Industrialization vs. Environment – What is of utmost need?

The process of industrialization has gained much momentum during the past several centuries. A large number of new technologies providing new capabilities to the human beings have become available. In several cases, the human beings have used these additional capabilities for manipulating natural resources for their own benefit but at the expense of other things. At the same time, it cannot be denied that technological advancements also requires that human beings should achieve a better understanding of the world and it also provides increased potential for doing good and for manipulating things in a way which is beneficial for our planet. It is way, in this realization has provided us with the ability and now the question remains if we ‘should’. The impact of humans has certainly been increased by industrialization, may be for good or bad.

As mentioned above, it cannot be denied that industrialization has provided a greater ability to the human beings to manipulate the environment. There is a long list of capabilities that have been provided by industrialization. For example, computers have allowed a lot of new things to be done. In this regard, many people believe that it is important to take care of the millions of people who are starving instead of spending resources on saving the natural resources, as most of these resources are renewable. The developing nations of the world cannot be expected to share the green concerns of the developed nations particularly while these countries have to face dire poverty and are engaged in a battle for survival.

The emphasis of the industrialized world on green issues holds the developing countries back. The reason is that it is considered as interference in the internal affairs of these countries and at the same time it also increases the divide that exists between the first and third world countries. There are many who believe that the emphasis on environment is only an attempt to prevent the possible economic competitors. In this regard, an example is given of the high tariffs imposed by the US and the European Union on the products that are made cheaply in the developing countries and can be sold in Europe or America. By restricting the development of profitable but polluting industries, these countries are being forced to remain economically undeveloped.

In this regard it can also be argued that economic development is necessary for fulfilling the basic requirements of the increasing population of the developing countries. As a result if these countries are not allowed in this realization, these countries will not be able to provide basic requirements like food and water to their people. Another argument that can be given in favor of industrialization is that although it appears that the world will become a better place if all the countries of the world follow the strict environmental rules however the reality is that a number of these rules are not in the interests of some of the countries of the world. For example, the iron and steel works in China, which is a major source of pollution, is also providing a large number of jobs to the people. Therefore the equal application of such strict environmental laws may result in creating barriers in the economic progress of some countries and may also result in causing political instability.

At the same time, it can also be argued that it is not necessary in all cases that rapid industrialization places more pressure on the environment. Due to the latest scientific developments, the industries have become much less polluting as compared to the past. Similarly the developing countries can also learn lessons from the environmental mistakes that have been made by the developed countries of the world after Industrial Revolution as well as the industrial disasters that took place in Russia and China. For example, due to the recent scientific developments, much less water, power and raw material is being used by the new steelworks and as a result, much less pollution is being treated as compared to the traditional industries. Similarly, nuclear power plants can provide much more energy as compared to the thermal power plants and at the same time, the nuclear plants contribute much less in global warming. In the same way, the alternative sources of energy like solar power, wind and hydropower are also being explored for rapid industrialization.

It is not correct for the rich and developed countries to require that the poorer nations of the world should also make the conservation of environment their priority. In this regard it can be argued that it was the rich nations of the world that have caused most common to the environment during the Industrial Revolution. These countries have felled trees, polluted the sources of water and have also released large amount of carbon dioxide in the air. As a result, these countries do not have the right to tell other nations that they should behave in a different way. Now, when these countries have become richer, they have become more concerned regarding the environment as now they can afford to do something regarding this issue. On the other hand, the conservation of environment can wait till the developing countries also become rich.

Due to the Green Revolution, the size of grain harvest has also doubled. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to cut more forests to provide space for the crops. The new technology allows us to feed the increasing population of the world without harming the environment. For example, the genetically modified crops can help the developing countries as these crops give better yields but require much less water, pesticide or fertilizer. This shows how industrialization can also help in achieving environmental benefits.

At the same time, there are many who prefer the protection of the environment as against industrialization. These people believe that huge natural resources have already been destroyed and wasted. While doing so, the planet itself has been put at risk. Therefore it is important to preserve the earth. These people claim that environmental damage is also related to poverty. For example, by destroying the rain forests, the native people are forced to live in urban slums. Similarly, the polluted water can also result in crop failures. Due to climate changes, the fertile fields may be turned into desert and coastal areas may be flooded. Therefore, it is important that the developing countries of the world go for sustainable development.

Similarly the advocates of environmental protection are not against economic development that has the potential to make the life of a lot of people better. However they insist on achieving sustainable development that is able to combine environmental protection with economic growth and social justice. For example, the companies in the developed countries are already paying the higher costs of production as a result of the environment protection rules enforced in these countries. It will be unfair for these companies if they have to compete with the codes that have been produced in developing countries at a lesser cost but by damaging the environment.

Unrestricted growth in population also causes a negative impact on our country and also on the whole planet. For example the environmental problems and poverty faced in sub-Saharan Africa can be attributed to the rapid growth in population that has put pressure on the limited natural resources. On the other hand, China has been able to achieve significant growth after it followed one child policy. Therefore it is clear that a high standard of living can be achieved and at the same time, the environment can be preserved by limiting the growth of population.

Due to pollution, countries are losing more than they are gaining as a result of industrialization. A perfect example in this regard can be given of China. Serious air and water pollution has been caused the country after two decades of unrestricted economic development. As a result, health problems have increased and the farmers also have to face losses worth billions of dollars every year. In this way, unrestricted economic development is not only harmful for the environment, it is not economically beneficial also.

Due to the recent scientific developments, we have become overconfident in our ability to control the environment. However only within half a century, very serious accidents have been witnessed by the nuclear industry of the world including UK, (Windscale, 1957) USA (Three Mile Island, 1979) and USSR (Chernobyl, 1986). Moreover the nuclear power industry has still not become successful in storing its waste safely. Similarly, although hydropower appears to be a good option but making dams on the rivers by also harm the environment. At the same time, a large number of people are also displaced by these dams.

Taking care of the environment is this possibility of all the countries of the world. The climate changes will have an impact on whole of the planet and not only on the developed countries. In fact, the effects of climate change will be particularly bad for the developing countries as there will be a rise in the sea level, the natural disasters will become more common and the deserts will advance. Therefore, the effort was made in Europe will not have any effect if pollution increases in other parts of the world. As a result, the green technologies used by the developed countries should be transferred to the developing countries and at the same time, sustainability should be made a condition for providing aid to the developing countries.

The biodiversity of the Third World has been threatened by the green revolution as hybrids have replaced the native seeds. The long term economic or environmental consequences of it are not known yet. Similarly it is also not known if these hybrid crops may cause environmental problems. However the farmers who are growing hybrid crops are required to buy the new seeds every year at the high cost as these seeds cannot be saved for planting the next year’s crop. For example the farmers who were using hybrid seeds in the richest part of India have gone bankrupt.

In this way, we see that great amount of power has been provided by industrialization and there is a need to maintain a balance between the people, environment and the resources.