A research paper I did on how democrats and republicans feel about climate change.

1. Research Paper Mims 1
Cody Mims
Lance Hughey
Government
December 1, 2015
Climate Change
President Obama is currently attempting to finalize America's Clean Power Plan,
which sets the first-ever carbon pollution standards for power plants. He claims that the
Clean Power Plan sets achievable standards to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32
percent from 2005 levels by 2030. By setting these goals and enabling states to create
tailored plans to meet them, the Plan will supposedly protect the health of American
families, boost our economy by creating tens of thousands of jobs, and save the
average American family $85 a year on their energy bills in 2030. The Obama
administration is trying to educate people on the facts and dangers of climate change,

2. Research Paper Mims 2
and they are using the findings they have gathered from their
research. For example, 2014 was the hottest
year on record globally, and 2015 is on
track to break that record. The White
House is warning of public health
threats associated with extreme
weather, as well as the hundreds of
billions of dollars climate and
weather disasters cost the American
economy every year.
Republicans, including most of the
GOP's 2016 presidential candidates, either don't
acknowledge climate change is happening, or they question whether it's caused by
human activity. Jeb Bush acknowledges that the climate is changing but says that
science is undecided on the cause. He believes the U.S. needs to adapt, and he wants
countries that have increased carbon emissions to cut back, but he doesn't think we're
one of them. Ben Carson thinks "the temperature's either going up or down at any point
in time, so it really is not a big deal. What is a big deal is that the environment is under
our control. We do have a responsibility to pass it on to those behind us in at least as
good a condition as we found it, hopefully an improved condition." Chris Christie says it
is undeniable that global warming is real and he thinks human activity contributes to it.
However, he doesn't believe that programs intended to limit carbon emissions like cap
and trade are effective. He calls for a "global solution," rather than unilateral cuts by the

3. Research Paper Mims 3
U.S. Ted Cruz denied the existence of climate change at an event sponsored by
billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch. He says "the federal
government agencies are cooking the books." Carly Fiorina thinks climate change is
real, but the U.S. can't do anything about it. "[E]very one of the scientists that tell us that
climate change is real and being caused by man-made activity also tells us that a single
nation acting alone can make no difference at all," she told Yahoo News in an interview
earlier this summer. Jim Gilmore said that if he were president he "would look at this
group of scientists and say, 'Do they have an ax to grind?' and make sure that they're
objective." Lindsey Graham has called out members of his party who dismiss climate
change. Mike Huckabee said, "Whether it's man-made or not, I know that when I was in
college I was being taught that if we didn't act very quickly, that we were going to
entering a global freezing…And we were told that if we didn't do something by 1980,
we'd be popsicles. Now we're told that we're all burning up. Science is not as settled on
that as it is on some things."
Bobby Jindal argues that the Obama administration policies have hurt the
environment and the economy and has said Louisiana won't comply with the Clean

4. Research Paper Mims 4
Power Plan. John Kasich has said he's concerned about climate change. He has been a
proponent of clean coal, and he said at the 2012 conference, "we are going to dig it, we
are going to clean it, and we are going to burn it in Ohio, and we are not going to
apologize for it." For years, since the 1990s, George Pataki believed that climate
change is scientifically proven. Unlike most of his GOP opponents, he has supported
reductions in greenhouse gases since 1998. He has not, however, expressed a position
on climate change since he announced his presidential candidacy, and there appears
not to be any mention of climate change on his campaign website. Rand Paul has a
mixed voting record on climate change. He voted for an amendment in January that
said that climate change is real and humans contribute to it, but then in March cast a
vote against a bill that would cut carbon emissions.