Environmental Degradation - Essay Example

Your Inequality and Global-Level Trends and Processes as Causes of Environmental Degradation Introduction The Issue of global warming has solicited much attention from the international community. It can be safely considered the most controversial issue that the global population faces nowadays. Science, politics and economics are among the most popular tools used to ascertain the depth of the problem and come up with possible solution. The book, A Warming World identifies two types of causes of environmental degradation: the direct and the underlying causes. The direct causes are deemed to be natural while the underlying causes are social (David Humphreys, p.20). The latter represents people’s participation in the environmental changes. “A direct cause is a cause that leads directly to an observed effect. The observed effect that we are concerned with is the rise in the Earth’s temperature (David Humphreys, p.19). Scientists agree that the direct cause of this heating “is the change in the radiative forcing of the Earth’s climatic system as the result of increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases” (David Humphreys, p.19). The main underlying cause identified is the burning of fossil fuels including oils and coals: things that are very much essential to “energy generation and industrial production” (David Humphreys, p.20). The underlying cause simply refer to human activities that results to the the increased concentration of greehouse gases in the athmosphere. In this paper, we specifically examine the role of inequality, and global trends and processes such as population change, industrialization and urbanization to environmental degradation. Main Body Inequality Surprisingly or not surprisingly, the term inquality has surfaced to be one of the underlying causes of environmental degradation. What once only a social problem now lays inside the perimeter of environmental concern. Inequalities discussed in the book covers political ineqaulities, economic inequalities and inequality of knowledge. Citing the situation in El Salvador, the book Environmental Issues and Responses specified the ways in which inequality can cause much damage to the environment. Coffee cultivation was seen as one of the primary causes of deforestation in the country. The scenario “needs to be understood in the context of a global market and its demands for cheap coffee production” (Aradau, p.45). The economic inequality between the rich and the poor in El Salvador and the developed versus the underdeveloped countries in the globalized economy can provide justification for the abuse of the environment (Aradau, p.45). Another cause of environmental degradation in El Salvador was the “civil war from 1980 to 1992, during which the army bombed and burnt forests and land in order to destroy the resources used by the rebel guerrilla fighters” (Aradau, p.45). This situation represents political inequality which can be damaging to both the society and the environment. Political inequalities is “seen in terms of the power differentials that exist between states as well as among social groups and individuals engaging in domestic politics” and it includes race and gender (Aradau, p.46). Political inequality can affect decision pertaining to the enviroment. Powerless and politically disadvantaged groups stand weak in the determination of environmental decision. The underlying causes of environmental degradation can be pursued by individuals with vested interests. The failure of the Kyoto Protocol is seen as an example. Although European countries were willing to spouse the provisions in the protocol, it remained unsuccessful as the most powerful country, the United States wanted its ratification or worse total abolition. While the European Union committed to 15% cuts in carbon emission the United States committed to “no cuts at all” (David Humphreys, p.34). Some multinationals like Exxon can also ignore environmental problems and fall skeptical of the scientific evidences. Political inequalities can then severely hamper thrusts for environmental reparation. Economic inequality can also be tracked as a source of problem. The UNDP announced that there is an increasing polarization between the rich and the poor so that the poorest 40% of the world accounts for only 5% of the total global income (Aradau, p.47). The increasing economic inequality is both a cause and a result of increaseing neoliberalism (Aradau, p.47). This means lesser government control. When businesses are left without much government control, they are free to pursue profit even at the expense of the environment. “The third dimension of inequality, inequalities of knowledge, refers to the gap between developed and developing countries in terms of scientific, technological and industrial expertise (qtd. Dallmayr, 148). As discussed in the early chapters of A Warming World, science has played a very vital role in ascertaining the appropriate policies of the government. This creates a disadvantage to those who have less knowledge and technology. On the other hand, ‘scientific and technological knowledge is often criticised for marginalising alternative understandings of nature that local populations in the developing world might have” (Aradau, p. 48). Unfortunately, inequality also surfaces as an issue when it comes to natural disaster. Unforetunaltely, it is the poor people who are most vulnerable to catartrophes such as floods. “It was the urban poor of Honduras and its neighbours who were smitten hardest by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. And it is the people of the slums more widely in Latin America who are most vulnerable” (Thronged, Creaking and Filthy). This reveals that inequality and environmental degradation are greatly related. Population Change “[W]orld population will likely increase by 2.5 billion over the next 43 years, passing from the current 6.7 billion to 9.2 billion in 2050. This increase is equivalent to the total size of the world population in 1950, and it will be absorbed mostly by the less developed regions, whose population is projected to rise from 5.4 billion in 2007 to 7.9 billion in 2050” (qtd. in UNPD p.vii). This increased population is observed in developing regions such as Africa, Asia and Latin America, where growth has been faster than the developed nations (Aradau, p.18). Experts conclude that the relationship between growing population and envronmental degradation is clear: “more people need more resources, generate more waste and cause more environmental degradation. So, the more people there are in the world or in a certain area, the more they are likely to degrade the environment around them, as suggested by cases of population displacement” (Aradau, p.18). This line of thought supposes that countries with larger population are more likely to abuse the environment. It is also assumed that growing population results to a greater number of refugees. High concentration of people in certain areas lead to abuse of natural resources (Aradau, p.24). This is specially true with the refugees being poor. Poverty pushes people to neglect environmental care in exchange of immediate satisfaction of needs such as food and shelter. There are different views about population. They can be categorized into those that view population growth as positive and those that see it as negative to development and welfare. Thomas Malthus “argued that population grows at a geometric rate, while food production only grows at an arithmetic rate” so that “population growth would quickly surpass food production and would result in worldwide food shortages and misery” (Aradau, p.28). The modern theorists, known as neo-Malthusian saw that the problem would include “consumption of all resources and environmental degradation” (Aradau, p.28). This modern view sees the problem of over-population both as the cause of “resource depletion and collapse” (Aradau, p.28). Over-population and population displacement would simply lessen the earth’s capacity to sustain life (Aradau, p.28). Industrialization Industrialization presents two faces: development and environmental degradation. Now whether the two are mutually exclusive or not is a big issue. The European countries experienced economic boom with the advent of technology. Discoveries such as steam engine and electricity brought much growth to production, giving rise to surpluses. Being an imperial power, these surpluses were sold in their colonies. The result is a hefty profit and a booming economy. Europe also benefitted from the vast supply of resources from their colonies. The European model has inspired other specifically India to pursue development in the course of industrialization. They believe that “industrialization is necessary to create greater wealth, which in turn enhances human well-being and potential” (Mawdsley). This is just one view, especially if development is defined to include a healthy population and intact natural resources. Old views on development only include increased economic growth, with the GDP as the primary measure (Mawdsley, p.75). This is however limited as it neglects social justice and equality. “Institutions like the World Bank have gradually widened their notions of what constitutes development. Governments and development agencies now take into consideration issues like gender equality, education levels, and the ability to participate in local decision making in measuring and promoting development. Moreover, the modernisation-based paradigm has also shifted to accommodate environmental issues” (Mawdsley, p.75). The proponent of industrialization as a means of development believes in the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKZ). This is a belief that “that industrialization will first lead to increases in pollution, but that it will then provide the wealth and technological advances that are required to achieve sustainable development” (Mawdsley, p.75). They point to the success of London in taking care of the environment after achieving industrialization. This however cannot be applied as a model for the world because Europe has unique characteristics: such as making use of the natural resources of their colonies and “shifting the location of pollution to the new source of production” (Mawdsley, p.77) The Indian thrust of development has indeed been unsuccessful as it “confronts a series of interlocking environmental problems that raises tremendous challenges locally, nationally and globally” (Mawdsley, p.83). India faces problem from both its poor and rich population. Their poor population “carry on taking fuel wood from degraded forests because they are not connected to the electricity network and cannot afford kerosene or gas” and “are forced to work their land or pasture even harder to earn income for their basic needs” (Mawdsley, P.84). On the other hand, their rich population is the primary driver of environmental degradation as they are leading in consumption (Mawdsley, p.84). Although plagued with environmental problems, India hesitates to enact appropriate environmental policies. The “lack of capacity’ and financial limitation is the primary source (Mawdsley, p.90). Obviously, the promise of industrialization is vague in the case of India. There are still a lot of poor and uneven distribution of wealth plus the pressing problem of scarce and abused natural resources. Urbanization “The most celebrated phenomenon, of course, is the burgeoning of new megacities with populations in excess of 8 million and, even more spectacularly, hypercities with more than 20 million inhabitants – the estimated urban population of the world at the time of the French Revolution” (Budds, p.100). Urbanization is experienced in both developed and developing countries. In fact, the former Communist ruled Shangai in China will have as much as “27 million residents in its huge estuarial metro-region” (Budds, p.101). It is safe to say that the world is increasingly becoming urbanized because the percentage of population living in the city is continuously increasing (Budds, p.102). Statistics showed that “the world’s urban population nearly quadrupled between 1950 and 2007, and that much of this growth occurred in low-and middle-income countries, especially Asia” (Budds, p.103). Much of this process is influenced by inequalities. Some powerful sectors or groups may have voice in determining the development of a city. “For instance, a city government will command the financial resources for urban development, decide and justify the priorities for intervention, implement planning decisions made, and may address or prioritise environmental issues in different parts of a city” (Budds, p.120). This urban inequality affects the environment is such a way that not all environmental supports are enacted especially if they run in contrast to the interest of the powerful groups. Urbanization has drastically affected the environment in the same way as over-population. Settlement areas are prevalent in the cities. Because of the large number of popuation in such a type of community, people lack access to safe and clean water and safe sanitation (Budds, p.122). This becomes the causes of environmental health problems including “dehydration, diarrhea, cholera, typhoid and hepatitis A” – diseases which can cause death especially among children (Budds, p.122). The latter are the main problems brought by urbanization. Unclean surroundings brought by over-population and povertycause much damage to the environment. Conclusion Inequality, population growth, industrialization and urbanization are seen to be related with environmental degradation. One thing surfaces from this analysis: economic growth is not the sole determinant of development. Sustainable development is what countries should strive for. One of the most pressing concerns brought by urbanization is air pollution. This is primarily brought by transportation vehicles. The large number of residents requires greater number of both public and private vehicles. City residents prefer riding private vehicles. The greater is the number of private vehicles, the greater the contribution to air pollution. This has made the government in major cities opt for a cheaper and more convenient public transport such as the railways in Manila (Thronged, Creaking and Filthy). Cities with a greater number of residents using private vehicles introduced road charges such as practiced in Singapore, London and Oslo (Thronged, Creaking and Filthy). This move has reduced the number of air pollutants emission. Water Urban dwellers experience problem from both too much and too little water. The danger of flash floods, brought by rising sea levels is serious. We have seen “when Hurricane Katrina swept across Americas Gulf coast on August 29th 2005, deluging New Orleans and making more than 1m people homeless” (Thronged, Creaking and Filthy). This event made the world realize that catastrophic events such as this can hurt both the rich and poor cities. On the other hand, too little water as an effect of climate change has hurt huge cities in China. “Droughts seem to be ever more frequent in northern China, and southern cities such as Guangzhou are also affected. Rivers are drying up: the Yellow river now flows to the sea for only a few weeks a year. And the rain, when it comes, is intensely acid” (Thronged, Creaking and Filthy). Annotated Bibliography "Thronged, Creaking and Filthy." A Special Report on Cities The author attempted to appropriately relates urbanization to many of the environmental problems. With focus on air and water problems, the article mentioned various examples from around the world especially of key cities with specific problems and solutions. The first issue discussed in the article is the problem of air pollution in big cities brought by the increased number of private vehicles. The author also discussed the myriad answers that government of key cities have tried t adopt. This includes payment for the use of private vehicles such as practiced in Singapore and Oslo. The author had a more lengthy discussion of water problem. Both excess and lack of water have become a concern for key cities. Flash flood is inevitable with the rising sea level. This is a climate change that has affected both rich and poor cities. The hurricane Katrina in New Orleans is an example of devastation that has not excused the rich. On the other hand, China faces the problem of too little water supply. This has created economic problem as water became more expensive. By and large, the article relates several environmental problems to the phenomenon of urbanization. References Aradau, Claudia. "Population and Environmental Degradation: Gender, Race and Inequality." Environmental Issues and Responses. Ed. Claudia Aradau, Jessica Budds William Brown. n.d. Budds, Jessica. "Urbanisation: Social and Environmental Ineqaulities in Cities." Environmental Issues and Responses. Ed. Claudia Aradau, Jessica Budds William Brown. n.d. Dallmayr, F. (2002) ‘Globalization and inequality: a plea for social justice’, International Studies Review, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 137–56. David Humphreys, Andrew Blowers. "Climate Change: An introduction to a Heated Debate." A Warming World. n.d. 19. "Industrialisation, Development and Envrironmental Degradation in India." Mawdsley, Emma. Environmental Issues and Responses. Ed. Claudia Aradau, Jessica Budds William Brown. n.d. "Thronged, Creaking and Filthy." A Special Report on Cities United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2006) Annual Report: Generating Equitable Growth [online], http://www.undp.org/publications/ annualreport2006/equitable_growth.shtml (Accessed 22 September 2007). Read More