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Wealthy countries are responsible for almost all of the damage to the earth. The biggest offenders are the United States and Europe.
According to a new study, the poorest countries in the world are only responsible for 8% of ecological damage. The U.S. is the biggest offender at 27%, followed by the EU, which includes the UK, at 25%. China trails behind at 15%.
Simply put: Those of us who live in wealthy nations are gluttons. We consume, consume, consume what is put in front of us so more is made to put in front of us and Mother Earth suffers. Yet, recent studies show that the poorest nations will bear the brunt of climate change first.
Consider this study that shows that 63% of drinking water in the U.S. contains uranium but higher levels were detected in Hispanic communities. And this study, which shows that tumble dryers release microfibers into the environment, which has been shown to have adverse effects on human health.
So what do we do about it? The study says that wealthy nations “need to take the lead in making radical reductions in their resource use.” That requires them to “stop focusing on GDP growth as a primary objective.” If only!
