Ethics Paper

On

Pollution
Developed Countries Have a Higher Obligation to Combat Climate Change

Prepared by
Mohammad Ul Haque
Id:0147217
MG660- Strategic Marketing

Prepared for
Professor Michael Altamiran

Submission date: 10/15/2014

15 October 2015.
Professor Michael Altamirano
Kings Graduate School
Monroe College

Subject: Letter of transmittal (Ethics Paper)

Dear Sir,
It is an immense pleasure for me to submit you Ethics Paper titled Pollution. I have tried my best
to make this report informative. However, despite of my best effort their may remain some flaws
in the report. I hope and pray that the mistakes will be kindly excused.

Lastly I would be thankful once again if you please give your judicious advice on effort.

Sincerely yours,

Mohammad Mahfuz Ul haque

ID No.:0147217
MBA Program

Executive Summary
The main cause of the climatic change is due to pollution. Pollution is the main reason for this
global climatic change and this adversity. Pollution is a big issue and it must be tackled by the
joined effort of many nations. Pollution can be tackled by many means , the majority of the
pollution comes from some of the Developed and Developing countries. Pollution is broadly
classified into four types, Land pollution, Water pollution, Noise pollution and Air pollution. All
these pollutions contribute to the global climatic change. These are the major pollutions that
cause many adversities. Climatic conditions of the world depends on various factors such as
rainfall, water currents, ocean tides, monsoons and humidity. Weather experts believe that all
these factors that influence the weather conditions are affected by pollution. So the weather
conditions of a country is affected by its pollution. Some experts suggest that pollutions also
affects the crops and forests that are essentials for maintaining the weather conditions. Due to
pollution weather patterns and rainfall patterns change tremendously and this brings about failure
of crops and even drought in some cases. For a healthy agriculture in a country the climatic
conditions and the rainfall of that country must be stable , it should not change tremendously.
Thus climatic changes caused by pollution affects the agriculture of a country and thereby
indirectly affecting the people of that country. It has been estimated by a survey that the food we
eat , water that we drink and the air that we breathe are polluted. There are about 20% of people
are dying of pollution.
Pollution is caused by pollutants , they are the agents that cause pollution. Pollutants are released
by many means, such as industries, houses, ship wreck , automobiles, burning of petroleum
products and dumping of wastes in the open space. Pollutants are of different types, they can be
dissolved in water, spread through air or get deposited in the soil and they all cause pollution in

all of their forms. Pollutants that are released by industries are some times toxic and can affect
the living things. Some of the toxic pollutants that are released by the industries are zinc, lead,
nitrous, oxide of nitrous, oxides of sulphur, peroxides and radioactive wastes.

Pollution and the global climatic conditions can be tackled by only by co-operation among
various country. Most of the countries have a band on releasing certain hazardous chemicals into
the atmosphere , these type of band must be made a law and they must be strictly implemented.
All the industries must check their emissions for any poisonous pollutants and they must filter
them before releasing their gases into the atmosphere. Every country must follow the policy of
REUSE,REDUCE and RECYCLE.

Table of contents
1. Introduction:
2. Types & Causes of Pollution

Air Pollution
Water Pollution
Soil pollution
Noise pollution
Radioactive pollution
Thermal/heat pollution
Light pollution

3. Effects of Pollution:

Environment Degradation:
Human Health:
Global Warming:
Ozone Layer Depletion:
Infertile Land:

4. Developed Countries Have a Higher Obligation to Combat Climate Change

5. Climate Justice and Equity
6. Conclusion

Pollution is the act or process of polluting or the state of being polluted, especially the
contamination of soil, water, or the atmosphere by the discharge of harmful substances
(http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=pollution).

Pollution

occurs

when

pollutants

contaminate the natural surroundings; which brings about changes that affect our normal
lifestyles adversely. Pollutants are the key elements or components of pollution, which are
generally waste materials of different forms. Pollution disturbs our ecosystem and the balance in
the environment. With modernization and development in our lives pollution has reached its
peak; giving rise to global warming and human illness. Pollution occurs in different forms; air,
water, soil, radioactive, noise, heat/ thermal and light. Every form of pollution has two sources of
occurrence; the point and the non-point sources. The point sources are easy to identify, monitor
and control, whereas the non-point sources are hard to control. Pollution is a universal problem.
It seems that many businesses and people are unaware of the effect that pollutants have on
people. Car exhaustion, tobacco smoking, dumping waste, and emission from factories and
plants are just a few ways to pollute our ozone. Pollution can take many forms. The air we
breathe, the water we drink, the ground where we grow our food, and even the increasing noise
we hear every dayall contribute to health problems and a lower quality of life. The result of
some of today's technological advances is extreme pollution. It can be seen, heard, tasted or even
smelt as we drive along our main roads, stroll along our sidewalks or even from the supposing
comfort of our home. Also the very food we eat might be polluted though we may not be aware.

Types & Causes of Pollution

Air Pollution is the most prominent and dangerous form of pollution. It occurs due to
many reasons. Excessive burning of fuel which is a necessity of our daily lives for cooking,
driving and other industrial activities; releases a huge amount of chemical substances in the air
everyday; these pollute the air.
Smoke from chimneys, factories, vehicles or burning of wood basically occurs due to coal
burning; this releases sulphur dioxide into the air making it toxic. The effects of air pollution are
evident too. Release of sulphur dioxide and hazardous gases into the air causes global warming
and acid rain; which in turn have increased temperatures, erratic rains and droughts worldwide;
making it tough for the animals to survive. We breathe in every polluted particle from the air;
result is increase in asthma and cancer in the lungs.
Water Pollution has taken toll of all the surviving species of the earth. Almost 60% of the
species live in water bodies. It occurs due to several factors; the industrial wastes dumped into
the rivers and other water bodies cause an imbalance in the water leading to its severe
contamination and death of aquatic species.
Also spraying insecticides, pesticides like DDT on plants pollutes the ground water system and
oil spills in the oceans have caused irreparable damage to the water bodies. Eutrophication is
another big source; it occurs due to daily activities like washing clothes, utensils near lakes,
ponds or rivers; this forces detergents to go into water which blocks sunlight from penetrating,
thus reducing oxygen and making it inhabitable.
Water pollution not only harms the aquatic beings but it also contaminates the entire food chain
by severely affecting humans dependent on these. Water-borne diseases like cholera, diarrhoea
have also increased in all places.

Soil pollution occurs due to incorporation of unwanted chemicals in the soil due to
human activities. Use of insecticides and pesticides absorbs the nitrogen compounds from the
soil making it unfit for plants to derive nutrition from. Release of industrial waste, mining and
deforestation also exploits the soil. Since plants cant grow properly, they cant hold the soil and
this leads to soil erosion.

Noise pollution is caused when noise which is an unpleasant sound affects our ears and
leads to psychological problems like stress, hypertension, hearing impairment, etc. It is caused
by machines in industries, loud music, etc.

Radioactive pollution is highly dangerous when it occurs. It can occur due to nuclear
plant malfunctions, improper nuclear waste disposal, accidents, etc. It causes cancer, infertility,
blindness, defects at the time of birth; can sterilise soil and affect air and water.

Thermal/heat pollution is due to the excess heat in the environment creating

unwanted changes over long time periods; due to huge number of industrial plants, deforestation
and air pollution. It increases the earths temperature, causing drastic climatic changes and
extinction of wildlife.

Light pollution occurs due to prominent excess illumination of an area. It is largely

visible in big cities, on advertising boards and billboards, in sports or entertainment events at the
night. In residential areas the lives of the inhabitants is greatly affected by this. It also affects the
astronomical observations and activities by making the stars almost invisible.

Effects of Pollution
1. Environment Degradation : Environment is the first casualty for increase in pollution
weather in air or water. The increase in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere leads to smog
which can restrict sunlight from reaching the earth. Thus, preventing plants in the process of
photosynthesis. Gases like Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide can cause acid rain. Water pollution
in terms of Oil spill may lead to death of several wildlife species.
2. Human Health : The decrease in quality of air leads to several respiratory problems including
asthma or lung cancer. Chest pain, congestion, throat inflammation, cardiovascular disease,
respiratory disease are some of diseases that can be causes by air pollution. Water pollution
occurs due to contamination of water and may pose skin related problems including skin
irritations and rashes. Similarly, Noise pollution leads to hearing loss, stress and sleep
disturbance.

3. Global Warming : The emission of greenhouse gases particularly CO2 is leading to global
warming. Every other day new industries are being set up, new vehicles come on roads and trees
are cut to make way for new homes. All of them, in direct or indirect way lead to increase in
CO2 in the environment. The increase in CO2 leads to melting of polar ice caps which increases
the sea level and pose danger for the people living near coastal areas.
4. Ozone Layer Depletion: Ozone layer is the thin shield high up in the sky that stops ultra
violet rays from reaching the earth. As a result of human activities, chemicals, such as
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), were released into the atmosphere which contributed to the
depletion of ozone layer.
5. Infertile Land : Due to constant use of insecticides and pesticides, the soil may become
infertile. Plants may not be able to grow properly. Various forms of chemicals produced from
industrial waste is released into the flowing water which also affects the quality of soil.
Pollution not only affect humans by destroying their respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological
systems; it also affects the nature, plants, fruits, vegetables, rivers, ponds, forests, animals, etc.,
on which they are highly dependent for survival. It is crucial to control pollution, as the nature,
wildlife and human life are precious gifts to the mankind.

Developed Countries Have a Higher Obligation to Combat Climate Change

In this, the 21st century, the situation which the Earth is in environmentally has been
emphasized worldwide. This has caused many any environmentalists to claim that developed
countries should pay more towards environmental damage than developing nations should.
Historically, developed nations have been responsible for the destruction of land and resources
through major wars such as the First and Second World Wars and the brutality of colonism when
countries own resources were no longer enough. Due to this and industrialization in developing
countries over the last two centuries the world now believes that developed countries owe the
world more than developing countries do. In addition, developed countries have the highest
number of vehicles which produce more gas that depletes the ozone layer. Developed countries
also have the capacity and resources to stop climatic damage but most of them are reluctant. Rich
countries create more pollution. Industrialization in first world countries has led to the
production and release of carbon emissions, masses of air, water and land pollution as well as the
release of other environmentally damaging greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.
Industrialization, easier travel and many other inventions and innovations in rich countries have
been at the detriment of our planet. Developed countries use more resources. According to the
United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment the population in developed countries makes
use of more that eighty-five per cent of the worlds resources but however accounts for only
fifteen per cent of its population. To satisfy the high rates of consumption needed to maintain the
lifestyle which the population of developed countries is accustomed to a form of colonism has
been taking place though the moving of polluting, resource and labor-intensive industries to
developing countries. Without these industries physically on their shores rich nations appear to

have cleaned up their act in a move to combat the global environmental crisis. These nations
however, choose to ignore the fact that they have only relocated these issues and not fixed them.
In terms of the existing situation although many countries have signed the Kyoto protocol
promising to make their best efforts to be more green, the largest producers of pollution, the
United States of America, have refused to sign the treaty. Other avenues for cleaning up the
current situation include doing things such as using new energy efficient technologies and the
provision of funds for developing countries to control their pollution. Developing countries
cannot afford to but environmentally friendly measures in place as the majority of their funds go
toward building their economy. Until developing countries have enough cash flow to fund major
projects they will continue to use non-environmentally friendly methods, making them pay more
would create a vicious circle of debt. Forcing less privileged countries to pay more toward
environmental damage would cause corruption among the ranksFrom these facts it is clear that
developed countries should pay more towards environmental damage than developing countries.
Countries should be fairly taxed on their carbon footprint as punishment for bad practice but
should also be rewarded for their efforts to become more environmentally friendly.
If we look at the greenhouse gas emissions and the CO2 emissions over the past twenty years.
Seven of the of the 200+ countries in the world namely China, United States, Russia, Japan,
Germany, South Korea and Canada account for nearly 60.4% of the total greenhouse emissions
of 33.376 million tones across the globe. Consider the levels of deforestation that happened in
the so called developed countries in the name of industrialization. One has to take the cognizance
of the aforesaid emission levels and the deforestation on global warming.
Historically, the rich countries have counted for around 70% of carbon emissions (even though
they have represented only 20% of the worlds population, approximately):

Source: Boden, T.A., G. Marland, and R.J. Andres, Global, Regional, and National
Fossil-Fuel CO2 Emissions, Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, 2011, DOI: 10.3334/CDIAC/00001_V2011. 2009 and 2010
estimates also from CDIAC, by Tom Boden and T.J. Blasing

The United Kingdom (the first empire to industrialize with heavy fossil fuel usage) as well as
other European nations have emitted large amounts since their early path to development.
Although it became an empire later than most European powers, the sheer size of the United
States and its global dominance after World War II made it quickly overtake UKs total
emissions.

Developed Countries had had the privilege of polluting the environment back in the
past, since the Industrial Revolution to only the just recent start of the 21st century. The current
pollution that is being a problem and causing global warming is the result of the developed
countries industrial development. Saying that developing countries are making trouble with
environmental pollution is not a reasonable or responsible attitude. They have done the same in

the past; worse maybe, but surely not less. If developed countries are not willing to help and
support developing countries in their development so that they dont generate further pollution
then they should be taking action to solve the current global warming, something that they
brought, rather than pushing the responsibility to developing countries.
Developed countries are the most developed and the wealthiest countries on the face of Earth.
They have the technology and the wealth to solve the issue of global warming, rather then
developing countries. Developing countries are called developing because they lack the
technology and the capital to put up better infrastructure, to do further research work, or to
produce something of high-technology; everything that developed countries can do. Being ahead
of all the other countries and so having the time, the resource and the brains they should take
greater action and feel the need to take higher obligation to lessen the consequences of global
warming. Taking into consideration that the current situation is the result of their past actions,
developed countries should take a step forward and take action to eradicate global warming and
its consequences. Developing countries should however, try to lessen the pollution as much as
possible so that the problem does not get worse. Developed countries should be willing to help
the other countries in times of need, such as in adopting new technology. Together, developed
countries and developing countries will be able to solve the problem of global warming, but only
when they cooperate. Cooperation and distribution of duties to combat global warming is the key
to solving the problem.

Climate Justice and Equity

For a number of years, there have been concerns that climate change negotiations will
essentially ignore a key principle of climate change negotiation frameworks: the common but
differentiated responsibilities. This recognizes that historically:

Industrialized nations have emitted far more greenhouse gas emissions than developing nations
(even if some developing nations are only now increasing theirs) enabling a cheaper path to
industrialization;

Rich countries therefore face the biggest responsibility and burden for action to address climate
change; and

Rich countries therefore must support developing nations adapt to avoid the polluting (i.e. easier
and cheaper) path to developmentthrough financing and technology transfer, for example.
This notion of climate justice is typically ignored by many rich nations and their mainstream
media, making it easy to blame China, India and other developing countries, or gain credence in
the false balancing argument that if they must be subject to emission reductions then so must
China and India. There may be a case for emerging nations to be subject to some reduction
targets, but the burden of reductions must lie with industrialized countries.
In the meanwhile, rich nations have done very little within the Kyoto protocol to reduce
emissions by any meaningful amount, while they are all for negotiating a follow on treaty that
brings more pressure to developing countries to agree to emissions targets. In effect, the more
they delay the more the poor nations will have to save the Earth with their sacrifices (and if it
works, as history shows, the rich and powerful will find a way to rewrite history to claim they
were the ones that saved the planet).
In conclusion, a series of detrimental effects has been caused by environmental

pollution, especially contamination of air and water, which is threatening the life and habitats of
the entire organisms on the earth, so it can be concluded that environmental protection is worth
fighting for. For instance, sea level has been raised due to glaciers melting because of global
warming by air pollution, results in decreasing of habitats. In fact, countries such as China, air
and water pollution has been regarded as two major causes of diseases and death.
Simultaneously, animals are endangered of water pollution, such as the King river in Australia
and the Yangtze River in China. In regards to the immediate physical impacts of climate change,
southern nations point out that the primary burden is and will be shouldered by developing
nations, which are the least responsible and are also the least able to cope. For example, climate
change will have much more catastrophic effects in Bangladesh than the United States or Europe.
Millions of Bengalis will become flood refugees, and crop failures due to extreme temperatures
will cripple Bangladeshs agriculturally based economy and send millions into poverty.
Developed nations, which have industrially rather than agriculturally based economies are less
threatened and also have the resources to cope with the effects of climate change. Bangladesh
cannot build sea balls, the Netherlands can. Additionally, Southern nations argue that
globalization heightens climate inequality because as the North continues to specialize in high
tech and service sectors it is effectively outsourcing its carbon emissions and blame to the
South. Therefore, environmental protection is the urgent priority to human. Greenhouse gases
tend to remain in the atmosphere for many decades so historical emissions are an important
consideration. The earth is a beautiful place but he humans with out appreciating we are causing
many discomfort to it, forgetting that what ever you do to earth we are the ones who is going to
struggle out of it.When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves.(David). If we decide to clean the
mess that we have made in the earth, the earth will be a better place. If Humans decided to

continue these activities, in future none of us will be left to alive in the world. We could even
change this world in to a dessert, which many of us won't like it. So we should act fast because
after us there are many generations to come in to this world.

Bibliography

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