The Pollution of the Natural Environment - Case Study Example

? Poverty and Pollution Case Study al Affiliation) Pollution is a matter, which has been debated for no less than 50 years at conferences with the UN. The reaction has been sluggish in the past. The previous four decades, the United Nations has been apprehensive with the “green” matters (News Week Magazine, 2013).Indications of global warming have become very prominent with pollution and e-waste on the lead. There is a decisive need for extra stringent regulations. It is the duty of every individual in the world to do whatever is needed to keep the environment uncontaminated. Pollution is caused by factory activities. Factories contaminate the air by releasing harmful gases into the air and toxic chemicals. Firms that manufacture chemicals, which are too unsafe to manufacture within the first World will always acquire a market within third World Nations (The Environment..., 2013). There exist no regulations within the Third World Nations that govern dumping and pollution. Generally, Third World nations have to choose between food and a contaminated environment. Third World governments cannot limit nor have regulations, as it would be too expensive to their countries more specifically since most of their people are trying to earn a living (Hardoy, 2011). This paper is an analysis of the Pollution and Poverty Case Study. Ethical effects of pollution in a third world nation would directly affect the inhabitants of the Third World Countries (Hardoy, 2011). For instance, the dumping of toxic electronics within the south of Chinese town of Guiyu had Women melting hard drives and motherboards from CPUs to extract gold from them. This exposed them to toxic fumes. Ghana is another country, which has had wastes dumped in one of its regions. On the borders of Agbogbloshie town, there is an enormous wasteland as well as one of the highly polluted water bodies on Earth(The Environment..., 2013). Millions of tons of electronics are dumped in the wasteland each year. The locals go through the e-waste, burn plastics to obtain iron and copper, which in turn they sell to get money. They also obtain hard drives from the CPUs from the e-wastes. The hard drives are taken to computer experts in Universities to look into them and retrieve the data in them. Once they obtain the personal data in them, they sell the data for roughly $35 for each hard drive. Information obtained from these hard drives includes private financial facts, credit-card numbers, account data and reports of electronic transactions. Mostly, the original holders of the hard drives do not know that such information had been left in those drives. It becomes easier to clear out accounts with the account information. Ghana is listed as among the top cybercrime perpetrators in the globe conferring to the American State Department (Ghana Dumping..., 2012). During an off-camera interview, one of the drives purchased had a $22 billion United States government contract. The hard drive had come from an American military contractor known as Northrop Grumman; it is among the largest military contractors in the U.S. The hard drive contained very sensitive details such as multi-million dollar deals of the United States government with agencies such as the DIA (defense intelligence agency), Homeland Security and NASA (Ghana Dumping..., 2012). This poses an enormous security risk that places everyone at the vulnerability of the perpetrators. If regulations and laws had been established to govern e-waste disposal and pollution, then cybercrime might not be a huge issue as it is currently. Obtaining personal information about people is one thing, but it is another to obtain detailed information on government contracts (News Week Magazine, 2013). When 3rd World nations do not have any regulations or laws shielding them from 1st World Nations polluting and dumping in their nation, then it renders it difficult for them to prohibit 1st World Nations from dumping and polluting in their countries. Initially, some counties embraced the e-waste. A number of them saw it as a contribution to facilitate “in bridging the gap” of the technological divide. Some nations do generate money from the scrapheap; however, they harm the Earth as well as themselves (News Week Magazine, 2013). Economic development and progress is something, which happens regularly. Most companies aspire that development will aid their business plus the economy, to progress. The development of each firm will increase the quantity of services and goods produced thereby enhancing the economy. However, that growth can be slackened down by environmental protection and pollution controls (Agalgatti &Krishna, 2007). Environmental protection and pollution controls go together. Pollution controls manage effluents and emissions into the air, soil or water. Pollution irrespective how it is created or wherever it came from will ultimately damage the environment as well as the Earth. Environmental protection involves practice of guarding the environment as well as the planet. Environmental Protection Agency was formed for this reason on 2 December 1970 (Hardoy, 2011). EPA protects human wellbeing and the natural environment through writing and implementing regulations built on laws approved by the Congress. With those laws in place, firms cannot do as they wish; they cannot set up factories and pollute the water and air since they know that they are being monitored (News Week Magazine, 2013). Every human being has a privilege to live within an environment, which is pollution free. Global Warming has become an issue currently. Talks about the earth warming up in addition to melting of the Arctic have been rampant (Agalgatti &Krishna, 2007). Yet to decrease pollution the 1st World Countries have been dumping their wastes in the 3rd World Nations. The fact that most third world nations are poor and they do not have the money to enact laws and regulations against 1st world nations’ dumping and polluting, this does not give first world nations the right to dump their e-waste in these countries. Furthermore, the first world nations do not offer any means of properly disposing of thee-wastes. Children are forced to play in and near the wastes since much of the land have been taken up by tons of wastes. The wastes have polluted their water streams and the air as well. The third World nations have a right to live in a pollution free environment just like any other first world nation (The Environment..., 2013). All developed nations should contribute to aid in Third World Nations development. Currently, Third World nations are advancing themselves rapidly. During the past thirty years, industrial manufacturing has increased swiftly in the third world nations. However, that manufacturing is without regulation and planning. Planet Earth is for everyone living in it and everyone must take good nurturing of it. The responsibility of protecting planet earth lies in the hands of everyone. If the first world nations cannot help the third world nations with greener productiveness and better energy sources, then all the pollution will tear planet Earth apart very rapidly. Pollution is a current issue that cannot be eradicated easily, however; adopting practices that aid in reducing pollution can make earth cleaner and better (Agalgatti &Krishna, 2007). Dumping of lethal e-waste into poorer nations is for once not a solution; in fact, it contributes a great deal to pollution. Just because factories and companies have no need for their wastes, this does not give them the right not to dispose the wastes safely. Destruction to the natural environment imposes on other people’s right to existence, freedom, health, and dignity. First world nations should dispose their toxic wastes individually and within their country. First world nations must find enhanced methods of disposing toxic waste. There is a need to find effective ways to aid in the development of third world nations to promote long evity of the human species. Although a lot of destruction has already occurred that might not be reversed, working together as a global community to reduce pollution can assist in preserving the wildlife, water, forests, and air throughout the world (Agalgatti &Krishna, 2007). A strategy that I would recommend to restrict pollution would be to enact tradable pollution permits. These are licenses provided to firms to contaminate at a particular level. Firms can purchase, sell as well as trade these licenses in the marketplace. It is within the appeal of the firms to contaminate as slightly as possible. If firms pollute on a level greater than their licenses permit, they must buy licenses from other companies. If they contaminate lesser than their licenses permit, they can vend the licenses (The Environment..., 2013). Another strategy that I would recommend is enactment of emission taxes. Corporations will be paying a tax amount for each unit of toxic waste they yield. The standard tax amount would be the precise social fee per unit of toxic waste. This strategy will successfully compel businesses to adopt negative externality expenses. The strategy will also resolve the crisis of economic incompetence by permitting corporations to increase profits in addition to pollute on a very effectual level (Agalgatti &Krishna, 2007). For instance, if a firm suffers huge expense in pollution reduction, it can solely pay the duty. If another corporation can effortlessly reduce contamination, it may accordingly do it to evade tax payment. This denotes that less expense is induced through eradicating the same quantity of pollution. The one strategy, which I would use to implement my controls, is by putting together a panel. The sole purpose of the panel would be to monitor the activities of factories. The factories must present reports to the panel concerning pollution output and dumping. The reports will then be substantiated and whatever payments or taxes needed to be paid will be made available to each firm (The Environment..., 2013). Conclusively, nowadays, not just companies and factories pollute the natural environment, each of us has one way or another contributed to the contamination of the environment. Therefore, everyone must take part in reducing natural environment pollution. This can be achieved through the implementation of the three R’s in our daily lives. The three R’s stand for reduce, reuse and recycle (Agalgatti &Krishna, 2007). People need to learn how to reduce pollution by reusing plastic bags instead of throwing them away or burning them. If reuse does not work, people can opt to recycle the materials that have been worn out. Companies should go green and integrate platforms that advocate for best practices in keeping the environment pollution free (The Environment..., 2013). Computer hard drives should be wiped out clean before dumping, this will aid in reducing cybercrimes. Furthermore, the computers should be properly disposed rather than dumping them (The Environment..., 2013). References Agalgatti, B & Krishna, S. (2007). Business Ethics Concepts and Practices. A Message from Bjorn Lomborg to Organizers of The Rio+20 Environmental Summit: Poverty Pollutes. News Week Magazine. Retrieved on February 27, 2013. Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground.Retrieved from www.PBS.org Frontline World.Retrieved on February 27, 2013 Hardoy, Jorge. (2011). Environmental Problems in Third World Cities. The Environment- A Global Challenge. Retrieved from www.Library.thinkquest.org. Retrieved on February 27, 2013. Read More