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 >
Environmental Poisoning- Nina Pham Bishop O' Dowd
Environmental poisoning, which is the exposure to toxic chemicals, is harmful to living organisms and our planet. Some of these toxins include organic chemicals such as pesticides, lead, mercury, which are produced from farming, manufacturing, water treatment systems, and other activities. By handling these toxic wastes without special precautions, Earth's ecosystems are at the embarkation of diminishing, slowly depleting over time. For example, animals, plants, and humans need water to flourish. If animals were to ingest intoxicated water, the number of animals would decline because it would affect their behavior and ability to reproduce. As a result, animals would die out, and so would humans because the toxins would be transferred to humans when consuming animals. By reducing the number of animals, the ecosystem would be out of balance because plants would be uncropped, and carnivores would starve. Without a functioning food chain, our ecosystem would cease to exist, and so would all living things. Overall, humans need to take care of the environment since toxic chemicals prove to be detrimental to the planet.