Poverty and Pollution in Japan, Europe and North America - Research Paper Example

Poverty and Pollution Case Study Environmental problems including air pollution and water pollution are some of the major health and environmental issues faced by many countries around the world. The environmental pollution faced by the cities in Japan, Europe and North America are of greater magnitude and many consider it to be less important as compared to the Third World countries. Mainly because the Third World Countries are comparatively less populated and the amount of industrial development is still lower as compared to the developed countries. However, the notion cannot be ignored that some countries such as China, India, Mexico, Brazil and South Korea form the world’s major producers of a plethora of industrial goods (Hardoy et al 1992). Many Third World cities have significantly high concentrations of industries and the industrial output also forms a prominent part of the world’s industrial produce. These Third world cities face equivalent environmental pollution. Over the years the industrial development in these cities or city-regions has progressed tremendously and the greater the industrial development, the bigger will be the magnitude of the environmental pollution faced by the inhabitants of the countries. An inter-relation of poverty and pollution will be highlighted through a case presentation and the ethical implications of the business owners towards the society, basic rights of the humans for a cleaner environment and the reasons for industrial development in Third World countries will be discussed in relation to the case study. Popularly referred as Brazil’s “valley of death”, this particular valley, Cubatao, is a home to 100,000 people, living amidst critical environmental circumstances. The valley can be considered as the most polluted place on Earth where the inhabitants are constantly faced with tons of pollutants discharged by the industrial plants each day. The air, in which the inhabitants breathe daily, is polluted with a plethora of toxins, predominantly benzene which is a known carcinogen. 13,000 urban residents suffer from respiratory disease and infant mortality rate is 10 percent higher as compared to the whole region. The residents are, however, completely aware of the circumstances and the poor health conditions of their children and families, but the industrial plants are a source of employment for them. Few wish to move out of the valley, but their financial status doesn’t allow them to do so. The circumstances in the valley of Brazil, point out that poor have to face the price for industrial development. They are faced with environmental hazards and they cannot even reach out for environmental protection due to their low economic conditions (Shaw 2011). Economists differ on their opinions about the industrial development in the Third World countries and the consequences the residents have to encounter. The different views and rationale will be discussed further. Business ethics constitute the principles, values and standards that guide the behavior and responsibilities in the corporate world. The business owners have certain ethical implications towards the society and the preservation of the natural environment. Environmental protection laws were introduced around the globe by various governments in view of the increasing environmental pollution. Organizations have to keep in view the impact of their business on the natural environment which includes the atmospheric issues, water issues and land issues. Air pollution is one of the significant issues which points out towards the pollution caused by the factories, power plants and automobiles causing detrimental effects on the residents. Outcomes include shorter life-spans, respiratory conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, cancer, birth defects and brain nerve damages (Ferrell et al 2012). It is important for the organizations to preserve the ecosystems in pursuit of their private interests. The interest of the commons should not be ignored and the fragile interconnections between the ecosystems and the man-made interference should be kept under consideration to avoid the serious environmental conditions we are facing nowadays. William T. Blackstone, amoral theorist, believes that “each of us has a right to livable environment”. According to his views, ever u human requires such an environment to fulfill his human capacities. Recognition of this right can lead to the development of a legal right to a livable environment. An official recognition will increase the awareness of the population affected to rightfully accuse those who are polluting their environments through any business or industrial organizations (Shaw 2011). An increase in transfer of the polluting industries or the toxic wastes has been observed from the North to the Third World countries. For instance, the industries manufacturing asbestos, a hazardous chemical, have been transferred from the United States to the Latin America with Brazil and Mexico as the major recipients. Many other “dirty industries” have also been transferred to Taiwan, South Korea, the Philippines and Thailand. One of the main reasons for the relocation of the industries from the U.S. to the Third World countries is the strict environmental and workplace regulations. Hence, the industries producing hazardous products are relocated to countries with lesser regulations and environmental protection laws. Western America and Europe save the cost of workplace safety and pollution standards by transferring the industries. Apart from asbestos industries, arsenic production, lead refining and battery manufacturing, metal smelters and biocide production are some major industrial set-ups transferred to the Third World countries (Hardoy et al 1992). Another significant issue is the dumping of toxic industrial waste in the Third World countries. Developed countries such as USA, France, Canada and U.K. are facing cost issues due to the high land cost for waste disposal installations. With the absence of pollution control laws in the Third World countries, developed nations find it cheaper to transport all the toxic wastes to the Third World countries for disposal (Ghosh 2008). The countries overlook the fact that this act of waste disposal exposes the Third World countries to serious consequences. Areas of high rain fall such as Nigeria, Bissan, Congo and Guinea are very vulnerable to the toxic waste disposal and can lead to contaminating the ground water having detrimental effects on the residents (Ghosh 2008). Lawrence Summers, director of the National Economic Council and former president of Harvard University explains the rationale behinds the industrial development in Third World countries and justifies the pollution of the poor regions of the world. He justifies that polluting should be done in the countries of lowest costs with lowest wages. Moreover, he explains that it would be sensible to shift the pollution from already polluted areas such as Los Angeles to relatively cleaner and under populated areas such as Africa, because pollution costs rise disproportionately as pollution increases. His third argument is that if pollution is shifted to less affluent places the costs fall as a cleaner environment is valued more by people as their income increases gradually (Shaw 2011). An implication for the business operating within a global capitalist system is that the system encourages them to acquire the natural resources and labor as cheaply as possible. This process explains the reason; the First World countries shifted their business to the Third World countries in search of cheaper resources and work force. Many of the resources in the First World countries have been depleted after the world wars while the Third World countries are a source of plenty of natural resources. This however leads to serious environmental consequences for instance the giant Japanese Honshu Paper Company is responsible for the deforestation of mush of the country. The American Amaco Corporation working in the Papua New Guinea state operates gold and copper mines and has led to the elimination of much of the state’s forests (Bailey 1997). The growth of the industrial sector in the Third World countries has increased over the past years. As mentioned earlier countries such as Mexico, Brazil, South Korea and Thailand are the major recipients of industrial transfer from the developed countries. However, a disparity is observed between the economic growth and the enhancement and implication of environmental protection laws and pollution control measures. The reason is the lack of ability of the industrializing countries to cope with the problems of industrial pollution faced by the respective countries. The levels of affluence, technical ability, scientific understanding and knowledge, industrial specialization and environmental protection awareness in the Third World countries are far below the required levels (Leonard 2006). An example of the lack of infrastructure and resources is depicted through the high levels of water pollution in the Third World countries as compared to the countries in the North. These countries lack a proper sewage and storm drainage system and no comprehensive solid-waste collection and disposal system is also present. A shortage of water also leads to a deficiency in the disposing of water (Hardoy et al 1992). Although multi-national corporations have played a major role in the economic development, but they have also significantly exploited natural resources, exploited workers, bankrupted the rural poor and widened the gap between the rich and the poor. Lack of national environmental regulation is a big issue for the poor population and the least developed countries. The basic civil rights and political rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are not given to many citizens of the poor countries. The “1989 San Salvador Protocol” to the American Convention on the Human Rights declares in Article 11 that: “(1) Everyone shall have the right to live in a healthy environment and to have access to basic public services. (2) The State Parties shall promote the protection, preservation and improvement of the environment” (Zarsky 2002). The right to environment clearly explains that people living in whatsoever economic circumstances should be given a safe and healthy environment with sustainable and sound development. The management and control of pollution in the Third World countries are a systematic process and require and multi-dimensional approach. A strong government commitment is required to build and preserve the natural environment. Spatial planning of the land use, economic resources and the pursuit of the industrial development should be incorporated which should make the needs of the community a priority. The activities of the multinationals should be closely monitored and managed and the pollution and workplace laws should be enforced vigilantly (Okot-Uma et al 2000). The state of environmental conditions in the poor regions of the world is quite critical and the lack of resources and infrastructure makes them vulnerable to the detrimental effects of the increasing industrial development. This ultimately shifts a major part of the responsibility towards the wealthier and developed nations to aid the least developed regions around the globe. Uniform global pollution control standards and environmental protection laws implication should be the first priority of the human right activists, corporate world and the economists. The foremost priority should be the arrangement of industrial set-ups in under-populated regions of the cities so that the hazardous consequences are not faced by the inhabitants. Moreover, the transfer of the hazardous industries to the poorer countries should not exceed a certain extent. The workplace standards and protection of the workforce from the occupational diseases and industrial toxics should be implemented strictly regardless of the geographical location. The corporate owners should not overlook the basic right of the residents and labors of the least developed countries to a clean and safe environment. The paper discusses comprehensively the relation between the prevailing poverty and the increasing pollution in the poor geographical locations of the world. The least developed countries such as Mexico, Nigeria, Brazil and many others are host to major industrial set-ups of the worlds and many multinational corporations prefer these countries for their industrial interests. These least developed nations attract the industrial development because of their under-populated areas and cheaper work force. The corporate world finds cheaper natural resources and also finds a way of ignoring the pollution control standards and occupation safety measures in these areas, as the laws in the Third World countries are rarely enforced strictly. The poor ultimately have to pay the price for this industrial growth. They are encountered with serious health consequences. Not just health outcomes, the exploitation of the resources leads to deforestation, loss of biodiversity and damage to the flora and fauna of the regions. Proper awareness of human environmental rights and implementation of uniform global standards will only help the Third World countries in fighting the deteriorating environmental circumstances. References Bailey, S and Bryant, R L .(1997). Third World political ecology. London; New York: Routledge. Ferrell,O C, Ferrell, L and Fraedrich. (2012). Business ethics: ethical decision making and cases. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co. Ghosh, G K. (2008). Environmental Pollution. APH Publishing Corporation. Hardoy, J, Mitlin, D and Satterthwaite. (1992). Environmental problems in the Third World cities. London : Earthscan. Leonard, H J. (2006). Pollution and the Struggle for the World Product: Multinational Corporations, environment, and international comparative advantage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Okot-Uma, R W, Commonwealth Secretariat: et al. (2000). Pollution Control and Waste Management in Developing Countries. London: Commonwealth Secretariat. Shaw, W H. (2011). Business Ethics. Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Zarsky, L. (2002). Human rights and the environment. London; Sterling, VA : Earthscan. Read More