Whenever the issue of environmental management arises, it causes a stir in both the political and social circles. There are always comparisons between the environmental situations in different parts of the world. This paper focuses on factors affecting the overall influence that certain economic elements have on the environmental quality. Such factors may include lack of proper knowledge and inadequacy of resources. It is important to note that various components define the environment, such as the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis (EKC). The EKC and the citizens of a developing country can explain the reasons for the state of environmental quality in developing countries.
EKC is a graphical illustration of the relationship between the various pollutants and per capita income (Dinda 433). The basic concept implies that there is a direct relationship between environmental pressure and the level of income. Therefore, the pressure increases to the point where the income starts increasing as well. The EKC concept is more of an economic overview of the environmental quality that defines a major concept, which strengthens its argument. The concept is the notion that high income influences people’s expectations and preferences for a quality environment, which means high income is directly proportional to the need for environmental quality (Dinda 440). Overall, the logic behind the EKC reasoning revolves around the fact that the environmental quality changes according to the
Other studies have been completed that suggest evidence against an Environmental Kuznets Curve. It is safe to say that a nation with environmental regulations is a nation that is more developed and has higher income per capita, such that they can spare growth for protection of the environment. A nation that is less developed can’t make the sacrifice for the protection of the environment and must focus solely on economic growth.
Oh, what a unique and beautiful world we live in! How marvelous is nature and its habitants who have respected this place since the beginning of their existence. Although, there came a species that disrupted the harmony of life, destroying this precious land because of their will to dominate. What a catastrophe they have created for the environment by contaminating the natural resources that men willingly take for granted. I believe land pollution is important and should be considered a serious problem because it negatively affects human health, it creates more pollution in other settings, and overall it results in environmental degradation.
The global decline of the environment is readily observable. Today, the quality of air, water and land resources is increasingly compromised because of the pollutants that contaminate the environment. For the sake of industrialization and economic development, some countries are willing to risk their natural resources. Environmental degradation can be seen anywhere. According to some observers, environmental degradation is more rampant in countries with poor economic conditions as compared to more affluent countries (Ambler, n.d.). China and India, for instance, are developing countries yet it is among the biggest contributor to air pollution in terms of carbon dioxide emission ( PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, 2014). Most often, leaders of developing economies are willing to
Green GDP can be difficult to measure because of the problems implicit in trying to quantify the costs of ecological and environmental damage. “Societies should be able to see how market consumption affects the consumption of public goods like beautiful views, clean air, and clean water”. The policies of the green GDP has been putting efforts to unite economic and environmental concerns. “Another reason to measure green GDP is that environmentalists want to track the provision of nature's benefits over time, either to hold governments accountable or to compare their environmental conditions with those of another country” . This explains how the green GDP is put into place to take on account any financial damage was done to the environment. As well as, the economic growth it spurred that is opposed to the environmental damage it has done (Boyd,
A major worry humans have in the world today is having an environmentally sustainable society. Humans are ruining the earth day by day and now it is unsure if it is possible to fix it. An environmentally sustainable environment is defined as a society that satisfies the basic needs of its people without depleting or degrading its natural resources. This means saving the earth so it can become sustainable to live on for millions more years without using all of its resources. An environmentally sustainable society is possible because people can help change the earth by decreasing waste, use less resources, and cleaning up the planet.
Living on the Earth, it is important for each of the organizations as well as individuals to help with making it a better place to live. However for the current time, environmental degradation is still one of the most threatening problems confronted with human beings. The carbon dioxide emission has made the global warmth, which may cause the diminishing of lands where human beings could live on; air pollution has caused more diseases, climate change has led to more serious problems in biodiversity which is important to form a balanced natural environment, water toxic pollution has reduced the available access to clean water. In the everyday life of human beings, the unfavorable influences on the environment could be worse on condition that environmental degradation is not paid with enough attention (Bare, 2014). For instance, the applying of cars, which would cause inevitable air pollution and energy consumption, would add pressure for environmental protection (David and Michael, 2014). For the environmental sustainability, the individual activities are essential, but the responsibility of individuals could not be described as primary as the roles of organizations are rather important. This essay is going to talk about the responsibility of individual customers for environmental sustainability, as well as the responsibility of organizations. To form the environmental
"Oh, what a catastrophe, what a maiming of love when it was made personal, merely personal feeling. This is what is the matter with us: we are bleeding at the roots because we are cut off from the earth and sun and stars. Love has become a grinning mockery because, poor blossom, we plucked it from its stem on the Tree of Life and expected it to keep on blooming in our civilized vase on the table." - D.H. Lawrence
The evolution of environmental sustainability started in the 20th century, the first problem recognized by the environmental managers was the air pollution which creates smog because of the automobiles and industries but that was not the only problem.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, environmental sustainability is “to create and maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future generations.” (“Learn About Sustainability”, 2016) Although this is an American agency, the definition fits what the European Union is trying to accomplish which is to meet the demands of the present without sacrificing those needs of future generations. By practicing environmental sustainability, one is preserving the environment for future generations to enjoy and use.
Americans became concerned about the environment in the latter part of the 20th century. Victory over Nazi-Germany was a result of industrialization; however it was detrimental for the environment. With industries booming, meant more pollution affecting natural resources. DDT was helping to save millions of lives from fatal disease, but there was minimal evidence as to how harmful this insecticide was for both humans and animals. Throughout the 1960’s new research was discovered as to the impacts destroying the environment. Activists as well as politicians began to incorporate the value of protecting the environment into mainstream events. This gave the perfect opportunity for new organizations to arise, which over a dozen did. The most influential one being Greenpeace as it was the first organization to spread awareness about environmental issues, and is now the largest organization promoting a green and peaceful world.
Economic development is one perspective which plays a huge role in sustainability and the environment we live in. Unfortunately, many people do not reap the benefits of a prosperous economy, and in fact, the relationship between economy and the environment play a pivotal influence regarding ineffective sustainability currently throughout the world. Michael Carley and Phillipe Spapens write in their book ‘Sharing
Rainforest peoples have adapted to living in their environment, making use of their resources while respecting the nature around them. The countries with the largest areas of Rainforest are Brazil, Congo, Peru, Indonesia and Colombia. Nature is vital for these people and without it, those people would have no way of surviving the harsh conditions of the rainforest. In comparison, we have changed our environment, making it less dangerous and giving us a much easier way of life. In the UK, there are supermarkets, farmers and brick houses, which contribute into our way of life. We are much more cautious around animals and nature, whereas Rainforest peoples live in their houses amongst it.
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, sustainability is defined as “of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged” (Merriam-Webster, 2017). The Federal Government regulates the specific use and protection of natural resources through the Environmental Protection Agency (henceforth, EPA). In 1962 Rachel Carson published a book called “Silent Spring” which popularized the idea of environmental protection (EPA History, 2017). The momentum for protection of the environment grew until, in 1970, President Richard Nixon established the EPA (EPA History, 2017). The EPA bases their sustainability efforts on the idea that, “everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. To pursue sustainability is to create and maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future generations.” (Learn About Sustainability, 2016). The stated mission of the EPA is to ensure Americans are protected from health and environmental risks, national policies are based on available scientific data, environmental laws are enforced fairly, environmental protection is a consideration during the creation of United States foreign and domestic policies, environmental information provided to Americans is accurate, and ensuring that the United States is a world leader in environmental
The Kuznets curve is firstly introduced in 1955 by Kuznets as an inverted-U relationship between income inequality and economic development. Later it is found that the Kuznets curve is useful for describing the relationship between environmental pressure and the economic growth or known as the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) (Dinda, 2004). The hypothesis of the EKC is that at early stages of a country’s development, the quality of its environment will be deteriorated faster and getting slow down at some level of income per capita that the economic growth support the increasing of environmental performance (Stern, 2004). The EKC applies differently between countries depend on the economic growth status of the country. This essay will discuss the different appearance of the EKC using the evidences from developing and developed countries. The EKC of developing countries will show the upward slope stage of the curve because of the countries’ focus on economic growth and less protection to the environment. Conversely, the developed countries will show the later downward slope stage of the EKC as their economic growth is already high and there is more attention for environmental protection.
Improving environment quality needs efficiency and it also needs well distribution of the development. However, Economic growth is related with increasing pressure on natural resources and increasing waste. Healthy environment is associated with high income community because