Can we solve the climate crisis without confronting global inequities?
A recent study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA found that white residents in the USA produce more climate pollution than black or hispanic residents, but black and hispanic people are exposed to more air pollution.
And that is just the USA! Think about the global inequities in the "haves" and the "have nots".
And how are we going to lift people out of poverty without making the climate crisis even worse?
If you are a resident in a wealthy country, is it your responsibility to address both problems at once? And what would that look like in terms of national and international policy?
Environmental Justice >
Destruction of environments
The destruction of resources and open land is a waste of time for everyone. Why build a giant supercomplex on good farmland when you can build good things, like a farm, or an animal shelter, or a hospital. New buildings that go up these days that are not for good things are all just a waste of space. In further, all of the open spaces that are condemned or not being used for anything should be developed into good things, as mentioned before, like hospitals, animal shelters, and homeless shelters.
You say that the "destruction of resources and open land is a waste" but what exactly are we wasting here? I agree that the destruction of natural habitats are most certainly awful and should be discouraged. But in highly populated urban areas tearing down an old house or other building is not necessarily a waste of space/resources. You mentioned lots of helpful buildings we could build instead of a complex like a hospital or an animal shelter, and don't get my wrong those are wonderful ideas. But if we look more closely at what exactly is needed in developing countries and even fully developed countries that have a poverty/overpopulation issue I feel we could use that space more affectively building affordable housing for struggling families. Or taking it a step further and building eco friendly housing. This is good for the environment and helps with poverty. Saying that what each urban area needs will differ wherever you look; so it could definitely be more useful to build a hospital like you suggested, prime ideas will vary in different communities.