VIEWPOINTS
Let’s Rally for Environmental Responsibility by Abigail Scarlett, United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands
Abigail Scarlett is from United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands (UCJCI). She recently interned with World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) and is passionate about gender justice and environmental issues.
A
fter seeing the disasters that have been taking place around the world: the fires in Amazon rainforest and across Angola to Madagascar and the tropical hurricane and depressions that have devastated northern Bahamas, it is fair to say that the topic of caring for the environment cannot be exhausted enough. There should no longer be a question of why we must consider the environment. Economic growth is important but not so much for us to be neglecting the signs of the times and excavating our way into all our natural reserves. If nothing else, the recent disastrous natural events should be provoking us to think sustainably. All countries are seeking to achieve economic growth yet there are still those who do not see the link between environmental responsibility and sustainable profits. We need to see sustainability as a broad term. It is best to remember its three pillars: environment, social and economic ensuring that the importance on each is weighted heavily. It is impossible to focus solely on the economic aspect and expect it not to affect the social and environmental facets. Sustainable development should be treated as having counterparts in which the goal- ‘development’ cannot be achieved without the other pillars of sustainability. Biodiversity and natural resources (example: water, wood, coal, etc.) are important in building up the country’s economy. Agboraw and Jones (2017) confirms that natural resources increases a country’s wellbeing and its economic wealth. More jobs are created, there is increased manufacturing and a higher standard of living, as well as an influence on the financial sector. This therefore means that an increase in care for the country’s natural resources can only result into something good. Pollution, and environmentally unsustainable choices would cause the earth to collapse therefore causing natural resources to be depleted (Higgins 2013). Each time we pollute, over-exploit resources, clear lands without replanting trees, or clear lands without assessing the species present, with the aim of making more money, we leave fewer resources to utilize in the future. Now this inhibits us from our ultimate goal- being financially secure!
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