In
GEG we had several discussions about the ways to protect the international
environment. Most common comments were about strong regulation, better
technology or having the global north subsidize the global south. Now I did not
disagree with all of those points, but I do disagree with one quite
ferociously.
I find the desire for “better”
technology to be a way to get around the actual problems we face. I believe
people use this as an excuse to exempt themselves from having to make any serious
changes to their own life style. For example, I have heard we need more
efficient energy use or for better battery technology to store electricity. How
about using less? That is not something people in GEG seemed open to doing.
On the other hand, I am obviously an
advocate for changing consumer habits; buying less stuff, eating vegetarian and
using less electricity. In America, for better or worse, we set the standard
for the rest of the world. Developing countries view our disposable lifestyle as
one of affluence. If you buy something for only a few moments, how wealthy must
you be?
When my professor brought up this
topic it seemed to shock some of my classmates. Just how much of an impact do
the trends in the US have on the rest of the world? In an attempt to use less
fossil fuels, we caused the palm oil boom. Popularizing fish as a healthy alternative to red meat has caused strain on wild fish populations. These are only two examples of the issues we have caused simply because of the
amount of influence we have on the rest of the world.
When my partner and I presented our
topic to the class, it was quite eye opening for me. We focused on the
international movement of wastes. To some extent I was already attuned to these
general issues but the magnitude of the effects this waste stream was shocking.
The developed countries have created so much pollution that the developing countries are starting to push back. China and other countries are turning away the waste they use to accept, forcing the developed world to deal with our own wastefulness. Moreover, Norway has proposed the addition of plastics to the list of hazardous wastes under the Basel convention. If this measure goes through, I imagine it would have an enormous impact on the international community. The international movement of plastic waste could be hindered to the point of
forcing developed countries to deal with the problems they have created.
A lot of the class really
reinforced the views I had going in. Namely that law is very unhelpful in
addressing environmental issues. The law moves slow whereas technology and
companies move fast. As a society we are in a state of constant anticipation
for the next new thing to hit the market. If there were stronger regulations in
place around production and disposal, we would not be on the brink of a crisis.
The law has failed to keep up with the demands of our wasteful society.