Poverty and Environment

Poverty and Environment

Discuss the link between poverty and environmental degradation, and wealth and environmental degradation.

Poverty and environmental degradation - a vicious circle

The real "axis of evil" is not "rogue states", but "dangerous circuit between poverty, infectious diseases, environmental degradation and increasing competition for access to oil and other resources." It 'a clear indictment of the White House that emerges from the " State of the World 2005 ", the latest report of the prestigious Worldwatch Institute (Devichand, Mukul, 2007).

The "war on terrorism is shifting world attention from the real causes of instability" - note the editors of the Report. Terrorism is read as a symptom of global insecurity, often perverse effect of the dramatic interaction between poverty, environmental degradation and the spread of disease. The ones that the editors of the report called "problems without passports" create and nurture conditions for instability, war and political extremism thrive. All this is leading the world into a dangerous spiral in which the connective tissue of the nations is compromised, the ability to "political government" of the crisis is now null and develops radicalization. "Addressing these challenges - the experts write the Worldwatch - requires an approach which gives prominence to prevention programs, rather than military responses" (Blastland, 2009).

"A more just and sustainable world is a safer world" - the editors explain. "Rather than continue to strengthen the military power, governments must redouble their efforts to protect human life and the environment, should think about disarmament and post-war reconstruction and redesign the United Nations if they want changes in the future." There are basically three, according to the authors, the actions that governments must put into practice. First of all, strengthen international cooperation to better respond to the problems of poverty, disease and pollution, and secondly to support, through a shift of resources on armaments, the Millennium Development Goals, targets set by the UN for 2015 and finally to support environmental initiatives and joint monitoring programs (Borger, 2008).

There is impressive data provided by the 2005 report titled "Redefining Global Security," the Worldwatch Institute, the American Institute since 1984 an annual report on public health of the planet. In today's world almost two billion people suffer from hunger and food security is often undermined by factors such as availability of water, land tenure and access to resources, poverty and environmental degradation. One of the biggest obstacles to food security is climate change, biodiversity loss and the increase of diseases. The Report noted fact that 14 million people die from infectious diseases and several diseases, like tuberculosis and malaria, are returning to constitute a threat by increasing their geographical spread and many new viruses have been identified during the last three decades. Today from 34 to 46 million people are infected with HIV, especially in less developed countries. In Africa, AIDS is falcidiando whole middle generation, young people aged 15 to 40 years, and thus the band's production company. Every day, 6,000 Africans die of AIDS (Sample, ...