Development and wastes seem to be the head and tail of the same coin
TERULA, SPAIN: The interest in the environment grows as the welfare states in the post-industrial society increases; first as a result of the demands for a healthier environment — an unpolluted land, clear water or pure air. Development and wastes seem to be the head and tail of the same coin. We want jobs, but the economic and industrial development is usually related with waste generation, pollution or contamination.
The acceleration of environmental degradation in the last few decades; the lack of attention of many governments concerned about development, but without paying attention to the way in which it is carried out; the increase in the means of locomotion, the fuel consumption and the greenhouse effect; the damage to the ozone layer; the millions of tons of toxic residues; the effects of fertilisers in agricultural products and their filtration in the subsoil; the lack of investment in the maintenance of pollutant systems; the landfills that “adorn” many streets; the climate change, or the fire and destruction of equatorial forests, put us not at the beginning of a problem, but fully submerged in it.
In general, it is not clear if potentially polluting companies have assumed their total social responsibility. Today’s pollution is not known for how long it will cause effects and how it will react to other factors that come along. Naturally, it should not stop the economic growth, but without compromising the future and taking precautions to avoid irreparable damages. Legislation can go to drag on the catastrophic events, leaving loopholes.
The pollution, which undoubtedly affects all the industrialised countries, is also present in the least developed countries. The environmental law of the First World — the one who pollute must pay — leads to its multinationals, especially in mining and chemical sectors, to install facilities or dispose wastes in countries of the Second or Third World where the repair of damage has lower cost or the responsibility can be evaded more easily.
The quality of product, the safety in the workplace and the environment should be the generally accepted values. Apart from the social cost, development has a huge economic cost too. In this century, environmental awareness has been established among citizens, public authorities and companies. There are a growing number of companies that accept the ethical challenges that their activities present and convert social responsibility into one more element of competitiveness and business ethics. But when disasters occur and the damage caused by waste are so frequent, the efforts do not cease to seem insufficient, and more if this deficiency comes from who has more “power”. Then, we can say that it is necessary to provide more imaginative and effective solutions to preserve the environment that we will bequeath to future generations.
Agustín Pérez
Published in The Express Tribune, December 3rd, 2018.
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