Although natural catastrophes cannot be avoided, it is still possible to effectively manage the negative effects associated with such calamities in order to minimize human suffering and promote environmental justice. When all people are meaningfully involved and fairly treated in regards to catastrophes that impact the environment, it amounts to environmental justice.
The development of any nation or state should not merely focus on the educational level of individuals, national origin, income, ethnicity, or race.
To a large extent, every individual can proactively add value to environmental protection. In other words, the existing policies, regulations and environmental laws can be swiftly enforced and implemented when both citizens and non-citizens are indiscriminately involved in the process (Bardsley and Sweeney 1133).
Disempowerment in terms of policy or economic wellbeing might lead to unfair treatment of the undeserving population. Hence, the disadvantaged segment of the population may eventually bear the immense burden of dealing with negative repercussion of pollution to the environment. Environmental pollution emanates from the skewed and tribal policies executed by the local, state and federal authorities.
Commercial operations as well as municipal and industrial wastes also contribute towards degradation of the immediate environment. As it stands now, most natural catastrophes are being aggravated by human activities that pollute the environment. For instance, there is an increased build-up of aerosols and Green House Gases in the atmosphere to an extent that the shortwave radiation from the sun cannot be radiated back.
Consequently, the earth has become warmer than it used to be some decades ago. The latter has significantly contributed to global warming and the much-taunted climate change. In any case, the extreme weather events (drought, floods) have been occasioned by human population to the immediate environment. Unless human management of the environment is improved, environmental justice will hardly be realized.
A robust environmental justice framework should be put in place in order to minimize the negative impacts of natural catastrophes to certain segments of the population. Exposure to harmful wastes alongside natural calamities can be reduced if appropriate justice is awarded to the environment (Bardsley and Sweeney 1130).
There are a number of underlying assumptions that have continually generated various unequal protections and exposure to natural disasters that are also man-made. Environmental justice cannot be attained unless certain political and ethical queries are asked. Needless to say, every individual has a basic right of protection from the harmful effects of natural calamities.
When we degrade our environment, we fail to execute any justice to it. However, protection should still be granted to the vulnerable populations by the concerned government authorities owing to poor legislative or environmental protection agenda in place.
The negative impacts posed to populations by natural catastrophes such as hurricanes may be eliminated if not reduced when proper environmental justice is exercised (Brown 112). This form of justice should be a priority area not just in regions prone to natural disasters. It should be a bi-partisan engagement between the public and policy makers.
Environmental polluters should also be held accountable for their actions as part and parcel of environmental justice. Pollution of the environment is definitely a major cause of concern in the 21st century. Since climate change is closely associated with drastic alteration of weather parameters, there is urgent need for a strong public voice and environmental protection advocacy programs against pollution (Brown 109).
Works Cited
Bardsley, Douglas and Susan, Sweeney. “Guiding Climate Change Adaptation within Vulnerable Natural Resource Management Systems.” Environmental management 45.5 (2010): 1127-1141. Print.
Brown, Katrina. “Global Environmental Change I: A Social Turn for Resilience?” Progress in Human Geography 38.1 (2014): 107-117. Print.