Act
R6Xlb9MAHXF7O4A0MNT1YQ== Document 29.4: Barack Obama, State of the Union Address
R6Xlb9MAHXF7O4A0MNT1YQ== Document 29.5: Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Change Facts

Thinking through Sources forExploring American Histories, Volume 2Printed Page 241