Are we a threat to our own environment?
Human desires have grown and diversified as civilization has progressed. Natural resources have been rapidly depleted as a result of this. Many resources are being depleted at an alarming rate, resulting in resource overuse and depletion. A slew of environmental issues has arisen as a result of the increased consumption of resources. Pollution of the air and water, degradation of natural resources such as soil and forests, and depletion of nonrenewable resources such as fossil fuels and minerals are all examples. To avoid the adverse effects of resource depletion and other environmental concerns, we must closely monitor resource utilization and assess resource depletion’s environmental consequences.
Many international organizations, such as the UNEP (United Nations Environment Program), the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), and the MEF (Ministry of Environment and Forests) in India, as well as many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), actively advocate for environmental protection around the world and implement acts and laws to protect the environment and prevent pollution.
The globe faces challenges in each of the three pillars of sustainable development — economic, social, and environmental.
More than a billion people still live in extreme poverty, and income inequality has been expanding within and among many countries; at the same time, unsustainable consumption and production practices have incurred enormous economic and social costs, and may jeopardize life on the planet. Achieving sustainable development would necessitate worldwide initiatives to meet the genuine ambition for further economic and social progress, which necessitates growth and employment while also increasing environmental and mental protection.
In order to be sustainable, development must be inclusive and prioritize the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable. Strategies must be ambitious, action-oriented, and collaborative, as well as adaptable to various stages of development. They will need to shift consumption and production patterns on a systemic level, which might imply large price corrections, stimulate the preservation of natural endowments, reduce inequality, and increase economic governance, among other things.
Bhutan can serve as an example of how an environmental policy should be implemented properly. Bhutan is frequently disregarded by the rest of the world. The small country lies deep within the Himalayas, sandwiched between China and India, two of the world’s most populous nations. However, the country, which has a population of roughly 750,000 people, has set some excellent environmental standards. Bhutan is a carbon sink as well as a carbon neutral country, making it one of the few countries in the world with negative carbon emissions. This means that the country’s carbon sinks, such as forests, absorb more CO2 each year than its pollution sources, such as factories. Proudly Carbon Neutral stated, “According to latest data, the country emits roughly 1.5 million tonnes of carbon annually, while its woods absorb over 6 million tonnes.”
Bhutan is also aiming towards zero net greenhouse gas emissions, zero waste, and 100 percent organic food production by 2020. The Himalayan nation is currently 72 percent forested, with the constitution requiring that at least 60% of it remain so. It has even outlawed logging of exports. Buddhism, the country’s primary religion, places a high significance on trees. A group of 100 volunteers established a world record by planting 49,672 trees in an hour in June. To commemorate the birth of King Khesar and Queen Jetson’s first child, all 82,000 Bhutanese families planted a tree, with volunteers planting another 26,000 trees in various regions across the country, totaling 108,000 trees. Bhutan too refuses to quantify its success in terms of GDP, instead opting for a GNH index. In the winter, the country would prefer to expand its use of renewables while reducing its reliance on hydro-power and electricity imports. As a result, it is actively investigating wind, bio-gas, and solar energy. In the winter, the country would prefer to expand its use of renewables while reducing its reliance on hydro-power and electricity imports. As a result, it is actively investigating wind, bio-gas, and solar energy. In addition, the Bhutanese government has partnered with Nissan to supply hundreds of electric cars to the country, with thousands more on the way. Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay plans to convert all of the country’s automobiles to electric power at some point in the future. Of course, the country has issues, as Tobgay openly conceded in a TED Talk he gave last month.
However, the country stands alone in a world that has too frequently prioritized economic expansion over everything else, often at the expense of the environment.
