Who Should Keep Our Environment Clean

1051 Words5 Pages
Who is responsible for the world being destroyed? The issue that climate is changing on a global scale is a known fact, not open for debate. My question is not geared towards this issue, though. It most likely is already too late. Now we have to deal with the effects. My question comes down to where our resources should be allocated and whose responsibility it is to make this happen. If a company destroys a fresh town's water source in order to mine copper, should they be accountable for the reparations to the town? What if the profits are so marginal that the cost of clean-up is more than the company would make? Should a land-owner whose RV use pushes erosion into a major watershed be fined? It's his land, right? Or is it? Should we be comparing the benefits to the cost of the projects before the actions are taken? I definitely feel that environmental damage should be sanctioned. Almost everything that individuals or corporations do in the modern world though has an environmental impact which is why there are laws and regulations covering what is allowed, designed to limit harm to what is tolerable. Individuals and corporations are culpable if they transgress. The question of greenhouse gas emissions is an interesting one as looking back many people may argue that we knew (or should have known) that we were causing damage that would result in death and destruction and did little to curb our activities. Hard to choose a best answer- but I wonder the same thing: what will our excuse be when we are asked why we let 50% of the world's species die off on our watch? I think "land ownership" should really be classified "land stewardship", with the stewards responsible for environmental integrity. This again raises the popular point that all should be held accountable. One cannot just point fingers for environmental degradation. We are at any rate held to account for our
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