Environmental Damage, Cost of Living and Healthcare Cost - Essay Example

Environmental Damage, Cost Of Living And Healthcare Cost. Environmental damage Environmental destructions are growing social problems that have already shown effects like rising temperatures and melting of glaciers in Himalayas. Destruction of the environment occurs frequently because of the increasing population. The rising population requires food, shelter and other basic needs such as oil. Destruction of environment happens daily because of expansion of cities brought about by the increasing population. This causes depletion of natural resources such as water, soil and forest (Glacial environments, n.d.). Additionally, natural processes that are significant for environment and development of natural resources are affected. For example; photosynthesis and nitrogen cycle are vital to the development of natural resources such as forests. Increasing population in developed countries also leads to a high demand of resources and growth of industries. Industries releases CO2 to the atmosphere, which causes global warming. CO2 in the atmosphere is increased by the destruction of forests and burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil. CO2 is a greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. Global warming is the increase of temperatures on the earth surface and this has an effect on the water sea level. Glazers melt increasing the level of water in the sea. This is a social problem because the population closest to the sea is affected. The rising water levels in the sea flood their homes forcing them to move to other places (Glacial Environments, n.d.). Cost of living Cost of living is currently high in the society and most likely to increase in future. Cost of living is the cost spent in the achievement of minimum requirements for satisfaction. In the UK, the current cost of living is high and it has severely affected the population. The rise is due to increasing cost of goods such as food, fuel and health care. Additionally, wages have not risen to match the increasing cost of goods. However, the cost of living is likely to rise in the future, not only in the UK, but in every society. The cost of health care services, education and housing will rise in the future (Chorley, 2013). The future societies will have problems in the purchase of housing. This is driven by two factors; increasing population and insufficient resources to provide enough housing. Additionally, increasing cost of living will affect the health of the society. The population will have problems accessing private insurance that provides better services than public health care insurance. The developing world will be affected by the increasing cost of living, because it will impact on the cost of food. Research shows that the increasing economic crisis is directly related increasing price of foodstuffs. This will at the end lead to increase in child mortality rate due to the development of nutritional disorders (Chorley, 2013). Healthcare The cost of health care will increase in future, making difficult it for many individuals in the society to access it. In the U.S. the cost of health care is high and increasing. For example, it is estimated that the United States spent close to $2.1 trillion in the provision of health care services to its population. This is far more than any other country. The cost of health care in the U.S. is increasing every year at the rate of 7%. This will be a social problem for the future generation because disposable income will have been eroded by the increasing taxes, increasing cost of private healthcare and inflation (American Nurses Association, 1998). Discrimination and racism have largely affected minority groups in the society. For example, the minority population in the American society has been discriminated or has been racially discriminated and has not been able to obtain services to a required level. Racial discrimination is the failure to provide equal opportunities to certain groups or minority groups in the society such as education, job promotion employment, health care and housing. Racial discrimination has been common in the provision of health care services by health care providers, mainly towards minority groups and groups of different ethnic background in the American society. Racism has implication to the society and especially the minority groups of different races with health care providers. This is because they are provided with limited health care services and also preventive services (American Nurses Association, 1998). Effect by Race, Class and Gender The results are developing cases of mortality and morbidity rates among the individuals of different races. Quality health care to minority groups in the American society is limited and improvements by the government have yielded poor results. A study by the American Nurses Association (1998), shows that the health of Americans varies substantially due to differential of race. For example, there are certain disorders common in minority groups at a higher rate than white Americans. The prevalence rate of chronic disorders such as cancer is high and common cause of death among Vietnamese and Chinese groups. However, organizations such as the American Nurses Association is suggesting adoption and development of policies to curb such cases of racial discrimination in health care for better provision of services to all races in the United States. But if this is not done, the future society will be severely affected especially the minority races. Gender disparity has for ages brought differences in payment with men taking larger percentage of pay than women. This is despite the similarity in education between men and women. Also they have the same job opportunities but still payment is not the same. Alkadry and Tower (2006), show that women earn 79.7% of men’s’ remuneration despite taking over in industries, working for longer hours and having the same working experience. This has so far affected the cost of living between women and men. Women experience high cost of living because of high demand from necessities and less disposable income. However, this is likely to change in future because of current policies calling for equal gender pay. Political and Economic Issues Consumption of resources throughout the world varies, some communities in other parts of the world consume resources at a high rate that might affect the future generation or leave them with no resources. However, the future is likely to be better because of the current policies adopted by states to curb environmental damages and increasing pollution. For example, industrial pollution in China that led to development of policies to prohibit air pollution. Japan enacted environmental policies in the 1970s after research unveiled that industries were polluting rivers by disposing waste with high content of mercury. However, the future is far much better and environmental damage will be a thing of the past provided that countries adopt significant measures that curb environmental degradation. Additionally, social problems arising due to environmental damage will decrease substantially (The Economist, 2013). Political and economic issues have an impact on the global health issues. This can be evidenced by serious political issues that NGOs and states have been engaged for the past years to address viral disorders such as HIV. Additionally, states have previously increased resources to increase economic capital and address global health. This can be evidenced by a financial increase between 2002 and 2008 by states for funding of developing countries to access vaccines and the provision of HIV individuals with Anti-retroviral drugs. However, the future is not good for health care services to the society because of increasing population and decreasing resources. It is estimated that by 2025 the world will be faced with more difficulties in accessing basic necessities such as food, water and energy. These will pose a significant threat on health and more on vulnerable groups in developing countries (Fidler 2008). References Alkadry, M., G. and Tower L., E. (2006). Unequal Pay: The Role of Gender. West Virginia University American Nurses Association. (1998). Discrimination and Racism in Health Care. Retrieved from < http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/Policy-Advocacy/Positions-and-Resolutions/ANAPositionStatements/Position-Statements-Alphabetically/Copy-of-prtetdisrac14448.html > Chorley, M. (2013, October 16). Revealed: The cost of living is rising faster in the UK than anywhere in Europe, with soaring food and energy bills blamed. Mail online. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2463143/The-cost-living-rising-faster-UK-Europe-soaring-food-energy-bills.html Fidler, D. P. (2008). After the Revolution: Global Health Politics in a Time of Economic Crisis and Threatening Future Trends. Global Health Governance, 2(2), 1-21. Glacial environments, (n.d.). Glacial environments- How will melting glaciers affect people living in other countries. Retrieved from The Economist. (2008).China and the environment The East is grey. Retrieved from < http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21583245-china-worlds-worst-polluter-largest-investor-green-energy-its-rise-will-have Read More