Defense Argument Threats To The Global Environment PDF

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Defense Argument: Civil War and Cultural Taboos...

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Running head: ARGUMENT AGAINST THREATS TO THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT

Defense Argument: Civil War and Cultural Taboos Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation

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ARGUMENT AGAINST THREATS TO THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT

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Defense Argument: Civil War and Cultural Taboos Introduction To some extent, civil war has been known to cause some significant impact on the global environment. Civil war happens when citizens of a country fight one another because of various factors that lead to conflicts amongst them. The major cause of civil wars in many countries are social, economic, and political ideologies or differences. When citizens of a country are engaged in civil wars, the environment is greatly affected by the vicious activities that entail the wars (Widmer, 2014). During the ancient times, there were less or no modern weapons that would be used in civil wars and hence, impacts of civil wars during those times were not great like today. Nowadays, everyone can access modern tools and equipment or weapons that can be used in civil wars. These weapons or tools can create great damage to the environment. However, the impacts of civil wars on the global environment are given less priority as compared to climate change, globalization, energy sources, and inappropriate use of technology. The reason behind it is because civil wars are not rampant, and they can easily be addressed. Cultural taboos have also been perceived to create some impacts on the global environment. Although many people across the world have adopted modern ways of living and doing things, there are still some communities across the world which are practicing such cultural practices that are detrimental to society. In ancient days, culture played a significant role in conserving the environment. At the same time, people with diverse cultural and belief systems relied heavily on the environment t for their survival. Generally, both in ancient and modern days, still, some cultural taboos are believed to impact the environment. For example, relying on firewood as the only source of energy has led to the destruction of ecosystems. Animal habitats have been destroyed due to cultural taboos that promote the exploitation of the environment

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(“Commission on Ecosystem Management,” 2019). Many communities still rely on natural resources to make their living. Some people in different communities across the world believe in creating more land for cultivation rather than using modern ways of farming to maximize food production. However, the impacts of cultural taboos on the environment are not immense as compared to climate changes, inappropriate use of technology, globalization, and energy sources. Why Civil War Threat to The Environment is Given Less Priority Many countries have experienced civil wars, including both developing and developed countries like the United States of America. Civil wars destroy both human and wildlife, before the advancement of modern technology, animals were used for transport means as well as sources of food during civil wars. Consequently, it led to many deaths of the wild animal's which were hunted for food while domestic animals such as donkeys and horses also died due to human confrontation (Widmer, 2014). Today, civil wars can lead to the destruction of the environment due to the use of modern weapons and equipment that destroys ecosystems. Nonetheless, climate changes, inappropriate use of technology, globalization, and energy sources create more impact on the environment as compared to civil wars and cultural taboos. Civil wars are therefore given less priority about the threats to the global environment. Due to the adoption of modern ways of living, social and political systems have changed where the approaches leadership in communities and nations at large have evolved. Changes in leadership have reduced incidences of civil wars across the world, and only a few countries such as Somalia as well as Sudan are experiencing civil wars, and this does not affect the global environment to a significant extent as compared to climate changes, inappropriate use of technology, globalization, and energy sources.

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Why Cultural Taboos Threat to The Environment is Given Less Priority Cultural taboos were common during ancient times before civilization and adoption of modern ways of doing things. Some cultural taboos led to the destruction of the environment. For example, relying on animals as the primary source of food led to a reduced number of certain species of animal (“Commission on Ecosystem Management,” 2019). Others are believed to have become extinct due to prolonged and persistent hunting. Today, even after the adoption of modern ways of lining, or simply civilization, there are communities across the world which are still practicing cultural taboos which are harmful to the environment (Harper, Harper & Snowden, 2017). One way in which cultural taboos lead to environmental destruction is the use of trees to make items such as ship masts, traditional furniture, as well as traditional stores. All these items, among many others, lead to the illegal cutting of many trees, which lead to the destruction of the environment. Other cultural taboos encourage us of trees as the main source of energy, and this leads to the reduction of forest covers. However, the extent at which cultural taboos impacts the global environment is not great as compared to impacts of climate changes, inappropriate use of technology, globalization, and energy sources on the global environment. Cultural taboos are slowly coming to an end due to the adoption of modern ways of living as well as the adoption of current technologies. Most of the communities across the world have stopped practices cultural practices that led to the destruction of the environment (Harper, Harper & Snowden, 2017). Many communities today make use of modern technologies to achieve social and economic goals rather than using natural resources such as trees. Civilization and the industrial revolution have changed the way many communities do their things and hence, the few cultural taboos that are being practiced today

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have a less significant impact on the global environment as compared to the climate changes, inappropriate use of technology, globalization, and energy sources. Conclusion Civil wars and cultural taboos cause lesser impacts on the environment as compared to climate changes, inappropriate use of technology, globalization, and energy sources, and hence, they out to be given less priority. Also, civil wars and cultural taboos are not common in most developing and developing countries. However, climate changes, inappropriate use of technology, globalization, and energy sources are affecting environment globally both in developed and developing countries and therefore they need to be prioritized before addressing civil wars and cultural taboos which can be addressed at local levels. The United Nations should, therefore, focus on addressing climate changes, inappropriate use of technology, globalization, and energy sources as the main factors that impact the environment globally. These four factors impacting the global environment have posed a great threat to human and animal survival. Global warming, among many other impacts, have been as a result of failure to address and manage climate changes, inappropriate use of technology, globalization, and energy sources at local, national, and international level. Therefore, the United Nations need to address these four issues with the urgency they deserve before coming into civil wars and cultural taboos.

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References Widmer, T. (2014, November 15). The Civil War's Environmental Impact. Retrieved from https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/the-civil-wars-environmental-impact/ Commission on Ecosystem Management. (2019, March 13). Cultural Practices and Ecosystem Management. Retrieved from https://www.iucn.org/commissions/commission-ecosystemmanagement/our-work/cems-thematic-groups/cultural-practices-and-ecosystemmanagement Harper, C., Harper, C. L., & Snowden, M. (2017). Environment and society: Human perspectives on environmental issues. Routledge....