Heavy industrial zones constantly emit strong and dangerous gases into the atmosphere which destroy the ozone layer and causes global warming and rampant climate changes. Environmental rights are an extension of the basic human rights that mankind requires and deserves.
Apart from having the right to food, clean water, suitable shelter, and education, having a safe and sustainable environment is paramount because all other rights are dependent on it.
Environmental Rights are the protection of natural resources, the access to and use of natural resources, and how these resources affects surrounding populations, as well as the resources themselves.
The right to a healthy environment include; breathing clean air, drinking clean water, consuming safe food, accessing nature, knowing about pollutants and contaminants released into the local environment.
The desire to ensure access for all of Earth’s inhabitants to this essential standard of living is the primary concern of Environmental rights. Beyond equal distribution and access to clean and sustainable resources, Environmental Rights also include an additional obligation from those in the industrialized nations.
It requires us to act responsibly in our own use of natural resources, and to regulate our levels of consumption in a more equitable manner Due to the “modern world’s” value on material goods, most of the world’s inhabitants lack these basic human and environmental rights.
For now, the effects of the environmental consequences are experienced by people outside of the realm of consumers. The increasing rate of consumption and waste production in the modern world has a profound effect on those in developing nations.
The staggering amount of waste produced, due to rapid levels of consumption, finds its way to impoverished nations for discarding, where lax environmental regulations allow for cheaper disposal.
It is quite unfortunate that an increasing amount of waste produced in the modern world comes in the form of e-waste, or electronic waste. This growing mass of discarded cell phones, laptops, monitors, and tablets creates a heavy environmental burden due to the multitude of toxic chemicals released when they are improperly disposed of. And, as is often the case, they are shipped away for disposal.
Lessening the imminent environmental and societal problems will take a massive change in how we interact with the world and with each other. It will require us to examine the economic relationships we have with one another and what the costs and benefits are for all parties concerned. It isn’t simply a matter of finding a better place to dump waste and vowing to use less.
Environmental Rights are also concerned with the protection of natural resources; the access to and use of natural resources; and how the access to and use of these resources affects surrounding populations, as well as the resources themselves.
The World Resources Institute, (WRI) has been working on similar problems for over three decades. They have produced a short video explaining how responsible land use can be mutually beneficial while also supporting the environment.