The question many ask themselves as they see our world slowly dwindle away into oblivion is: do we, as people living on this earth, have a moral obligation to to take action and protect the planet we live on? Of course there are two sides to every story but is there really two sides when it comes to protecting our habitat? I think it is safe to say if we were being attacked by a foreign planet we would work together to protect and save our planet from peril. So why is it any different when it comes to the damages that are being done to our earth every second of everyday? The main reason for this is that it is mostly our fault for the destructive actions that have happened to planet earth. From greenhouse gases, nuclear explosions, excess amounts of carbon dioxide in the air, oil leaks in our water supply, etc. According to Watt and Cloutier the affects that we have had on the environment should and have started to become a human rights issue that should be taken care of by the government. The US government have of course addressed the issue of pollution and the environment but their resolutions aren't enough to make a significant impact on our world. Our government has been making short-term goals which don't make enough of a cutback on the amount of greenhouse gasses that are emitted. According to Moral Ground, the US government and those around the world need to come together and make a plan to cutback on the amount of pollution that humans beings are inflicting on our planet.
An example of some of the strides the US government has made to improve our environment include the recent plans by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) to reduce pollution gases from US cars and warehouses. India also released a new plan that will cost 2 trillion dollars in the efforts to reduce its carbon emissions for the next 15 years. China has also created plans to reduce their emissions as well. Here is a video from PBS describing the EPA's plans:
Behind the new environmental plans unveiled in the U.S., China and India
In regards to the environment and North Korea, things are not going so well. According to PBS, North Korea's environment has been dwindling for years now as a result of human activity. The write refers to North Korea's environment as "an environmental collapse so severe it could destabilize the entire country." There landscape is described as lifeless and barren and wildlife is no where to be found. The fields where there were once crops are now dead and destroyed contributing to the countries devastating famine. There is so much material collected for food, food for animals, and fuel that there is nothing left for soil to grow anymore food. North Korea relies on artificial fertilization and irrigation which is not sufficient for growing and producing the way they need to keep their countries landscape from dying. The wildlife has almost completely diminished because the citizens have caught most of the animals for food in the midst of starvation.
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| A North Korean woman riding dried hay on her bike in hopes to burn it to keep herself warm. |
A US company called Biohabitat is partnering with the Society of Ecological Restoration in order to reach out to China so that they may exchange technological advances with North Korean scientists in order to help their country grow and prosper in their time of severe environmental collapse. North Korea's environment has gotten so bad that the long isolated country is even letting American outsiders in, in hopes for help. For the sake of countries like North Korea it is time that our governments come together and agree on ways to reduce pollution and help those countries that are slowly dying from the environmental impacts.
http://www.thewire.com/global/2012/04/environment-so-bad-north-korea-theyll-even-let-americans-help/50653/
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| From this photo you can see how the land in North Korea is barren and dying. |
Sources:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/nature/inside-north-koreas-environmental-collapse/
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/behind-new-environmental-plans-unveiled-u-s-china-india/
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