Journal Articles:
Climate Change
One of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to provide affordable and clean energy for all. For many poor people in the global south, wood for fires, sometimes scavenged from nearby woods is the only source of energy.
This source is a seven-week virtual course focusing on the United States, with many internal links on different topics. Topics covered include land, consumption, activism, new developments and future ideas. There are many interviews within this source, providing valuable insight and a personal touch into this topic.
This brief article discusses how high poverty areas often take a large toll on the environment. Taking care to explain that this is not out of willful contempt for the environment or a justification of bad behavior, the author explains that those in poverty are often forced into practices, such as poaching, deforestation and trophy hunting.
This webpage is a brief summary of the UN’s Poverty-Environment Initiative. The Initiative is one that aids countries looking to solve issues involving the link between poverty and the environment. The initiative also has a branch that focuses on Africa, working in nine countries to advise governments on policies that both expand the economy and protect the environment.
This article works on the premise that poverty often drives unsustainable practices, and that anti-poverty initiatives often ignore sustainability. The author also explains that this cycle is especially harmful because the poor are most directly affected by a changing climate and environmental degradation.
This article summarizes many of the concepts that sum up the intersection between poverty and the environment. Disputing the idea that environmentally friendly policies are a luxury only available for rich nations, the article describes the need for all nations to engage in these policies. The fact that there is more than enough food produced in the world for all people, but it is not distributed efficiently is also discussed.
Pollution is creating a global problem of water scarcity. There is a lack of safe and clean water worldwide. Some 2.4 billion people live without sanitation. Global industry puts 300-400 megatons of waste into our water bodies every year. About 90% of sewage in developing countries is discharged into water bodies without any treatment. Changing climate patterns are set to change our water supply along with chemicals, pesticides, and personal care items.
This article explains that efforts to create better habitats for endangered animals also help poor people living in the area. This is because things such as habitat destruction also affect the people living there, and so rehabilitating the natural habitat brings the new resources and benefits to humans.
Approximately 1 in 8 people do not have access to clean and safe water. Lack of clean water does not only coexist with poverty in Africa, it can be a cause of poverty. Without clean water, it is also nearly impossible to break out of poverty. You are unable to grow food, go to school, work, or maintain healthy wellbeing. Many able-bodied members of communities spend hours each day finding and transporting heavy jugs of water. The United Nations estimates that 40 billion hours are spent on searching for and carrying water.
Developing countries are most impacted by water shortages and flooding. Up to 80% of illnesses in developing countries are linked to poor water quality and lack of sanitation. Water directly affects many other aspects of life including agriculture, energy, health, trade, security, and more. Water stress and lack of sanitation affects women and girls more than men.
11 quick facts about water for a short and accurate read. Every minute a child dies as a result of a water related illness. Spending $1 on water and sanitation can generate up to $8 in return value due to saved time, greater productivity, and lower health costs. Nearly ½ of primary schools in developing countries do not have proper water facilities and 2/3 do not have sanitation.
Article reinforces that lack of clean water and poverty are coexistent. Safe water is also necessary for irrigation and animals. Lack of water and sanitation impacts businesses as well as home life. Workers and customers must leave to find water or to use the bathroom. This leads to loss of productivity or loss of a customer. Rural school districts have difficulty keeping teachers when there is not a place provided for bathroom breaks or access to water. Approximately 443 million school days are lost each year from water related illnesses. Young girls are affected more when they begin to menstruate. They miss classes for long periods of time, and many drop out. If children are unable to obtain an education, this keeps the entire countries workforce behind, enabling the poverty trap.
After China banned the intake of waste from other countries, South Korea became the dumping ground. In one province, Gyeongsang, there is a mountain of plastic burning which is causing harmful air quality. In Mumbai, India, the air is so polluted from car exhaust that the government has used water cannons to clean the atmosphere. Air pollution leads to 8.8 million premature deaths every year, most of which occur in the poorest of countries.
This webpage is a brief summary of the UN’s Poverty-Environment Initiative. The Initiative is one that aids countries looking to solve issues involving the link between poverty and the environment. The initiative also has a branch that focuses on Africa, working in nine countries to advise governments on policies that both expand the economy and protect the environment. There has been a decent level of success with this project, with dozens of policies being recommended and implemented.
This source is an interview by MIT of Amy Glasmeier, a professor of Economic Geography and Regional Planning. She uses central Appalachia as an example of how an area rich in a lucrative resource falls into poverty. She explains that having few career options drive down wages and encourages businesses to use corrupt practices to gain profit and maintain their influence. She was also involved in the creation of a living wage calculator, a method of finding the living wage of a person or group.
An article that dives into the connection between environmental scarcity and conflict. Declining availability of renewable natural resources (such as water or soil) can have a correlation with conflict and destabilizing social interactions.
An article on the term "Food Desert." The definition given by the article is as follows: "geographic areas where residents' access to affordable, healthy food options is restricted or non existent due to the absence of grocery stories within convenient traveling distance."
An article that brings up multiple systematic barriers, but focuses on what the author calls one of the most prevalent systematic barrier for those in poverty today: isolation and lack of social mobility.
An article on what climate change within the next years will do to poverty. According to the article, climate change will push 100 million people back further into poverty. The article then goes on to give help and solutions to climate shock.
An article on Somalia and the scarce resources the country faces. As the country has no central government, alongside scarce resources, there is an abundance of conflict and violence.
An article on the current and past environmental policies within the United States.
An article on the lobbyist within the oil industry. According to the article, big oil companies are trying to lobby against climate change policies.
An article on a study conducted by the the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The study found that the United States could generate most of there electricity by renewable energy.