Questions for Assignment #5

1. Do you think that currently developing countries have the right to exploit forests (and other natural resources) as Europe and the U.S. did to increase their economic well-being? Why or why not?
Currently developing countries do not have the right to exploit forests and other natural resources as Europe and the U.S. previously did in order to increase their economic well-being. Unfortunately, knowledge is power and the more knowledge we have in regards to harming the environment and its role in economic development, the more we (as a global nation) need to do all we can do to help save the earth for future generations. Although it may seem unfair to developing nations, the developing nations also need to think about their future offspring and generations and ways of sustaining them. If we don’t all work together to facilitate saving the environment, there won’t be anything left for future generations. Industrialized nations need to lead the way and provide education and other resources to developing countries in order to help them develop in an environmentally friendly way.
An example of why developing countries should not have a right to exploit forests is evident in the country of Haiti. Haiti deforested most of their land to the point they have no protection from natural disasters or pollution control. The earthquake in Haiti resulted in many mudslides (some of which could have been prevented) if the forests had not been decimated. The lack of natural resources in this area should be an example that environmental policies should be implemented in a developing country before total environmental destruction.

2. What expectations do you think industrialized nations should have for developing nations in the climate change debate? Should equity between industrialized and developing countries be a goal in this debate? What if a developing nation values economic development more than slowing down global warming? In this case, should they be required to participate in reducing emissions? Why or why not? Conversely, what expectations should developing nations have for industrialized nations?
The expectations industrialized nations should have for developing nations in the climate change debate include a commitment to environmentally friendly development and an environment which can be used for future generations to come. Equity between industrialized and developing countries in terms of the environmental should be a goal in this debate. In the past a developing country had the ability to pollute to the environment as they were developing, but this is no longer true. Since more knowledge has been acquired and it is obvious that damage to the environment occurs at an alarming rate during the development of a country, unfortunately this means developing countries will have to implement economic development in a more environmentally friendly way. The equity concept which should be focused on is environmental equity in terms of making the earth sustainable for future generations of all countries.
If a developing nation values economic development more than slowing down global warming in order to achieve this goal, the country should be educated on its damage to the environment. After this education is attained developing nations should be required to participate in reducing emissions and saving natural resources during economic development in order to sustain future generations of its own country. Contrarily, the expectations developing nations should have on industrialized nations is help (in the form of monetary incentives) in reaching environmental friendly development. This help can equalize the inequity from previous generations of development and harm to the environment from industrialized nations at an earlier point in time.