World Crises: Do we have the attention span of a 4 year old?
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If you haven’t already heard of the 11th Hour, it’s a documentary, narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, being released across the United States today concerning the rapid and unsustainable environmental degradation our planet is currently facing. The documentary is meant to shock viewers with powerful images and statistics of all the damage we have already done, but in the end it’s goal is to inspire hope and action to really take control of our situation, and “become the the generation that changes the world”! The following description comes from the 11th Hour’s promotion team:
“The 11th Hour examines the human relationship with Earth from its earliest glimmers of innovation, to the challenges humanity faces in the present, to the possibilities of the future”. – 11thHourFilm.com
I think films like as this one are fantastic. Sure, we hear about global warming everyday on the news, and people have been preaching environmental degradation for the past 50 years. But films like the 11th Hour seem to be far more effective in motivating the masses.
It seems that global warming and environmental degradation are topics that have really captured everyone’s attention. A recent Worldchanging article even goes so far as to say that we have seen a global rebirth of community civic action similar to that in the United States during the 1960’s and 1970’s. I think they are right, and that’s a big deal! People coming together around the world (on their own mind you, often with little to no pressure by governments) to fight for the preservation of our planet!
My Concern:
My only problem with all the attention the media and society now pay to environmental issues in general, is what happened to all the other World Crises we used to be concerned with. What happened to:
- Darfur
- HIV in Africa
- Political instability in Africa
- World healthcare
- Continuous human rights infractions in countries like China
- Sweatshop labor
- Global economic disparities
- Poverty in general
- Fresh water rights
- The drug trade
- Rogue states such as North Korea and now Burma
- Global immigration
Have we already solved these global problems? Have we already marked them off our list of global crises and are now ready to move on to environmental degradation in our march to save the world?
Or is environmental degradation just the current “flavor of the week” in world crises, one that we’ll happily move on from in a couple of years when the buzz is dead and we realize that making any kind of dent in global crises requires decades of unfaltering attention?
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I’m a little concerned that the two big global crises, the fight for the environment, and the fight against poverty are contradictory.
To save the environment we must put restraints on developing countries around the world. But if we do that, how are they supposed to compete economically and escape poverty?
However, if we allow developing countries to develop at any rate, it seems the planet is doomed!
POLLUTION TO THE OROYA CITY PERÚ
The years 2006 and 2007 the Blacksmith Institute have accomplished a research about the cities more contaminated to the world and arrived to the conclusion that the Oroya city was between the 10 cities more polluted of the world and, the environment Graffiti 2008 said that is between five more pollute too to the world. This qualifications are benevolents; according to my researchs to many years who I am publishing, the Oroya city is the most polluted to Peru, Latin America and of the world and every day is being more polluted: lead in blood in children in the Ancient Oroya in average 53.7 ug/dl ( DIGESA 1999); pregnancies women 39.49 ig/dl ( UNES 2000), new borns children 19.06 ug/dl, puerperal 319 ug/100 grams/placenta ( Castro 2003) and workers 50 ug/dl ( Doe Run 2003).Top lead in blood accepted 10 ug/dl; present day is 0 ug/dl ( Pediatric of Academy to USA)
When the Oroya city was in hands to the CentroMin eliminated only by the upper chimney to 167.500 meters, in average by day in tons: sulfur dioxide 1000, lead 2500, arsenic 2500, cadmium 40, particulate matter 50 and so on, more 24,000 to toxis gas product to the incomplete combustion of the coal, without count it is eliminated by industrial incinerator y by the 97 smalls chimneys, it is estimated 15,000; overall 45,000 tons for day (PAMA . El Complejo Metalúrgico de la Oroya, 1996); other research say that by this chimney only eliminate overall 119¨917,440 tons too every day to a velocity to 8.7 meters by second ( Chuquimantari C. Yauli-La Oroya Minería y Ciudades Empresas Pág. 57, 1992)
Doe Run envoy every three months the concentrations of the heavy metals to the Ministry to the Energy and Mines and with the sames datums Ceverstav have demostrated the pollution was increased; for example the sulfur dioxide it have increased in near to 300 %, by increment to the production (Cederstav. La Oroya no Espera 2002
The American Association to the Environment say that the environmental quality to the Oroya it is serious deteriorated since that Doe Run was owner and the same enterprise
declared that the concentrations of the heavy metals gas is ncreased in the air: lead 1160 %, cadmium 1990 % and arsenic 6006 % (Portugal, et al. Los Humos de Doe Run 2003)
Dr.Godofredo Arauzo
godo_ara@hotmail.com