Post #4
Every human is responsible for taking care of the amazing planet we live on. This is especially so for the super industrialized countries producing tons of greenhouse gases and greatly contributing to global warming which is in turn affecting climate change. Because the large developed and industrialized countries produce a great amount of pollution, like the United States and China for example, we have a moral obligation to protect the future of the planet we will leave for our grandchildren and other family members we care about. We don’t want them to suffer a worse fate than we are with food shortages and rising waters.
You may be asking what should we do? For starters — governments can start taking the active actions of developing their economies with technology that limits the production of pollutants. Limiting the amount of greenhouse gases expelled into the atmosphere is a big start. Furthermore, as Sheila Watt-Cloutier stated in Moral Ground:
[B]y putting the climate change in the arena of human rights, we have moved the focus from being solely that of a political, economic, and technical issue to one of human impacts and consequences that do affect our children, our families, and our communities. We must remain vigilant in keeping climate change as a human and human rights issue.
In 1997 the Kyoto Protocol was signed, however, major players rejected the protocol. These included massive carbon producers such as the United States, China, and Russia. This was followed by the Paris Agreement, put into effect in 2016. Many have signed the accord, however recently President Trump withdrew from the agreement and many other countries have yet to sign it, this includes Suriname. While many world leaders are reaching a consensus that action must be taken to reduce carbon emissions and help the planet, there are still many that do not believe climate change is real. All must realize that the change must be global. So that we can protect the planet for the future.
South America faces different environmental problems. One of these is fracking — the process of drilling deep into the earth and then inserting high-pressurized water in order to force out the oil or gas. In 2016, the Latin American Coalition Against Fracking was launched. The ban will ensure:
Water.org is an organization that works to provide access to safe water and sanitation. They work to provide small and affordable loans so that safe water is possible through WaterCredit. While water.org is not involved in Suriname, they are involved in two South American countries: Brazil and Peru.
In Brazil — safe water and sanitation is still a large crisis despite its increase since 2010. There are still 5 million people without safe water and 25 million without sanitation. And in Peru — there are 3 million people without safe water and 5 millions lacking sanitation. In both of these countries, water.org is working to help people and they believe that WaterCredit will be successful.
- Are any other environmental groups, for ex. Greenpeace working in your region?
The environmental group — Greenpeace — is working in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Peru. Greenpeace works to fight for a green world while not only exposing environmental problems but also providing solutions. In South America they are working to: address the problems in forests and contamination in Argentina, defend the Amazon Reef in Brazil, controlling toxic substances and improving agriculture in Chile, and the same and much more in Peru and around the world. Some other environmental groups such as Conservation International and World Wildlife are also focused in the Amazon to help protect forests and rivers.
Sources:
Watt-Cloutier, Sheila. “The Inuit Right to Culture Based on Snow and Ice.” Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril, by Kathleen Moore and Michael P. Nelson, Trinity University Press, 2011, pp. 25–29.
