Free Paper Sample on Balancing Economic Growth with Environmental Protection

The intensity and speed of economic relations and the intervention of the environment have caused substantial impacts in the course of history (Smith, 2015). The fact is that these phenomena have created an imbalance in society, which begins to live an intense crisis and needs to reformulate the socioeconomic patterns, institutional and cultural, to organize themselves sustainably. The concept of sustainable development, in regards to respecting the environment, is hardly compatible with the mercantilist theories and ideologies, predominant in the modern history of humanity and favor of economic growth and productivity at all costs, because the latter ignore, and they relegate the protection of the environment. However, at present, the planetary ecosystem as a whole is seriously threatened by the disproportionate growth of the activities of the human species, which invade all the natural ecosystems, passing from economic interrelationships with a small part of the biosphere to total or global interrelationships on a planetary scale.

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There has been high pressure for companies to reduce or eliminate emissions, effluents, and wastes in its operations, affecting industries in critical sectors of the economy: petrochemical, automotive, electronics, pulp and paper, and food (Smith, 2015). Regardless of the size and technological level presented by these industries, their modernization demands availability of natural resources, which are subject to the intensity of competition in the market, in the level of social control of the product, the regulatory context, efficiency in supervision and the cost of certification, among other factors. In this respect, there is a need for harmonizing economic growth and preservation environment, aiming at maintaining the quality of life for the current and future generations. Integrating political strategies with common interests such as environmental management should be essential to achieve the local economic development with environmental preservation. Nations should establish useful regulatory frameworks for sustainable public management of economic activities through control and oversight to ensure environmental protection and sustainability.

Chemical Safety

Chemicals are present in the daily lives of consumers and consumers and play significant roles in the functioning of several sectors of the economy from agriculture use to medical use (Crowl & Louvar, 2001). Their purpose, therefore, must be regulated for the safety of human health and protection of the environment. This necessitates the need to develop new regulatory frameworks for the regulation of development, testing, production, placing on the market and use of such chemicals in the daily lives. This regulation aims at reducing the risks and effects of the use of chemicals such as pesticides on human health and the environment. This can be achieved by adopting national action plans for determining quantitative measures that do not exceed safe levels.

Chemical use challenges are presented in packaging, handling, quantitative use, and storage/disposal (Lundgren & McMakin, 2018). As an inspector, the first information while inspecting a chemical is the CAS number or product code to determine its classification. The second thing should be the amount of the compound, including the size and container numbers. Storage containers should be appropriately labeled and must be in poor condition.

Chemical classification and labeling contain essential data on potential threats and management methods. The potential risks must not cause severe illnesses or injuries for them to be acceptable. As a general rule, aerial spraying of crops and spray close to residential areas should be prohibited for safety issues. The Regulation on the production and licensing of pesticides contain a definite list of 'active substances' which is used to authorize the use of such chemicals. Regulating chemicals involves controlling the marketing and use of chemical products (that is, non-agricultural pesticides such as antibacterial disinfectants and insecticidal sprayers), to manage the risks associated with the environment and human and animal health. These substances may only be authorized if they are on positive toxic substances - in particular carcinogens, which have detrimental effects on fertility or those that interfere with genetics or the hormonal system (endocrine disrupters).

Nuclear Power

Energy is a fundamental input for economic development and for improving the quality of life of populations. It enables them to meet needs resources, such as food and shelter, and contribute to social development by promoting public education, health, and safety. Nuclear energy is obtained through the fission of a heavy atom, that is, of the division of the nucleus of the metal atom, for example, uranium, plutonium which causes the release of large amounts of energy. This type of energy is considered cleaner than the emissions-oriented energies produced by hydroelectric and thermoelectric power.

The use of nuclear energy arouses aversion in much of society, due to sad facts widely publicized as the bombs launched during the second war World Cup in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan; as well as accidents at the plant Chernobyl, Ukraine; the crash in Goiania, Brazil, or the Fukushima plant accident, in Japan, which causes the theme "Radioactivity" to gain a stigma and thus a prejudice to a balanced discussion of the risks and benefits arising from this form of energy.

Climate change is undoubtedly among the most significant challenges of the 21st century. An accumulation of researches on the use of conventional unrenewable energy sources arouses the need for ambitious emissions reductions, to maintain the impact of global warming within tolerable limits. Carbon dioxide emissions from combustion of fossil fuels account for most of the greenhouse gas emissions. If greenhouse gas emissions associated with such sources continue to increase in the atmosphere, there will be catastrophic impacts to the environment. This means that greenhouse gases associated with unrenewable energy sources must be stabilized to prevent dangerous climate change concerns and alleviate unacceptable risks to nature and human societies.

Nuclear energy risks to health, ecosystems and socio-economic structures should be evaluated against the availability and costs of possible alternatives. It is necessary to carry out intense enlightenment campaigns through energy policies to enlighten on the potential benefits of nuclear energy against other energy forms. Responding to climate change requires us to reconsider nuclear power. A myopic renaissance of nuclear energy would require extensive public investment, which would be better invested in the development of and use of technologies for renewable energies and measures to greater energy efficiency.

Deforestation and Habitat Destruction in the Amazon Basin

The widespread exploitation of forest resources in the Amazon, disguised in the form of creating space for "viable" open land for agriculture is a result of lack of proper regulation (Saatchi, Houghton, Alvala, Soares & Yu, 2007). With the excuse of economic growth, the destruction of forest cover has increased threatening the ecological balance. The ultimate cause of the seriousness of this situation is due mainly to the irresponsibility and incomprehension towards the nature manifested by the political and economic leaders of said species, either because of their erroneous, unjust and destructive decisions or because of their passivity and indolence (Houghton, 2005). Too intense exploitation of natural resources is causing the extinction of numerous animal and plant species and the severe deterioration of means so essential for human life itself, such as land, water, and air.

The Amazon host to the largest river systems in the world and contains approximately 20% of the total volume of drinking water in the world. Pollution has been known to increase with economic growth as people continue to exert pressure on environmental resources such as land and forest cover in the Amazon basin. The Amazon has a fundamental role in controlling carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere of the entire planet. The trees absorb large quantities of this gas from air, helping to offset the emissions of greenhouse gases caused by human activities. However, in addition to reducing the capacity that the forest has to store carbon, removing vegetation causes gas emissions and the greenhouse effect from forest fires set to prepare the ground for crops. To protect the woods, the government must regulate deforestation because failure to do so will subject the basin to continued fragmentation which makes it more susceptible to continued commercial exploitation and climate change impacts, such droughts.

Human activities and the decisions of the leaders should not be guided by values that foster blind competition and selfishness, and that induce to think that there is unlimited access to nature and its resources. It is necessary to change this tendency, because not only our well-being and quality of life are at stake, but also our survival as a species, together with the others.

References

Crowl, D. A., & Louvar, J. F. (2001). Chemical process safety: fundamentals with applications. Pearson Education.

Houghton, R. A. (2005). Aboveground forest biomass and the global carbon balance. Global Change Biology, 11(6), 945-958.

Lundgren, R. E., & McMakin, A. H. (2018). Risk communication: A handbook for communicating environmental, safety, and health risks. John Wiley & Sons.

Saatchi, S. S., Houghton, R. A., Dos Santos Alvala, R. C., Soares, J. V., & Yu, Y. (2007). Distribution of aboveground live biomass in the Amazon basin. Global Change Biology, 13(4), 816-837.

Smith, Z. A. (2015). The Environmental Policy Paradox (1-download). Routledge.

Sovacool, B. K. (2008). Valuing the greenhouse gas emissions from nuclear power: A critical survey. Energy Policy, 36(8), 2950-2963.