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Corruption in globalization
Comparison of rich and poor
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I have always wondered why so many Americans seem disinterested in global inequalities and environmental issues. I do not believe that we are a selfish people without concern for the world's poor or the well being of future generations. So the question is, why aren't more of us environmentalists? In light of this question, I suggest we think about our privileged position in the world. And rather than feeling guilty or self-satisfied about it, we should decide to be energized by our relative fortune. This energy might propel us to care for the environment and our fellow creatures at a level not currently realized.
While I have little specialized knowledge of the demographics of college's student body, it's probably safe to assume several things. We are wealthier, more educated, better fed, drink cleaner water, and have better access to information than most people in this world. We all also live in a country where we can do many things more safely and readily than most can elsewhere. We can write, speak, or visit our state and federal representatives and expect to be heard. We can protest peacefully without fear of violent repercussions. We can expect our legal system to defend us against unsubstantiated charges. And, we can affiliate ourselves with organizations of our own choosing. In sum, we are privileged.
If you have any doubts how fortunate you are, consider the following global snapshots: One-fourth of the world's people live on $1 or less a day; nearly half (47%) live on $2 or less. Over 40 percent of the world's population lives without basic sanitation. Only one out of every twelve people uses a personal computer and only half of them have access to the Internet. Only one out of fifty people in the world has a college degree and, shockingly, only one out of every fourteen has been educated at a high school level (PCFS). Can our privilege be denied?
As thankful as we might be, being thankful isn't enough. We need to ask at least two follow up questions: What makes us so fortunate; and, do we have an obligation to others less fortunate?
How did we become so fortunate, and others so unfortunate?
In Michael Pollan’s “Why Bother?” Pollan argues that each person can contribute to helping to the environment by erasing their carbon footprints. In my everyday life I experience the choice of driving my car to work or riding my bike. More often than not I choose to drive my car because it is the easier option. I, along with many other people, believe that my individual impact will not cause a larger impact on the global scale. In Pollan’s essay, he makes each person think about the effect they are leaving on the environment and how each person, as an individual, can change his ways before it is too late. Wendell Berry, a naturalist and well-respected and influential writer, was a key factor in recognition of the environmental crisis and how to solve the problem.
College education also does a large of things for college students, these things can be both counted and not counted. Delbanco wrote about this when he wrote “The best reason to care about college – who goes,.... is not what it does for society in economic terms but what it can do for individuals, in both calculable and incalculable ways”(Delbanco 507). In the article Delbanco writes about what one of the alumni at one of his talks said to him afterwards. He writes about the experience of this alumni in his article when he writes “Not only had a college education enriched his capacity to read demanding works of literature and to grasp fundamental political ideas, it had also heightened and deepened his alertness to color and form, melody and harmony...Such an education is a hedge against utilitarian values”(Delbanco 508). Delbanco also wrote how college education has maintained the same in some ways for many years. He writes “The tradition of liberal learning survived and thrived throughout European history but remained largely the possession of ruling elites. The distinctive American contribution has been the attempt to democratize it, to deploy it on behalf of things cardinal American principle that all persons, regardless of origin, have the to pursue happiness… is helpful to that pursuit. Educated can be characterized as “snobbish and narrow”, but that is not
...hnology. The Pandora’s Box of human germ-line engineering does appear beautiful from outside but if opened, many negative health and economic consequences can be unleashed. An international ban of human germ-line engineering is required to keep this technology under control.
In 1989, seventy five percent of Americans identified themselves as environmentalists, and the number has continued to grow since then (Walls 1). Environmentalism is now the most popular social movement in the United States, with over five million American families donating regularly to environmental organizations (Walls 1). Environmentalists today focus on what kind of world they hope to see in the future, and largely deal with limiting pollution and changing consumption rates (Kent 1 and 9). Modern environmentalists also have much different issues than those Carson’s America faced. With climate change becoming more threatening each year, protection of the natural world is needed more than ever. Pollution has caused the warmest decade in history, the deterioration of the ozone layer, and species extinction in extreme numbers (Hunter 2). It not only threatens nature, but also human populations, who already suffer from lack of clean water and poisoning from toxic chemicals (Hunter 16). Unlike environmental actions in the 1960’s, which were mostly focused on protection, a massive increase in pollution has caused efforts to be focused on environmental restoration (Hunter 16). Like in the time of Silent Spring, environmentalists are not only concerned with one country. Protecting the environment remains a global issue, and every nation is threatened by the
I will be discussing Environmental Justice as defined by Julie Sze and London, is the social movement that came from environmental racism which involves paying less attention to environmental concerns such as pollution among racial minorities (Sze and London 1332). Therefore, there are two parts of environmental justice and the first is that it battles environmental racism ad second, it deals with issues and policies regarding natural resources like air, water and land (Sze and London 1336).
Throughout our successful lives, though, we can't forget those who struggle and we can't forget to take care of our families and community.
promote/advise tourists on how to behaviour to stay safe, and respect cultures to aim towards sustainability, but with the high amount of tourists not everyone will listen, and the actions of locals cannot be determined even with policy.
Sustainability is the ability to be sustained, supported, upheld or confirmed. According to UN (2014), “sustainability is the procedure of development which assists the future generation ability to meet their needs with present needs. The utmost practice of sustainability is in relation to sustainability development. Sustainable development is a forming standard for human life on a determinate world (d.n, 2014).
The Flow rate estimation of residential sewage is based on population numbers. The flow rate varies on daily and weekly cycles basis, the variation is in the range of 0.5...1.5 times average flow. Industrial effluent should be estimated on a case by case basis, depending on the plant type. The amount of leakage water present depends on a number of variables, such as water table level, local rainfall and soil characteristics and general condition of the subterranean pipework. It can be estimated as units per pipeline length unit, e.g. kilometer or as a ratio related to quantity of the sewage.
Oedipus The King is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles warning about the dangers of arrogance and power, as well as the power of fate and the Gods. Oedipus is the tragic hero of the plot who was destined from birth to kill his father and marry his mother, which prompts his parents, the King and Queen of Thebes, to send him to the mountainside to die. However, the King and Queen of Corinth save him from death. As a man, he returns to Thebes, in order to not fulfill the prophecy against his parents, but he does not know about his origins. On his way to Thebes he kills a man, and at Thebes he solves the riddle of the Sphinx which earns him the title of King and marries the queen. When the murder mystery of the previous king, King Laius, resurfaces, it is discovered the Oedipus killed King Laius without knowing he was king or his father and married his mother, this fulfilling the prophecy. Full of misery and guilt, the queen Jocasta, commits suicide and Oedipus blinds himself. Due to Oedipus’ excessive hubris, he creates his own misery throughout the play and his downfall. The notion of hubris is introduced when Oedipus reopens the murder case of King Laius, followed by his blindness to the truth, and the end of his reign and banishment from Thebes.
In environmental science, there are a set of terms that represent different ways one views his/her relationship with the environment. These terms, called value systems, describe a spectrum ranging from ecocentric, or highly valuing the environment, to technocentric, or valuing technological innovation over the natural environment. In the middle of the spectrum, is another perspective known as anthropocentrism, which describes one’s valuing of humans over the environment. As human civilization became the dominant species on earth, the environment became insignificant compared to the needs of civilization. The natural world became nothing more than a means to provide humans
When discussing the word sustainability, the first topic that comes to mind is the environment. We as humans have “received a particular view of what sustainability means,” believing that it is “essentially about eco-efficiency” (Foundation for International Education). Although the environment is an aspect of being sustainable, the word encompasses much more. Webster’s English Dictionary defines the word as “using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.” Being sustainable can relate to every aspect of life, whether it be environmental, social, or economical. These three areas contribute to sustainability and the idea of holistic effectiveness. According to the FIE Sustainability Lecture, something is “holistic because it is not just concerned with ecology but also the economy and society, and it is effective rather than efficient because it is not just concerned with doing less harm but with making a positive impact.” In a large metropolitan city such as London, it is easy to analyze these three areas with their relation to sustainability. In every heavily populated city, traffic volume is a big issue; London being
What will the world look like fifty years from now? Many people might imagine living in a future where flying cars and teleportation are possibilities, but for environmentalists the future does not look as bright or exciting. Environmentalists fear that without radical change and global action towards sustainability the earth will soon become completely inhospitable. People see it in the news all the time about how the ice caps are melting, Earth’s forests are disappearing, and natural disasters are more recurrent and severe than ever all due to human activity. It also does not take a whole lot of looking around to notice the price of everything going up or the steady climb of the world population nowadays. Globally, humans are faced with the problem of providing for an ever increasing population with a finite amount of resources. One solution environmentalists have proposed is sustainability. As resources become more limited and the world population grows, the aspects of sustainability- the principles, major components, topics of concern, and human responsibility towards sustainability become increasingly relevant in global society.
The environment and health are very closely linked. The environment in which we inhabit and go about our daily lives, directly impacts on our physical, mental and social well-being. There are biological, chemical and physical factors that can affect human health in a physical and mental way. The World Health Organisation states that "health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" (WHO 1948), meaning that although many factors relating to health are associated with environmental pollution, they can also be caused by the environment in which we work and live in. The relationship between the environment and health, can however be quite complex. Human health is not only as a result of air, water and ground pollution, but also things such as food, genetics, life style and quality, which directly affect human susceptibility to illness, disease and possibly death. Disruptions to the environment, such as substance dispersal, climate change, acidification, ground pollution, photochemical air pollution and over fertilisation can also impact on human health. Therefore, there are direct and indirect links to the environment and health issues.
Environmental ethics is a philosophical sub-discipline that was developed in the late 1960s to early ‘70s. This was after scientists such as Dr. Keeling took measurements of the rise in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In addition Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring sparked talks worldwide of which actions are ecofriendly and which ones are not. Issues such as seeing all components of the environment as having an intrinsic value rather than some to be having only the instrumental value also surfaced. Moreover, environmental ethics concerning feminism- viewing the world as a female that is male dominated- and socio-political connections. Environmental ethics is therefore defined as the branch of philosophical studies that deals with the human and nonhuman moral relationship and also there value status (Varner, 1998).