How Political Approaches to Policies Contribute to Health Well Being - Essay Example

? How Political Approaches to Policies Contribute to Health Well Being How Political Approaches to Policies Contribute to Health Well Being The government, both local and national, exercise control through politics, and this have a significant impact on the implementation of health and environmental policies. Both authorities aim at ensuring high growth in their areas of governance. These policies, however, do not always lead to the development envisioned by the politicians as some do not endorse the concept of health and environmental well being. In the early 1980s, the government’s policies were aimed at liberalization and privatization of state controlled energy companies and dismantling the Department of Energy. This privatization resulted in the government’s inability to watch closely and control the energy markets. However, this changed once the government noted an increase in carbon emissions and air pollution. The government set up the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets which regulated all policies regarding gas and electricity. In the UK between 1990 and 2008, green house gas emissions from the consumption sector increased significantly compared to emissions from the production sector. We note that consumption of foods, travel, household products and travel tourism was responsible to some extent for the pressure on the environment (Moynihan 1999, p.15). This was because the UK economy became more services oriented resulting in the importation of most of the household goods; the UK was, therefore, responsible for the carbon emissions from the imported goods. The government noted that industries are responsible for a significant percentage of the total carbon emissions in the country. In order to curb this problem, the legislators introduced the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) which is a compulsory scheme for all organizations to ensure they meet the emission-reduction standards set by the government. The government introduced Emission Trading, a strategy to reduce pollution caused by gas emissions by providing financial incentives to industries and organizations that achieve the highest emission reduction rates in their CRC schemes. These incentives include tax reduction and enriching the company’s reputation by publicly declaring their efforts in the CRC. The Energy Review of 2006 also point out measures to curb the increase in emission. It contemplated setting up nuclear power stations, but a judicial review into the same ruled it illegal. The UK legislation was asked, by the Energy Review Bill, to revise its policies towards energy and climate change. The bill sort the introduction of the Carbon Capture and Storage, a technology that uses fossil fuel in power generation and other industries, in the UK economy, to reduce the amounts of carbon released into the atmosphere (Beck, K. and Bellin, D 2000, p. 256). Further, the bill sort introduction of the use renewable energy in power generation and industries. This initiative is seen as a key step towards reduction of emissions. The Department of Energy and Climate Change was set up and mandated to grant licenses on the works pertaining offshore gas and oil extraction. The Department of Energy and Climate Change and healthcare experts established a close relation between the quality of the environment and the health of its population. They considered both the indoor and outdoor environments. The indoor environment in homes profoundly impacts the health of its occupants, for instance, dirty burning fuels caused air pollution in homes which was closely associated with lung problems and death. This led to the government’s introduction of policies to govern the fuels used domestically lead to the introduction of high quality cooking stoves countrywide. Certain household contaminants were also attributed to poor health. Investigations have shown that some dry wall emit sulfur that not only corrodes electrical wiring, which cause death through electrocution, but also cause breathing problems and migraines. The Department of Energy and Climate Change argue that the effects of gas emissions should not be downplayed when considering global warming. Gas emissions lead to depletion of the ozone layer thereby resulting in higher temperatures, which have led to an increased speed in disease prevalence. Diseases such as allergies, heart complications and cancer are on the increase (DECC 2009, p.135). Moreover, they note that due to the increase in global temperatures, diseases that were previously localized in the hot areas are now being experienced in cooler areas where residents do not have natural protection against them. Insects and parasites that transmit diseases were previously associated with hot and humid areas, but as a result of the impact of climate change on the environment, these insects are now becoming commonplace in the formerly cool areas. The increase in temperature levels around the world has led to the depletion of rain forests, which were a primary source of medicine. A major concern among healthcare experts is that due to the depletion of these rain forests that were home to thousands of tree species, among which could eliminate some of the most deadly diseases will lead to increased mortality. The policy approach in government establishes that health and environment are interconnected, so in order to address the issues in one, then the issues in the other field must also be resolved. The Energy White Paper of 2007 set out the government strategies in dealing with the long term energy and emissions crises both locally and internationally. The policy aims at cutting carbon emissions by up to 60% by the year 2050 and maintains reliable, renewable energy supplies (Beck, K. and Bellin, D 2000, p. 62). It also aims at ensuring all homes in the UK are adequately heated by use of natural gases thus steering aside from fuel based heating solutions. This government policy establishes that energy forms the basis of, not only household lives, but the economy as a whole, therefore, measures to harness energy by attaining the lowest levels of emission should be employed. The policy also aims at tackling the problems arising from emissions from production and distribution of both electricity and fuel in transportation and the household setting (DECC 2009, p.65). The White Paper also aimed at introducing a carbon price floor aimed at lowering the price of European Union Emissions Allowance traded in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. This will result in an increase, in the carbon price floor, thus resulting in increased investment, by stakeholders, in low carbon technology. The government also enacted the Climate Change Levy (CCL) of 2001 which charges an organization for its energy consumption. This measure is set to push organizations to adopt low carbon technologies in their production and fuel utilization in order to reduce their emission (Mahon, A., Walshe, K. and Chambers, N. 2009, p.63). However, this policy does not apply to the domestic and transport sectors so do not fully address their influence in gas emissions. In addition, the government introduced the Climate Change Agreement and the Levy Exemption Certificate to improve further on its measures to reduce emissions. The Climate Change Agreement gives discounts to organizations that reach additional carbon dioxide reduction targets, while the Levy Exemption Certificate ensures organizations that use renewable energy are exempted from paying this levy. The participation of the UK in the Kyoto protocol on climate change has seen a drastic improvement in reduction of emissions. The Kyoto protocol on climate change aims at reducing countries’ green house gases emissions. Stakeholders in both the energy and production sectors of the UK economy have been urged to participate more in the reduction of emissions to further improve the air. Through corporate social responsibility, organizations should strive to ensure their production and transportation protocols meet the government’s plan to reduce emissions. They should also engage in measures to curb the current rise in global warming by engaging in tree planting exercises. Experts have noted that trees help in clearing out toxins from the air because they absorb carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The government has set up the CRC performance league table which is a publicized list of organizations and the ranking on their CRC achievements. This is aimed at improving the reputation of organizations that achieve these goals, and encourage others to join in the scheme. The organizations are mandated to engage in innovation into less wasteful production techniques that result in the use of fewer raw materials and incorporation of more renewable resource usage in manufacturing and energy production. Electricity generating companies are urged to switch to the utilization of renewable sources of energy such as the sun, wind and water. We note that electricity generating companies have started shifting towards renewable energy as some have incorporated the use of wind mills in their production (Mahon, A., Walshe, K. and Chambers, N. 2009, p.137). In conclusion, industries are required to find ways of minimizing environmental pollution caused by their effluent and gases from their chimneys. The emission reduction policies aim at changing peoples’ and industries’ performance by providing incentives to industries to reduce the amount of pollutants they released into the environment. These policies encourage the use of renewable resources, reduction in raw material usage, and new approaches to production that lead to the lowest amount of pressure on the environment (DECC 2009, p.265). The used oil policies were established to oversee the disposal of oil based wastes. Land use policies control housing, land development and transportation. These policies recognize the need to protect the environment, more importantly the air, against the potential harmful effects of development. The policy protects forests, water catchment areas and other natural resources from encroachment. The environment, more importantly the air, when not properly maintained, can lead to health problems. Environmental epidemiology studies the relationship between health and exposure to chemical gases. The study notes a particular relationship between gases in the environment and their effects on health. For instance, exposure to radioactive materials and their gases results in serious health problems, or death. These toxins are also known to cause damage to the immune system, therefore, leaving the body unprotected against a wide range of diseases. Air quality, both indoor and outdoor; profoundly affect health as air pollutants are known to cause lung diseases and suffocation. Climate change as a result of emissions has been associated with disease and pathogen prevalence as a result of increased temperatures (Henson 2011, p.35 ). Manmade disasters in an environment also affect health; nuclear bombs used during combat cause both physical and mental health problems for the affected people. A sustainable environment ensures the health of its inhabitants because it protects the fundamental aspect of health i.e., clean air. Through a sustainable environment, pollution, which is a leading source of healthcare problems, is significantly minimized as industries produce fewer air pollutants into the environment. In addition, a sustainable environment will curb the problem of climate change, thereby solving the problem of increased pathogens and disease epidemics. A sustainable environment will also provide adequate amounts of both food and water for its population, thus curbing health problems such as deficiency syndromes. Health and well being of a population mean they will be more willing and ready to work towards the realization of a sustainable environment. Sustainable environment should promote the health of both the existing and coming generations (DECC 2009, p.265). Political commitment to health and environmental matters will lead to the development of a sustainable environment. These policies should seek to form an association between health and environment sectors on the mutual belief that one cannot fully function without the other. It is the government’s obligation, at all levels, to ensure safe, environmental conditions where the health of its citizens is upheld. However, we note that the short time horizons set by politicians do not always enact laws that govern against emissions either domestically or from transportation. Some of the policies established fall below the expectations of what healthcare providers and environmental experts had envisioned. Moreover, the incentives provided by the government to organizations that achieve the highest carbon reduction standards, do not necessarily improve performance and innovation in the carbon reduction technology. The government policies should, therefore, be amended to ensure they provide maximum incentives to encourage low carbon innovations among the stakeholders. The government and other stakeholders should engage in more vigorous tree planting schemes, to further assistance in ridding the atmosphere off the carbon dioxide emitted by industries and households. References Henson, R.2011, The Rough Guide to Climate Change (3rd ed.). Rough Guides. London.  Moynihan, D.P. 1999, Policy vs. Program in the 1990s. ‘National Affairs’(5th ed.) pp. 14–16. Beck, K. and Bellin, D. 2000. The CRC Card Book. Addison Wesley, Liverpool. Mahon, A., Walshe, K. and Chambers, N. 2009, A Reader in Health Policy and Management. Open University Press, Maidenhead. The Department of Energy and Climate Change. 2009, UK at forefront of a low carbon economic revolution, London. Read More