Inequality and the Environment

Last week was spent reviewing the comics read for the MOOC, but there were some other things I wanted to follow up on based on the non-comic materials, and that is because of the way the different areas interact.

One article covered e-waste disposal. You are probably aware that you are not supposed to throw old computers and tech waste into the regular trash. Inside the casing there can be lead, mercury, and arsenic, as well as other chemicals and metals.

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/everyday-tech/e-waste1.htm

What you may not know is that after you responsibly turn your old gadgets in on a tech-waste round up, the recycling process that they go through often involves women and children in developing countries stripping them apart, that they may use other hazardous chemicals in the process, and that in addition to endangering their own health, various toxins enter the local environment as runoff.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2796756/

We do get those toxins out of our environment here in the United States, but that doesn't mean they are not an issue anywhere, and this is a system that can happen because there are enough people who do not care about poor people. Those workers may not be fully aware of the health threats, but they may also be desperate enough to accept it. The people who may drink contaminated water or food grown in contaminated ground have even less choice.

That's sobering, and we are going to think some more about that, but I want to bring up two other things.

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=9760

Often, having money can shield you from a lot, but in an area with more inequality, the air and water are worse for everyone. You can only drink bottled water, and have water delivered, but you probably aren't going to bathe in bottled water, or wash dishes in it, and you are still going to breathe air.

Inequality harms everyone. Yes, it hits those on the lower end of the scale the hardest, but it does not only hit them. That brings us to the last link for today:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/06/opinion/wilkinson-inequality-harm/

They are actually not sure if the super rich are harmed by inequality, but they can confirm that 90-95% of the population benefits when there is great equality. They wrote a whole book on it.

If self-interest helps some people care about inequality who would not care otherwise, I will take it.