What are the impacts of environmental movements on the world government policy?

INTRODUCTION

The beginning of modern environmental movement can be dated back to attempts in 19th century Europe and North America to exhibit the costs of environmental negligence, especially disease, and widespread air as well as water pollution. But it was only after the World War II that the awareness begins to emerge (Elkington J. 2007).

The environmental movement is an international movement, represented by a range of organizations, from the large to grassroots and varies from country to country. Due to its large membership, varying and strong beliefs, and occasionally speculative nature, the environmental movement is not always united in its goals. At its broadest, the movement includes private citizens, professionals, religious devotees, politicians, scientists, nonprofit organizations and individual advocates (Martinez L. 2007).

DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS

Environment, is the sum total of all surroundings of a living organism, including natural forces and other living things, which provide conditions for development and growth as well as of danger and damage (Elkington J. 2007).

Environment refers to the aggregate of social and cultural conditions that influence the life of an individual or community, (Dictionary of the English Language 2000). 

Environmental movement can simply be defined as a social and political movement mainly concerning with the conservation of environment as well as improving the state of environment, according to Greg Barton (2002).

Environmental movement is a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues, (Oxford Dictionary 2007).

World Environmental Policy Act (WEPA) of 1969,

“To declare a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment; to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man; to enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the Nation; and to establish a Council on Environmental Quality.” Signed into law January 1, 1970 by President Nixon, Congress recognized the need to create a policy to protect the environment for present and future generations.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental justice as "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies (Roberts, J. T. 2009).

The followings are the impacts of environmental movements on the world government policy;

Encourage the implementation of environment policies; Environmental movements helps to equip and neglect policies to improve the environment around the world for better implementation and management that has a good and that led to improvement in the environment condition and help to eliminate or reduce environmental damage caused by human activity such as industrial, livestock, mining, construction and population growth.

Encourage rising of agencies that deal with environment; Environmental movements leads to growth and production of organizations and individuals involved in preservation and intensification of environmental protection around the world because they have the best lawyers actively protected and managed to keep a good implementation in all policy settings around the world so the environment so that the best environment and development around the world.

Supports environmental policy reforms; Environmental movements around the world help to reform some of the non-environmental policy meets the criteria and create a new policy explanations to go along with the intensification of the global environment around the world and making environmental policy to be better and more stable thus leading to better environmental policies and be more successful in environmental protection.

International cooperation in environmental protection; Environmental movement’s leads to good international relations where countries around the world joins together to improve and protect the environment in order to avoid damage from the environment such as desert impairment of ozone layer and climate change which increase the underdevelopment in many parts of the world where it leads many areas lack development in politically, economically, socially and culturally.

Modification of energy policy; this is another factor to show how environmental movements made impacts on word government policy because ecologist had a protest on government policy of nuclear test and uranium extraction (the use of abandoned resources) for example the Australian environmental movement on ant nuclear movement against French nuclear testing in 1972-1973  in which nuclear it convert the environment into less hostile other countries which protested environmental activists were USA and soviet

Demanded on solution for pollution problem; ecologist interrupted countries economic policies on production activities most of plant and production lines were closed due to violation of environmental protection law for example one area of pharmaceuticals at the in famous Azot production in Kemorovo were closed due to pollution of environmental through chemical which were used for marking drugs.

Land care; in any place land is very important for agriculture and settlement so environmental movement played a vital role on land care because environmental activist act on land policy to benefit the indigenous land in which land is for potential development and land use lather than conservation. So it increased consensus to the public on practice of suitable land care all over the world.

CONCLUSION

Eventually environmental movement has been helping much on putting suitable condition through scolding on all practice that seems affecting environmental especially against the world environmental policies. Hence much more effort is needed to support the activity by opening environmental libraries and educate the public through their own publication and mass media and the schools so as to ensure safe world of green movement.

  

REFERENCES

Martinez L. (2007), Coastal Dunes: Ecology and Conservation. Springer. p. 282.

Elkington J. (2007). Environmental Movement: The A to Z of Corporate Social Responsibility.

Hoboken, NJ:p 34

Greg Barton (2002). Empire Forestry and the Origins of Environmentalism. Cambridge

University Press.

p. 48

Roberts, J. T. (2009). "Environmental Justice". Annual Review of Environment and Resources

34: 405.

Oxford Dictionary (2007), Second Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company

Dictionary of the English Language (2000), Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company

 Written By AUSI CHIWAMBO (2014)-Teofilo Kisanji University