“Please save the world” can be thought of as the epitome of all socially responsible requests. Many people regard a multitude of social issues as unfortunate woes of the world that can be read about in newspapers and watched on television, all at a far and safe distance of personal consequence and reality. One social justice issue that is becoming very real to people worldwide is climate change. The implications of climate change are becoming less subtle and can be seen in the grim fate of countries such as Kiribati and Sundarban countries that are literally being washed away by rising tides, the result of global warming. Both Kiribati and Sundarban are suffering from excessive land loss due to water erosion. These countries, as well as other developing nations, produce very little of the pollution and emissions that are causal to global warming yet are being affected most. The question of what can be done to “save the world” and alleviate the damages caused by the industrialized world has returned this answer: reparations. However, reparations to such nations can seem infeasible and extreme. Even prosperous countries such as the United States have domestic social problems, financial problems and unrest. Do the industrialized nations really have the capability of supporting impoverished, ill-fated countries through an environmental crisis? Lastly, are the fates of these small barely existent islands and poor nations our problem? The aforementioned concerns are understandable but they are not valid reasoning to say that developed nations cannot or should not pay reparations. Industrialized nation’s moral obligation and ability to help are the main reasons why they should be paying a form of reparation for the damages of climate ch... ... middle of paper ... ... the world. Time money and equal efforts need to be spent experimenting the ways in which we can save the world from climate change disasters; just like it is (and has been for years) used to thwart possible political disaster all over the world. “Please save the world” it is a loaded request. Taking steps toward fulfilling this request is not so extreme considering what industrialized nations have already done and achieved in the realm of foreign relief aid and political efforts, as well as the long-established moral obligation that exists. Although it seems simplistic, the reasons why reparations should be paid are because of the developed nation’s obligation to be a samaritan, and their sheer ability to do so. With the betterment of the entire world as motivation, reparative intervention paid by developed nations is possible and should indeed take place.
The Book written by John Broome, Talks about how we as individuals should understand, the full effect we are having, on our environment and ethical issues brought on by our emissions of greenhouse gases. He goes into a lot of detail describing the moral injustice we have caused for the future generations, and many humans today. If we continue to destroy the earth by emitting CO2 in the air, global warming will continue to melt the polar ice caps; we face a crisis that can potentially kill off thousands of people. Broome’s main issue in the book Climate Matters is the moral injustice of Knowing we are doing something wrong and not doing anything to change, because of our transgressions. Broome believes; many people throughout the world will be displaced, because of the constant rising seawater, and many people will die if we continue down this path of destruction. It may not seem like your contribution of CO2 into the Atmosphere can hurt anyone, but when nobody is doing anything to stop it adds up and can have a major effect upon many people around the world. The book Climate Matters was written to shed light on what is considered ethically unjust and what we need to do in order to stop us from destroying the planet, that has provided us with life. One principal argument the book makes is, if we are moral unjust do we need to do something to stop this and does being morally unjust mean anything to people now days or has world become so selfish that we have lost sight of what is right and wrong.
Patel and Moore say that the world hasn't been damaged due to Anthropocene, but on the contrary through Capitalocene. The one way that humans can still live on this planet after all the Capitalocene is through reparation. The reparation is not focused on all of the genocide and conquest that was laid out to get to where we are today. But in fact to think and act on a level were we can communicate and interact with the web of life differently. Seeing that the human beings are the final product in this complex capitalistic system, we can change and improve the system to focus on less destruction and more recreation and equality. Patel and Moore begin by stating the first steps for reparation can begin by looking at our individual ecological footprint. By decreasing our dependence on unnecessary luxury we can take the four fold stress of the planet we live on and increase the survivability of our future
Lomborg writes that for half of the $50 billion a year to help developing countries make adaption to climate change we could prevent 28 million new HIV infections, nearly completely eradicating the HIV/AIDS virus. While we could spend $150 billion a year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and buy an extra six years, “the United Nations estimates that half that amount could permanently solve all of the world’s major problems: it could ensure clean drinking water, sanitation, basic health care, and education for every single person in the world.” (Lomborg). The tough reality is that we live in a world where many people live without the most basic of human needs, struggling to survive. If we prioritize our spending and grant these basic ‘luxuries’ to everyone in the world. Prioritizing aid does not mean we must lose sight of the need to fight global warming, instead it shows us where we can spend money to do the most good now. When these other problems are solved the world will be in a far greater position to tackle global warming. When we live in a world where no one has to worry about access to clean water, nutritious food, and health care think about all of the amazing things that can happen. The aid money used to bring these basic needs to everyone can then be used to ensure everyone has access to education. With education for everyone we are on our way to breaking the poverty cycle. The more educated people we have on earth, the more scientist and engineers we will have who can work on making alternative energy cheaper and more efficient. If we can properly prioritize development aid to the problems that will allow for the greatest impact we will quickly reach the time when the
We must become aware of the fact that the choices we make as individuals, as a society, and as a nation impact others throughout the world. As we do so, we will begin to see that it is through singular events we are interconnected as a global society which makes climate control and the preservation of life a global social problem. If we are to succeed at repairing environmental damage and living a sustainable lifestyle, we will learn to be grateful, value life, and look towards the future. Only when we comprehend that a destroyed ecosystem equals failure for future societies, then we will see value in utilizing fewer resources, acting as good stewards to the earth, and work to recover a troubled
The first part of this essay discusses what the human species has done to deal with the problem of climate change. While some improvements have been made, the problem has not been addressed aggressively enough to stop the damage. What is amazing about this is the denial of so many people that problems exist. If they do realize the risks, they are simply not taking actions to contain the damage.
The global temperature of the earth has risen about 1.8° since 1884, and the amount of land ice is dropping by about 286 gigatonnes per year; these changes to our home planet are the result of our human selfishness and short sightedness. To save our planet, we need to act on a global scale and give up our luxuries for the sake of the whole world. Clearly, the most important thing in life is to take positive action instead of being passive.
There is concern that climate change will have very negative affect on human life and the environment. One concern is the availability of food source. Farmers are starting to see a decline in crops because of the extreme changes in temperature. The changes in temperature reduce both agriculture and crops. The heat from global warming will also cause pests to multiply fast which will also lead to less crops. Global warming will also make water difficult to give to livestock which will cause dehydration and mass death in livestock population. There will also be an Increase of water temperature harming fisheries and wild seafood population. These impacts can threaten human health through malnutrition, food poisoning, and diseases.
What happens when too much carbon dioxide gets omitted into the Earth’s atmosphere? The condition known as Global Warming occurs. Global Warming is the rising of the Earth’s surface temperature due to chemicals in the atmosphere. Global Warming has many threats on the climate and even the health of the people on this planet. Some of these threats include the altering of crop seasons and even effect the way organisms survive on the planet. The first thing I think I should discuss when talking about global warming is what causes it to occur.
Global warming is a major problem around the world that many people choose to remain blind to. This disaster is effected many ecosystems like the polar ice caps and ocean currents. Global warming is affecting humans more than you think a little extra heat could cause. Unfortunately, this problem cannot be fixed but there are simple things that you can do to help slow down the slow process.
Climate change is the change of global temperatures due to the high levels of carbon-dioxide and other destructive gases being released into the atmosphere, warming the earth causing a devastating impact on the ecosystem. The National Research Council concluded that "Climate change is occurring, is very likely caused by human activities, and poses significant risks for a broad range of human and natural systems" (EPA). There are multiple effects of climate change including: increasing sea levels; melting of the polar ice caps; additional extreme heat events, fires and drought; and more extreme storms, rainfall and floods. More than just human beings are affected by climate change. The animals and the insects that inhabit the planet are going into extinction or living under problematic circumstances. According to Preparing for Climate Change geologist predict “that these trends will continue and in some cases accelerate, posing significant risks to human health, our forests, agriculture, freshwater supplies, coastlines, and other natural resources that are vital to the economy, environment, and our quality of life”. Climate change is a phenomenon that has an effect on the whole planet.
The growing global awareness of climate change has encouraged governments and corporations to take steps in preventing climate change, such as passing clean energy legislation (Obama’s plan in the U.S.), limiting deforestation (Brazil), reducing carbon emissions (E.U.), and working together as a planet to pass international laws and help counties that are still developing (like China and India) reduce their negative impact (National Public Radio [NPR], 2011). It is true that this future may take longer to show signs of momentum, however, progress in this movement is sure to be in a positive direction. Hopefully, this direction will include collaborative work to ensure that communities help in the fight against climate change, protection of plants, animals, and oceans, increased usage of alternative energy, and most importantly, encourage global mindfulness. Collaboration and a conscious choice to end climate change are all we need for a brighter, climate change free,
As one of the richest and one of the largest countries in the world, we need to be leaders in fighting climate change. Our roles should set examples for other countries to follow. Not only do we have the responsibility as leaders to other nations to protect this earth,
If we are only based on the current greenhouse gases to determine who has the biggest burden to solve climate change, industrialized countries have less greenhouse emission than the past, whereas developing countries have a higher greenhouse gases emission. According to data compiled by the “Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency”, China now is the top emitter in the world, it is responsible for 28.6% for current greenhouse gases emission, whereas US is only responsible for 16%. However, for historical greenhouse gases emission, US is the top emitter, it is responsible for 28.8% greenhouse gases emission, whereas China is only responsible for 9%. In order to have a sustainable development, certain amount of greenhouse emission cannot be avoided. It is definitely not fair to ignore what people have done in the past and shirk off the responsibility of solving climate change to developing countries. Furthermore, adding extra burden on developing countries cannot solve climate change; instead, it possibly aggravates poverty, famine and inequality. Eventually, it forms a vicious circle, and it slows down the progress of solving climate change. Thus, historical responsibility not only determines who should be responsible for the compensation to the victims, it also acts as a motivation to force the emitters to solve the problems they have made in the
Climate change has been considered by several scientists to be the most earnest threat facing the world today. To begin with, a basic definition of climate change is that it is the long -term shift in weather conditions and that a change in climate would be due to either natural processes or human activity. Climate change can be studied through drilling into glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica. From there, scientists are able to gather significant information about past climate changes, and future climate changes. For example, for around the past 12,000 years, we have been lucky enough to live in an interglacial period, in which we are able to live in a warmer climate. From the data collected, scientists estimate that this interglacial period will last for another 15,000 years. However, this may not be the case if human activities gravely alter the Earth's climate. The impact humans have caused towards the Earth can be deadly for all aspects of the environment. It is important to find a solution.
We have many global problems, but we are lacking global institutions powerful enough to effectively address such problems as global terrorism, human rights abuses, global warming, the ozone layer, pollution of the oceans and rivers, arms trade, child soldiers, war, the weaponization of space, and nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. Finding a way to participate in solving these and other global problems is one of the great challenges of our time.