Environmentalpollution and disasters
Environmentalpollution and disasters
Theproblem of environmental pollution is quite real and goes a long wayin giving rise to some disasters that are experienced in the world.They are most often brought about by some social and environmentalinequalities that do exist between different places and people. Forinstance, where some companies hold the view that they have a hugeinput in the economy, they are highly bound to hold the view thatthey could get away with causing some pollution to the environment(Chanppa and Kulshrestha, 2016). Such companies could also be highlyreluctant to adopt remedies that are geared towards cleaning up thepollution that they have caused to the environment. This is becausethe cost of clearing the mess is considerably high and as a result,such organizations could shy away from engaging in such an activity.
Amongthe various ways through which different companies may avert payingfor the damage that they do cause to the environment could be throughfailing to indicate the amount of waste that they have released. Itcould also involve falsifying figures to show that the amount ofwaste that they have released to the environment is quite low. In thelong run, this sends a wrong picture to the regulatory bodies thatsuch companies are not involved in activities that have the potentialto cause great harm to the environment. These are extreme cases wheresuch companies may be involved in activities that include giving outbribes to the regulatory authorities so that they may not be heldculpable for the great level of degradation that they do cause uponthe environment. Although these actions are illegal, some of them endup not being noticed and as a result, cause huge problems to manypeople.
Peoplewho come from low-scale areas with little economic ability face thereal danger of not being able fight for their rights. They are,therefore, not able to protect themselves from the dangerous effectsof environmental pollution that are caused by those that causes thepollution in the first place. Some of these challenges do include thescarcity of food that is caused by climate change as a result ofenvironmental pollution (Faure and Wibisana, 2013). They are also notable to get better places to reside in as a result of the changingenvironmental conditions of different places. Such places are,therefore, not fit for human habitation as they could be faced byextreme cases of severe climatic conditions such as very hightemperatures and the unavailability of water.
Anotherproblem that is quite real as a result of environmental pollution isthe real danger of contracting various health problems as a result ofbeing exposed to pollutants. Some of them do include respiratoryillnesses such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) as aresult of the release of various air pollutants to the atmosphere.This problem most often affects people who have poor economiccapability (Sandler and Pezzullo, 2007). This is because they do lackthe capacity to change their environment and avoid areas that arehighly polluted and risky for their level of health. They also findit hard to obtain treatment for the health problems that they doincur. As a result, some of them could succumb to the health problemsthat are caused by the pollution brought about by industries.
Thisis a clear indication of the differences and asymmetry that lies inthe environmental issues in different areas. This presents a classicsituation of environmental injustice where some parties take part inthe irresponsible pollution of the environment but other parties aremade to pay the price, in the extreme measures, with their own lives(Chanppa and Kulshrestha, 2016). In most cases, the parties that areinvolved in the pollution of the environment are those with a highlevel of economic capability. As long as their lies a disparity interms of the economic capability among people in differentgeographical regions, there is a high likelihood of such a situationtaking place over and over again. This also goes hand in hand withsome entities feeling that they are above the law since they do havea high level of economic output to the community. This calls forstricter rules as it pertains to the regulation of environmentalpractices.
Someof the situations highlighted above present cases of disasters.Although some of these cases are seen to be natural in nature, theyare, however, brought about by human activities (Kondratyev, 2010).It is quite unfortunate that people who have less as it regards tothe pollution of the environment end up suffering more compared tothose who actually take part in worsening the situation. It is,therefore, quite important for effective measures to be establishedso that some element of environmental equality could be developed.Those who doe cause the cases of environmental pollution need to paymore for the cost of remediation of their actions and the effectsthat they have had upon the environment.
Theyalso need to be held accountable and brought to adhere to theenvironmental policies and procedures that are laid down so that theymay not make other people suffer as a result off their actions. Thissituation can be dealt with through the use of various strategiessuch as environmental movements (Sandler and Pezzullo, 2007).Environmental movements help to fight for the plight of those who arenot in a position to defend themselves as a result of illenvironmental practices that are committed by other parties. Theyhelp to make all entities that are involved in environmentalregulation to make measures that will help to motivate more peopleadhere to the environmental regulations.
Inconclusion, some disasters are caused by environmental pollution as aresult of the increased production and consumption levels that createthe need for the exploitation of resources in the modern society.Many disasters may be avoided through coming up with strategies thatwill help to ensure that there is an element of equality in term ofhow different entities handle the issue of environmental protection.This situation may be achieved through the concerted efforts ofvarious parties who may come up in dealing with environmental issues.Among the various strategies that could be applied so as to aid inthis situation, is for there to be proper mingling of people withvaried economic capabilities in different geographical regions sothat some element of fairness could be obtained in terms of how theyare able to benefit from the environment in which they are placed.
References
Chanppa,R., & Kulshrestha, U. C. (2016). Sustainableair pollution management: Theory and practice.
Faure,M., & Wibisana, A. (2013). Regulatingdisasters, climate change and environmental harm: Lessons from theIndonesian experience.Northampton, Mass: Edward Elgar Pub.
Kondratyev,K. Y. (2010). Naturaldisasters as interactive components of global-ecodynamics.S.l.: Springer.
Sandler,R. D., & Pezzullo, P. C. (2007). Environmentaljustice and environmentalism: The social justice challenge to theenvironmental movement.Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.