Does the relation between the economy and the environment always have to result in the economy taking a metaphorical beating?

Image by Brooklyn Museum via Flickr

 

According to an article posted today on the Khaleej Times Online, Egypt’s economy is predicted to experience an increase in “stress” due to the affects of climate change on the agricultural sector. According to Reuters it was reported that 10 to 12 percent of land used for farming could be lost due to potential occurrences of flooding and the expected decrease in fertility. Yet the economy does not always have to shape to the environment. If necessity is the mother of invention, as Plato is famously known for remarking, then there is profit via the creation of environmental technology to alter the climate, clean up oil spills, or even capture and contain greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. Just as a coin always has two sides, so too does the relationship between economies and the environment. Drought is devastating for farmers who may not have supplementary income but good business evolves to the task at hand, creating more jobs, and hopefully at the same time increases awareness as to the effect interactions between the environment and people ultimately has on food production.

 

The Hazards of Dumping Broken Electrical Equipment in the Developing World

Image via Wikipedia

Last night I saw a program called Global Networks that really encapsulated some of the conflicts facing people in Nigeria. In short, it featured a story about how imports of used electronic equipment can damage the local environment, and harm the people who live near these sites. Suposedly, not all equipment recieved is reparable, so much of it is scrapped or burnt to get at the copper inside. However, water supplies nearby are at risk because some of these chemicals released during the scrapping or dismantelling process, such as what appeared to be lead on the featured story, found it’s way into that water supply. It is quite possible that local citizens are not even aware of the potential contamination, but in a world where communication is often determined by what electronic gadget you have, used electronics are very appealing when found in bulk and for a low price. I tried to find out more about that program on CTS, but what I found instead was more surprising. According to this article from the BBC entitled Nigeria fears e-waste ‘toxic legacy’, “up to 50 million tons of old PC’s [alone] are thrown away each year on waste dumps.” The article further quotes a person at one of these dumps as saying that, “the systems coming in are junk.” Leading to more questions such as, why then are they still accepting these electronics? But then again, as mentioned above, cheap electronics are good targets to get more parts. In conclusion I was surprised to realize how many of our used electronics make it to Nigeria. And while the program I saw just covered Nigeria, I am confident this is happening in other developing countries where the population is seeking cheap electonics or their parts. Ultimately it comes down to the developed world to set crucial standards when it comes to shipping used electronics and help expand the knowledge of how to dispose and treate “e-waste.”

Related articles by Zemanta

• A Green Way to Dump Low-Tech Electronics (nytimes.com)

FOR RELATED VIDEOS: YouTube: “electronic waste nigeria”