Introduction
The problem of exceeding the content of harmful substances in the air is so serious and widespread that at the moment the vast majority of people do not breathe fresh air enough. Moreover, the length of a human life in a polluted atmosphere can be shortened for this reason. The development of diseases associated with blood vessels or dysfunction of the heart is also a widespread problem caused by disturbances in the purity of the atmosphere. Such problems of the functioning of the social machine as insufficiently efficient processing of resources in production or agriculture lead to an increased amount of toxic emissions into the atmosphere (Smiley, p. 748). Waste from the everyday life of each individual, their so-called carbon footprint, also negatively affects the purity of the atmosphere.
Air pollution is one of the main problems of the modern world, and consolidated cooperation of world leaders is required in order to develop strategies to cope with atmospheric changes. It is required to provide an overview of those programs and schemes of actions that were used in the local, federal and global policies of the countries of the world to combat air pollution. Comparison of global and private strategies undertaken by states and their consolidations allows us to analyze in more detail the effectiveness of each of the strategies and develop the most realistic one.
Climate Impact Strategies in Third World Countries
It is a proven fact that the situation with polluted air affects almost everyone. However, this problem is most acute in countries with relatively low or middle income per capita. It is in the countries of Southeast Asia or the Pacific Ocean that the largest number of deaths or reduced life expectancy from air pollution is concentrated (Lelieveld et al., p. 1910). Tragically, these countries with no economic influence are the least able to withstand air pollution, the most suffering from it. Most of all, this problem in poor countries is associated with the work of hazardous industries and the use of chemically toxic fuels in regular life. People are forced to use more affordable and less environmentally friendly fuel resources, which leads to the inevitable violation of the purity of the atmosphere.
Moreover, a similar problem is observed in the more affluent metropolitan areas of Africa and India. It should be noted that India is developing strategies to reduce airborne pollutants at the administrative level. In particular, the example of a government initiative that provided Indian housewives with more open access to clean fuel resources should be noted (Rao, p. 865). However, these measures turn out to be unable to affect the significant damage to the atmosphere due to the active mining of coal and the production of pharmaceuticals in the country.
It also seems necessary to note that the climate clearing caused by the lockdown had a beneficial effect on the purity of the atmosphere in India’s neighboring countries. Thus, one can conclude that large countries engaged in production with large toxic emissions negatively affect air purity at the global level. Accordingly, any large-scale production requires strategic calculation of a limited amount of atmospheric emissions. Countries with a low level of recycling of materials thus jeopardize the health of not only their own, but also those of neighboring nations.
Intervention of European Countries in the Pollution Problem
However, in general, one can notice a disturbing trend in which the third world countries are either less concerned about the problem or less able to influence climate pollution. First of all, the problem of air pollution is dealt with by European countries that have sufficient financial resources in order to organize a full-fledged system to counter this problem. The World Health Organization, for example, is just one such organization, acting on the principle of uniting more influential countries. Since 2018, WHO has been holding special summits at which special attention is paid to the problem of climate pollution (Corlin, 2018).
With all the positive impact that the initiatives of European countries have, one cannot but take into account the fact that strategies to combat air pollution yet cannot be used globally. Despite their effectiveness, environmental monitoring commissions do not function at a truly all-encompassing level.
It should be noted that studies and measurements of the ecological environment are carried out directly on the European territory, which indicates a primary focus on solving internal problems of pollution. It seems logical that European countries are focused on improving the internal climate, but this focus may seem in many ways unwise. In particular, attention should be paid to the problem of air pollution in the context of critical climatic changes that can lead to global environmental disasters. Developing countries are simply unable to provide a level of production control that does not harm the atmosphere.
Therefore, it seems logical that global organizations with global influence should focus on drawing the attention of developing countries to the environmental agenda. At the same time, it is these studies and social activities that should be given the most attention. That is because the countries with low incomes and large production have the most destructive impact on the global climate, having no other proposed alternatives.
Despite the spread of the modern agenda for air purification and the adoption of air cleanliness standards by developing countries, not all countries are able to even strive to achieve this standard. It should also be noted that despite the truly global concern about pollution, the mission of the Health Organization simply does not study the problems in certain countries. Air pollution in Africa, for example, is established in only a few countries on the continent, while in most of it the ecological situation remains completely unknown. Thus, despite genuine efforts on the part of global organizations and world leaders, substantial work still needs to be done to achieve a planetary coverage of the environmental agenda.
Impact of the Covid Pandemic on Air Purity
Additionally, it would be necessary to highlight the problem of a global pandemic in the context of air pollution. Paying attention to, for example, India, we can conclude that how much human and industrial interference is harmful to the purity of the air. The forced stop in mass production clearly demonstrates that the cause of air pollution is constant human activity, at the individual, but especially at the production level (Shehzad et al., 2019). Thus, the pandemic can be perceived as a kind of necessary evil, which in some countries with an established production lockdown significantly underestimates the amount of harmful emissions into the air.
The Dual Role of Environmentalists
Speaking about the role of fighters for nature, natural activists and missionaries to third world countries, one cannot fail to note the contradictory nature of their actions in the modern world. Some researchers point out that their positive role in maintaining the natural balance of nature turns out to be external and imaginary. Green missionaries can be disingenuous in some ways about the nature they are defending. As a rule, forest conservation activists in South America, Africa or India actually seek to preserve these natural resources, the beauty of flora and fauna for their own personal use (Bacon, p. 60). Environmentalists perceive nature as a kind of quantifiable resource, a blessing that can be used, which can be equated with the exploitation of nature and not its protection.
Most green missionaries originally come from first world countries, from Europe or the West, and these activists have a political background, forgetting about cultural ethics. This leads to colossal pollution of the natural atmosphere, since when missionaries get to these places, they throw into the air a huge amount of pollution from reprocessed fuel. In addition, when dealing with problems outside their own countries, conservationists pay little attention to what is happening in their homeland. Ignoring the consumption and recycling of energy in the first world countries, environmentalists allow much more damage to the environment and air pollution, with critical natural consequences.
Government Air Purification Campaigns: The Case of China
It should be noted special cases of how large countries with a large-scale expanded production are fighting to cleanse the air on their territory. The example of modern China in this case seems particularly noteworthy, since in the context of large-scale air pollution, an urgent campaign was launched to reduce air emissions. The campaign has conflicting characteristics due to the fact that it was aimed at the widest possible deployment in a very short period of time.
A separate problem of the 2014 campaign was its authoritarian direction, which placed maximum responsibility on local governments. If the private administrations of certain regions did not cope with the overstated requirements from above, the blame for the failure to comply with the requirements was assigned to them, regardless of the working conditions that did not meet the requirements.
A common notable flaw highlighted by the campaign was also a failed attempt to engage the lower classes of society in the problem of caring for the environment (Athlers and Shen, p. 305). The low interest of this class in the problem indicates the connection between air pollution and the unstable economic status of the population. The results of the campaign, when analyzed, demonstrate the need for more inclusive policies in the implementation of environmental laws (Flato, p. 66). Bringing the popular opinion of the majority over to its side would make it possible to accomplish the tasks planned by the Chinese authorities to a much more successful degree.
The example shown in the case of Chinese government in the context of environmental campaigns seems to be quite important for this issue. Considering it from a distant point of view, it can be concluded that large states with a modern authoritarian regime have sufficiently impressive forces to influence society. Authoritative countries have leverage such as administrative and bureaucratic apparatus and control over the private life of the individual.
All this allows you to send orders more directly and require the immediate implementation of specific directives. At the same time, it should be noted that the shorter the deadlines are given for the implementation of the environmental state campaign, the more cruel the authoritarian model of governance will manifest itself. A strictly hierarchical ladder along which administrative orders are issued can prove to be insufficiently effective because it avoids a direct call for collaboration and does not have sufficient flexibility. In order to more effectively apply the laws on air purification into reality, a wider period of time and targeted individual work with specific problems are required.
Conclusion
Based on observations of different strategies to overcome the crisis of air pollution, it seems that only the coordinated work of countries of different levels of development is able to offer clues to the problem. In modern realities, European countries are unable to influence developing countries due to the fact that their economies and the well-being of each inhabitant to one degree or another are associated with harm to the atmosphere.
The population of the third world countries is unable to learn from the experience of other countries due to economic impossibility. Accordingly, only a dialogue between countries striving to achieve understanding and balance can have a truly positive impact on the current situation. Speaking about how large producer countries deal with the problem of pollution, it should be noted that excessive pressure from the authorities can only weaken the effectiveness of the measures taken.
Therefore, the only way out of this situation can only be the dissemination of information about the real dangers of air pollution both for industries and for an individual member of the population. Despite the fact that the industrial scale of pollution is incompatible with the private negative contribution of the human cell, it is required to raise the demand for environmental cleanliness. If as many people as possible are inspired by the green agenda and want to make a positive impact on the environment, the air pollution situation can change for the better.
Reference List
Athlers, A. L. and Shen, Y. (2018) ‘Breathe easy? Local nuances of authoritarian environmentalism in China’s battle against air pollution’, The China Quarterly, 234, pp. 299-319.
Bacon, J. M. (2019). Settler colonialism as eco-social structure and the production of colonial ecological violence. Environmental Sociology, 5, pp. 59-69.
Corlin, L. (2021). ‘Combatting an invisible killer: New WHO air pollution guidelines recommend sharply lower limits’, The Conversation. Web.
Flato, H. (2018) ‘Socioeconomic status, air pollution and desire for local environmental protection in China: insights from national survey data’, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 63(1), pp. 49-66. Web.
Lelieveld, J., et al. (2020) ‘Loss of life expectancy from air pollution compared to other risk factors: a worldwide perspective, Cardiovascular Research’, 116(11), pp. 1910-1917. Web.
Mejia, S. A. (2019) ‘Global environmentalism and the world-system: A cross-national analysis of air pollution’, Sociological Perspectives, 63(2), pp. 276-291.
Rao, N. D., et al. (2021). ‘Household contributions to and impacts from air pollution in India’, Nature Sustainability, 4, pp. 859-867. Web.
Saxena, P., and Naik, V. (2019). Air Pollution: Sources, Impacts and Controls. Delhi: CAB International.
Shehzad, K., Sarfraz, M., and Merah Shah, S. G. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 as a necessary evil on air pollution in India during the lockdown. Environmental Pollution, 266(1). Web.
Smiley, K. T. (2020) ‘Social, capital and industrial air pollution in metropolitan America’, The Sociological Quarterly, 61(4), pp. 748-767. Web.