Sustainability: politics versus science in environmental policy

¶ … Sustainability More About Politics Than Science?

The environment is a word which refers to the natural effects around us including the atmosphere, seas and oceans, rocks and mountains, plants, ice formations, human beings, stars and several others. These effects are best left in their natural state because when they get disturbed, they could have serious consequences on the atmosphere, electricity, water, weather, fire and the earth's magnetism. Sadly, this is the situation of things now and these consequences are real. Several problems are facing the environment causing global adverse effects and putting the people in it at risk. This research studies these problems and determines if the scientific and political measures put in place are effective in mitigating them

Environmental issues facing the world

The disturbances in the environment have brought about noticeable changes in climate and high frequencies of natural disasters. Take for example; the problem of global warming is deteriorating bringing about alterations in the weather schedules and the environment. One of the causes of global warming has been identified as the release of greenhouse gases amongst others. Global warming causes an increase in the global temperature readings, a situation that causes the ice caps at the poles to melt thus resulting to higher sea levels. Floods, desertification and over-snowing are now common events. Several moves have been made to educate people against the causative factors of global warming but they most times show nonchalance to this. The keys to mitigating global warming are in the hands of the national leaders. Some of the realistic actions are more funding of its mitigation efforts and proper education of people on its danger and shelving the opinion that global warming cannot harm anyone (Rinkesh 1).

Another challenge to global sustainability is overpopulation. This issue is causing water, food and energy shortages. The situation in the developing countries is dire as the population keeps increasing and the resources are insufficient. Several leaders have taken to large scale agriculture to provide for the increasing population, though several scientists have expressed their disgust at the large use of pesticides, insecticides and fertilizer due to their unpleasant environment effects (Rinkesh 1).

The industrialization effort of several national leaders is causing an additional pollution problem. Pollution could affect the water bodies, soil or even the atmosphere. Most times, industries and production factories make use of large machines which emits harmful waste gas. Equally factory waste and several other dangerous substances are disposed of in the environment Rinkesh 1). Urban runoff, oil spillage, acid rain and the fossil fuel burning all contribute to pollution. The major influencers in this regard haven't fully exerted their authority and their laid-down rules have little effect in mitigating this challenge. There have been several solutions posed by scientists on this issue including a change to more environmentally friendly processes which are mostly the natural sources like air and water. Furthermore, bringing down the amount of factory waste is an efficient method of mitigating pollution.

Politics role in environmental issues

National leaders have huge parts to play in solving the identified environmental problems. This group of people are commonly stingy when it comes to the environment and despite their power to release funds which could deal these challenges a paralyzing blow, they would rather wait until when a disaster has occurred or when the danger is too obvious to be sidelined. Taking the United States as an example, the leaders were unwilling to implement mechanisms that would lessen the use of pesticides as well as chemical and industrial waste disposal which were major contributors to pollution. However, when these issues led to events like the Cuyahoga River 1969 fire which attracted media coverage, it was then the powers-that-be acted (Burns 1). They demanded complete analysis of the causes and dangers of environmental problems and came to a conclusion that the use of chemicals was a dangerous action and causing severe environmental damage. From that moment, the mode of disposal of toxic industrial waste became a serious issue and brought about the passing of several environmental laws. Some of these include the Clean Air act, the national environmental policy act, the Clean water Act and the endangered species act (Burns 1).

National leaders have helped develop cutting edge environmental processes which directly solve its issues and it has equally put several systems in place to safeguard the air and water of the people. Even the people now have a higher understanding of the direct effects of environmental problems. This was achieved by the support of the national leaders in the education programs among other mechanisms. When the leaders condemn a defaulting factory which is causing environmental pollution, they would most likely get support and backing from environmental organizations. Due to this, we can correctly conclude that political leaders are doing their part in solving the environmental problems. They are skilled in bringing attention and solving environmental problems via the mass media. Other methods they could apply are also effective but could require more time to get the desired effect; however, the media method most times garners an immediate reaction.

The actions of political leaders are crucial in solving these problems because they commonly step in during situations when the risks of unfavorable effects on the people or themselves are high. It is a normal human reaction to fight against problems which directly affects one's security both physical and money-wise. Events such as terrorism, war and crime are possible disturbances of this security. Also, problems with the environment could cause oil prices fluctuation, inflation, higher health costs as well as massive layoffs and thus political leaders discover that their personal finances are no longer secure. Involvement of the political class on any issue is mostly determined by the priority placed on them. An example of an environmental issue which has serious security dangers is climate change as it brings about devastation and calamity via the natural disasters it directly causes. Some of the biggest devastations caused by climate change are the disease epidemics, the infamous Hurricane Katrina, the massive groups of coral reefs and the melting of the polar ice (Burns 1). These days, national leaders have employed specialists to analyze several natural events such as the rainfall and temperature trends.

National leaders, who now have adequate knowledge of the dangers posed by the environment, are fully backing programs and actions aimed at directing people in reducing their greenhouse emissions (Burns 1). In some cases, the political leaders could take a decision without proper scientific understanding of the causative factors and the dangers of the identified issue. Nonetheless, they have made several positive moves as today there are new laws covering the burning of fuel which aims to reduce greenhouse emissions. They are also implementing monitoring systems for energy companies and motor vehicles which burn petroleum products and coal in order to know how much waste they release.

As a result of these actions, there has been a greater understanding of the harmful effects of global industrialization which are desertification, extinction and pollution. Environmental experts and political leaders always work towards improving the environment by applying the complex and efficient environmental laws which are used in the developed countries. Political leaders apply these strategies on their environmental problems and play a huge role in helping the populace realize the harmful effects of industrialization.

Generally, the impact of the government in solving environmental challenges has been commendable in the last few years as it has fostered free thinking. It has successfully protected civil liberties, open trade, intellectual property and the rule of law. It has equally made efforts towards educating people on environmental problems. Also, the government has created closed markets which have directly contributed to better management of the environment. This involvement of the government has ensured greater regard for the environment. People now have greater knowledge of the dos and don'ts of the environment as well as more favorable property rights. Apart from these, the government has implemented policies which directly keep the environment and its features safe and clean. Lastly, there has been sufficient funding for research on alternative means of energy by the government and it has equally developed strategies to keep endangered species safe (Scorce 1).

Scientific Intervention in Addressing Environmental Issues

Science has a huge role to play in solving environmental problems. Scientists are proactive in discovering lasting solutions to these environmental challenges unlike the political leaders who are reactive and only act based on security fears and potential disasters. A perfect example of this is when they alerted the US congress on the error in their approach of enacting laws only when an occurrence gets very bad and becomes almost inescapable. Also, over 100 scientists based in the US drafted an address to the legislative houses alerting them to the effect of climate change on health, security and even the financial sector of the country. In their letter, they said, "we want to assure you that science is strong and there is nothing abstract about the risks facing our nation. Coastal areas are now facing increasing dangers from rising sea levels and storm surges . . . some parts are increasingly vulnerable to drought other regions will need to prepare for massive flooding from extreme storms of the sort being experienced in increasing frequency" (Abraham et al. 1). Thus, the jobs of scientists in increasing the government's knowledge of the adverse effects of environmental challenges and giving tips on their decisions towards tackling this problem cannot be overemphasized.