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Please Rate my Issue Essay
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06 Feb 2011, 09:34
This is the issue under Consideration
The primary responsibility for preventing environmental damage belongs to government, not to individuals or private industry. Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion expressed above. Support your point of view with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.
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RESPONSE:
On one hand, some people claim that the primary responsibility for preventing environmental damage belongs to the government and not to private industries or individuals. However, others do not agree by stating that the government is created by the people and hence the people should ultimately be responsible for prevention of environmental damage. I will be supporting the latter in my argument which is based on several reasons.
One reason is that the government can effectively promote environmental protection only if the government has good support from its citizens. For example, in countries such as Sudan and Egypt, where the country is in state of civil war, the government can't do much to promote environmental protection. The Preservation of the environment depends entirely on the people and their attitude.
Another Reason is that the Ultimate aim of Private Industries is to gain profit . The more the profit , the better it is for the organization. Private Industries sometimes use the natural resources indiscriminately and pollute the regions adjacent to their industries or factories by dumping pollutants in them. This act produces greater profit for them but at the extent of the environment. The Government can institute laws to reduce the amount of pollutants that can be released by the industry. However, no government can continuously monitor all the industries simultaneously. The responsibility ultimately rests on the Private Industries to prevent damage to the environment. Also, Privatization is a growing choice among all countries and more government agencies are being privatized. The result is more responsibility on the private industries. An Instance of an example for a private company which tried to increase profit by not implementing enough safety precautions is the Union Carbide India Limited, which was the cause of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. The Bhopal Gas Tragedy was one of India’s worst tragedies, where several thousands of people lost their lives due to leakage of poisonous gases. The complacency of the chemical giant resulted in a tragedy that has its negative effects on the region today also. In Contrast, The Vedanta Group of Industries have developed an eco-park near their mines. The eco-park not only neutralizes the effects of the mining activity but also improves the air quality in the adjacent regions.
Finally, as in all aspects, Individuals with a cause are treated with more respect than rules by governments because they believe that they have a choice in it. It is relatively easier for a group or an individual, backed by non- governmental organizations to create awareness among the people . This would result in a long tern solution to the issue at hand.
While governments do have authority to place laws for environmental protection, it is ultimately in the hands of the individuals and the private industries to take up the issue and give full justice to the issue. Clearly, Government agencies can act as a catalyst for change but it is the private industries and the individuals that ultimately perform the task.