Environmental Ethics

Environmental Racism

One of the biggest costs of the rapid industrial development of the world is that there has been considerable environmental degradation. The result is that a significant number of environmental hazards have come to be experienced by individuals all over the world. However, those who bear a disproportionate brunt of the impact of environmental hazards tend to be people of color. It is this disproportionate impact that has led to a situation where the people involved have come to experience environmental racism. This paper seeks to show that tackling environmental racism is an essential part of ensuring that there is the observance of environmental ethics.

Environmental racism is a problem that is increasingly being observed in society. It has become so prevalent that a movement aimed at achieving environmental justice has become prominent as attempts are made to end this problem (Bullard, 1998). Ending environmental racism is tied to ethics because there is need to ensure that environmental hazards are brought to an end so that people of color do not continue being unfairly treated. People of color tend to be among those individuals in society who live in or are close to poverty meaning that they do not have the means to protect themselves from environmental hazards that they encounter (Pulido, 2000). It is therefore an ethical responsibility of both government institutions and organizations contributing to the environmental hazards to alleviate this problem.

Handling environmental racism as an ethical problem means that there has to be a concerted effort to make sure that those institutional rules, regulations, and policies that create environmental hazards are ended. This is especially considering that the government and corporations deliberately target certain communities of color for undesirable uses of land resulting in communities ending up being exposed to toxic or hazardous waste (Hamilton, 1995). The lack of observance of environmental ethics means that communities of color become disproportionately impacted by those industries that pollute the environment because the government is lax in the enforcement of regulations over these industries.

It is therefore essential for the government or its agencies to make sure that they take the initiative to uphold environmental ethics, especially in communities of color. This is because the latter tend to endure the most of environmental hazards such as toxic waste because they not only live in poverty, but their communities are often the target of irresponsible land use by polluting industries. Both government and corporations have to ensure that they observe and enforce environmental ethics when it comes to communities of color so that they can help end environmental racism.

Indigenous Peoples Rights

Indigenous people are those who are native to and are normally tied to the land. The result is that they rely completely on the land for sustenance while at the same time living in harmony with nature (Varese, 1996). Therefore, the observance of indigenous people’s rights is an important aspect of environmental ethics because it ensures that through working with indigenous communities, it is possible to preserve the environment in its natural state.

The belief by indigenous groups that people and the land in which they live are intertwined is essential in the achievement of environmental conservation (Schwartzman & Zimmerman, 2005). This is the reason why it is an ethical responsibility of policymakers to ensure that the rights of these groups are observed at all times because they help in achieving conservation and sustainability. Furthermore, ensuring that indigenous rights are protected means that these people can continue to live they way that they have for centuries without having their lives disrupted by the hazardous activities of corporations. Through these efforts, it becomes possible to preserve the environment while at the same time learning valuable lessons concerning the connection between man and nature.

The observance of indigenous people’s rights helps individuals learn more about the natural environment. This is because indigenous peoples tend to have intimate knowledge concerning natural animal and plant life. Since they live in an environment where they are able to observe natural plant and animal life, indigenous people are best placed to transmit information concerning their environment (Brosius, 1997). In addition, their dependence on the natural world for all of their sustenance means that it is the objective of the government to ensure that their environment it preserved in its current state. Indigenous rights also ensure that while the indigenous people are being protected from exploitation by corporations and polluters, they also actively participate in the conservation of natural ecosystems.

In conclusion, indigenous people’s rights can be considered an essential aspect of conservation that is tied to environmental ethics. These people tend to live in close touch with the natural environment because they have been able to create a balance where they get all that they require for their sustenance while nature thrives. Protecting their rights ensures that the natural environment is protected and conserved, and promotes efforts towards learning from these indigenous people who to live in harmony with nature. There is still a lot that can be learned from indigenous communities and it is important that their rights are fiercely protected because they constitute one of the few hopes for maintaining natural habitats in the world.

Is there such a thing as optimal pollution?

The question of whether there is an optimal pollution level is one of the most debated in the contemporary world. This is because there are considerable disagreements concerning what pollution levels can be considered either safe or hazardous to the environment (Mishan, 1974). However, it is essential to realize that pollution of whatever level is harmful to the environment and might end up causing considerable problems to natural ecosystems. Therefore, there is no such thing as optimal pollution because all levels of pollution, whether low or high, end up causing serious damage to the natural environment.

Optimal pollution taxes have been introduced to ensure that there is a level of regulation when it comes to the pollution done by corporations on the environment. While this tax was put in place with good intentions, it has been ineffective in addressing the issue of pollution. This is because a considerable number of corporations have ended up continuing with their activities without fear since they can simply pay a tax to cover for the level of emissions for which they are responsible. A consequence it that there has been a failure to regulate pollution and it has the potential of leading to a situation where environmental sustainability can no longer be achieved.

There is no such thing as optimal pollution because there is no way of accurately measuring the level of pollution that is being released into the environment. Furthermore, the impact of pollution cannot be measured because it takes place subtly and when the effects are discovered, it is usually too late to do anything about it. The impact of pollution, even if it is low, on the environment cannot be underestimated. This is because a series of low levels of pollution, when considered cumulatively, end up having a massive negative impact on the environment (Tahvonen & Salo, 1996). It is therefore essential that there is recognition that the belief in optimal level of pollution is inaccurate, and might lead to an environmental disaster.

In conclusion, the concept of optimal pollution is one that seeks to justify pollution rather than curb it. A significant number of major industries tend to subscribe to this concept because it allows them to continue with their operations with little fear of being checked by regulatory bodies. Finally, optimal pollution fails to address the need to protect the environment at all times because it gives an allowance to polluters to ensure that they advance their individual interests rather than those of the environment, which serve human, plant, and animal life.

References

Brosius, J. P. (1997). Endangered forest, endangered people: environmentalist representations of indigenous knowledge. Human Ecology, 25(1), 47-69.

Bullard, R. D. (1998). Anatomy of environmental racism and the environmental justice movement. Debating the earth: The environmental politics reader, 471-492.

Hamilton, J. T. (1995). Testing for environmental racism: prejudice, profits, political power? Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 14(1), 107-132.

Mishan, E. (1974). What is the optimal level of pollution? Journal of Political Economy, 82(6), 1287-1299.

Pulido, L. (2000). Rethinking environmental racism: White privilege and urban development in Southern California. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 90(1), 12-40.

Schwartzman, S., & Zimmerman, B. (2005). Conservation alliances with indigenous peoples of the Amazon. Conservation Biology, 19(3), 721-727.

Tahvonen, O., & Salo, S. (1996). Nonconvexities in optimal pollution accumulation. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 31(2), 160-177.

Varese, S. (1996). The new environmentalist movement of Latin American indigenous people. Valuing local knowledge: Indigenous people and intellectual property rights, 122-142.