How does poverty affect the ability to live sustainably?
Someone tells you that you need to live more sustainably. That your actions are hurting the environment. That you are not thinking about the children. PLEASE GAWD! Won't someone think about the children???
But what does all of this mean and where should one start to live more sustainably?
A quick Google search will give you the Oxford (2022) definition of sustainable as "able to be maintained at a certain rate or level," which we can apply to the resources we need to survive such as food and water. These days, in most towns and cities, a recycling bin is as common as a garbage can, so simple tasks like throwing your can or bottle into the proper bin should be pretty natural in 2022. Other sustainable options such as curbside recycling or public transit may also be an option for many, though not all.
Although I am in full support of these simple everyday actions and others - you know...turning off the lights and throwing on a sweater before turning up the heat - that doesn't mean the world is ending because you couldn't find a recycling bin to put your paper cup in. And although it helps when everyone does their part, there are bigger issues at hand when you look at sustainability on a global scale.
A major contributor to living an unsustainable lifestyle is poverty. As the world population grows and approaches 8 billion people, the gap between the very rich and very poor has widened (WEF). Opinions on this matter vary however. Singer (2011), a philosopher, argued that if there is to be environmental progress towards sustainability, then those in mature economies must sacrifice to prevent the poor in developing countries from suffering. On the other hand, Lomborg (2011), an environmental skeptic, countered that it is unrealistic to ask mature economies to sacrifice for the sake of developing ones.
Mulligan (2018) argues that poverty on a global scale can not be easily ended and since global climate change is such a complex issue, humanity’s ability to act globally is being challenged. However, without improving the life conditions of the majority of the world’s population who live in poverty, global sustainability cannot be achieved. If we can not change our world view to one that is more global than local, the ecological crisis that we face will become more complex with time. The support form political, educational and social parties is also required for sustainability to thrive (Hensley, 2011).
I’m sure there are many reasons but I think two big factors contributing to poverty are lack of education and improper implementation of policies to eradicate poverty at the elementary level. Many international reports (Duraiappah, 1998) claim that poverty contributes to environmental degradation. Due to lack of sufficient resources and improper knowledge, poverty-stricken people tend to overuse every resource available to them when their survival is at stake. But generally, we tend to forget that poor people are the most undefended ones when it comes to the effects of environmental pollution, climate change and global warming.
The relationship between humans and the environment are complex, but people everywhere need to consume food, water and energy to survive. Also, economic activity is heavily dependent on resources from nature which can deplete these resources and cause stress on the environment. Environmental problems can prevent people from obtaining an acceptable standard of living and this is amplified by people living in poverty since they rely more heavily on the environment for survival than the wealthy. However, all people need to live a sustainable life-style to ensure the long term well-being of all.
In 2015, 193 countries of the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development which contains 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The first and the foremost SDG is to “End Poverty in all forms everywhere”. Each and every country of the world is looking forward to eradicating poverty so that even the poor and vulnerable people also enjoy equal rights to economic resources, healthy living conditions as well as access to basic infrastructure and technology. Moreover, there should not be any doubt that poor nations and poor people are more severely vulnerable to effects of environmental damage than the rich (United Nations, 2022).
Another SDG is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (United Nations, 2022). Steps towards this goal include reducing air pollution and the number of people who live in slums, and increasing public transportation and solid waste management
So, whatever you’re currently doing to try and live sustainably, keep doing that. I just hope that government and international organizations can put their money where their mouth is - on eradicating poverty - so our contributions will matter in the end.
Duraiappah, A. K. (1998). Poverty and Environmental Degradation: A Review and Analysis of the Nexus. World development 26(12): 2169–2179.
Hensley, N. (2011). Bioregional Education and the Scholarship of Sustainability. Peter Lang Publishing Inc. New York.
Lomborg, B. (2011). Does helping the planet hurt the poor? Yes, if we listen to green extremists. Wall Street Journal – Eastern Edition, 257.
Mulligan, M. (2018). An introduction to sustainability: Environmental, social and Personal Perspectives. Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group.
Myers, J. (2022). These charts show the growing gap between the world's richest and poorest. World Economic Forum. Retrieved September 30, 2022, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/12/global-income-inequality-gap-report-rich-poor/
Singer, A. (2006). Business strategy and poverty alleviation. Journal of Business Ethics, 66, 225– 452.
Sumner, J. (2007). Sustainability and the Civil Commons: Rural Communities in the age of globalization. University of Toronto Press.
Sustainable. Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com. (2022). Retrieved September 30, 2022, from https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/sustainable
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