Student Address
Date
Ms. Inger Andersen
Executive Director
United Nations Environment Programme
30552-00100 United Nations Avenue
Nairobi, Kenya.
Dear Madam,
Subject: Potential Solutions to Global Environmental Challenges
I need to draw your attention to current global environmental challenges. Over the centuries, collective human activities have affected important geochemical cycles of the earth. As people continuously change how they interact with the environment, crucial environmental support systems are increasingly compromised. Over the years, numerous environmental solutions have been suggested, and world leaders must implement these solutions. As a world leader yourself, I request that you take a firm stand and implement viable environmental solutions that will benefit our collective future.
Cultural interpretations of environmental degradations rely on change perceptions rooted in local knowledge. Therefore, while people may recognize their impact on the environment, they are likely to deny these effects by relying on their cultural perceptions (Baer, 2015). For instance, cultures that use trees as a source of fuel and building materials are likely to cause deforestation. Although they may recognize that clearing forested lands negatively impacts the environment, there are more likely to use their culture as an excuse to ignore this problem. Similarly, political factors impede the implementation of environmental solutions. Urban development is often viewed as progressive; therefore, environmental programs that limit development are met with resistance. For instance, in the Sierra Nevada Foothills, pro-development forces in the region opposed implementing an environmental management plan that aimed to limit development in the area (Brown et al., 2020). This political backlash derailed the implementation of the environmental plan.
Lastly, economic factors such as industrialization significantly affect the environment. Industrialization has resulted in both economic prosperity and environmental degradation. During the 18th and 19th centuries, America’s industrialization resulted in significant air, water, and soil pollution (Hough, 2019). Countries with high manufacturing capacities are the leading contributors to greenhouse gases. Despite this adverse effect, world leaders from these countries are unwilling to implement solutions that negatively affect their economic growth.
Various anthropological environmental solutions can solve current environmental problems while addressing the highlighted economic, political, and cultural concerns. For instance, in cultures reliant on trees for fuel and building material, governments can introduce reforestation programs that use fast-growing tree species to increase forest cover and be used as sources of fuel and wood. Such programs address the community’s needs while solving the problem of deforestation. Governments need to encourage locally driven solutions to solve environmental problems caused by economic factors. For instance, communities should be encouraged to use renewable energy. Reliance on renewable energy as a fuel source reduces the number of people reliant on national electric grids, reducing the amount of coal burnt in electricity production. Lastly, governments and world leaders need to work with conservation groups to develop and implement various environmental solutions.
If you use solutions that include all shareholders, I believe that solving current environmental challenges will be easier. Moreover, world leaders must urgently address these problems to ensure a prosperous collective future.
Yours Sincerely,
Student Name.
References
Baer, H. A., & Reuter, T. (2015). Anthropological perspectives on climate change and sustainability: Implications for policy and action. Brief for GSDR 2015.
Brown, N., McIlwraith, T., & de González, L. T. (2020). Culture and Sustainability: Environmental Anthropology in the Anthropocene. Perspectives: An Open Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, 2nd Edition.
Hough, P. (2019). Back to the future: environmental security in nineteenth-century global politics. Global Security: Health, Science and Policy, 4(1), 1-13.
