The United Nations report
on the state of global development stated that due to environmental disasters
and climate change, 3.1 billion people could be put into extreme poverty by
2050 unless steps are taken to become more sustainable and prepared. Although
things like pollution, climate change, and deforestation are not prejudice, it
seems to strike the poorer countries even worse. Specifically in places like
sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, development in income levels, education
levels, and life expectancy will see a sharp decline because of environmental
challenges. A prime example was the developing island state, Grenada, after
hurricane Ivan. The losses accounted to twice its GDP. When the ecosystem loses
out, livelihood opportunities are constrained and an already harsh lifestyle
goes from poverty to extreme poverty.
This article is all too relevant to the current topics we have been
discussing; population, environment, and poverty. It is the best explanation
for the fact that despite world inequity is declining; a large portion of the
population is still impoverished. The article states that by 2030, 80 percent
of the world’s population will be living in what is the developing world today.
Schuetze then states that because of environmental disasters, those gains are
at risk to be slowed or even halted. To take care of the people that inhabit
the planet, the planet first has to be taken care of. Just like the Easter Island
example, but magnified. If we overshoot our resources, the planets carrying
capacity will collapse.
Breanna Steinke
11/08/13 12:30AM
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/environmental-woes-could-reverse-global-development/
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