Environmental Neglect

Every Tom, Dick and Harry we come across are sure to know what global warming, hazards and degradation are, yet why is it that we fail to fully address the problem. At this point awareness is not the issue, the issue is that we are aware, and we are capable of reducing the damage, reducing the impacts, however there is some sort of complete negligence of the problem. Why is this so? In our school syllabus, we are taught the importance of conservation, yet every generation has only a handful of people investing their time into environmental management. What is the issue here? Is it a problem linked with human nature, or is it the capitalist way of thinking that has been embedded into our heads?

People want numbers, statistics and facts. Simple statements clearly will not do justice. Particularly in Geography and any sort of environmental science it is plain to see that statistics are lacking, knowledge about what happens in the foot long lists of conferences we have to memorize are lacking. We are taught about the existence of certain groups and eco-friendly agencies yet we do not have a clear understanding of what exactly happens there. To convince people to give enough attention to the matter, we need to feed them raw statistics, the type that will shock them, shrivel their core even, just enough to scare them into understanding the true nature of the matter at hand. As the old saying goes, “Risk of inaction is high, time is running out”.

On the other hand, in some cases entire nations do not have the financial capability to even think about conservation, instead they completely disregard the problem, and try to avoid it as much as possible. Here, degradation is just a way of life, something that will “eventually happen”. What these nation’s fail to understand is that conservation is simply not a financial problem. Some nations such as Namibia thrive because of these conservation’s, which serve as a source of income. Sustainable living too, will not pick the pennies out of your pocket as most would think, instead it would provide a clear alternative to help save money. Sustainability means you would cut down some of the amenities which you would otherwise use, and replace them with simpler, less harmful alternatives.

Yet the poisonous resource optimist jumps out of you and convinces into thinking that “there’s already enough being done to help the environment”. But the truth is, not enough is being done. In a world with rapid advances in technology, why are we still struggling with environmental matters. Why is there a huge gaping hole in the knowledge we acquire about how to fix these problems? With all these agendas and forums, why is it that the Barrier Reef still remains very much dead? Who are these capitalists fooling? Do the sustainability reports from all these companies really mean anything? Have you been fooled into thinking so? Will you be a victim of these efforts? Wake up.