ms paiva I hope you like my button

ms paiva I hope you like my button

Although the UN has declared clean drinking water a basic human right, millions of people across the world, even in developed countries such as Canada, lack such a necessity to everyday living, emulated in the header “Water rights for all”. When people have access to clean water, quality of life in all areas improves— all the way from health and hygiene to improved education; ultimately closing the disparity gap. This enhancement can be reflected in the kawaii faces on the droplets of water; demonstrating the power clean water holds to change the lives of many. The globe in the background suggests that we all are interconnected, and in the face of globalization, it is our duty as global citizens to work with agents of change to ensure equity for all, to build sustainable, long lasting communities.

Throughout the duration of this course, we’ve delved into issues of inequality from various social, economic, political, and environmental stances to answer the question of: how exactly can we make the world a more equitable and sustainable place for everyone? From closing disparity gaps to safeguarding sustainable development in a globalized society, these are just a few of the ways we can begin to approach issues of global inequality. However, before we move onto more complex issues, I believe we need to focus on something that can be agreed on as so basic and essential to human growth— clean water.

<aside> ☝ We may think that we have the perfect understanding of global affairs, particularly ones regarding water rights, but they are limited to our personal biases, leading to skewed world perceptions.

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There is no one to blame for personal biases, they are just the result of our past experiences, media sources, socio-economic status, and more; we just need to be aware of them to try to evaluate multiple perspectives. For instance, if we only focus on clean water issues in African countries, we will never be aware of the water woes in Indigenous communities across Canada. Based on the particular sources we use, our perception of those particular issues will change— human intuition tends to assume the worst when studying world issues, so it’s important to remember that the world is getting better. As outlined by Hans Rosling, it’s crucial that we approach human ignorance with a few key points in mind: most things improve, there is an increasing emergence of the middle class, and that we should prioritize learning about truly sensationalized issues.

<aside> 💸 That being said, as economic development and demographics drive the increasing global wealth disparity gap between rich and poor, it is essential for developed countries to step in.

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To enumerate, the advancement of technology has created more employment opportunities; countries who cannot afford these technologies are stuck with populations working in low skilled jobs. This highlights the importance of redesigning policies in a way where everyone can benefit, such as in education and taxing, to ensure fairness and equity. However in countries that are captivated by barriers to development, such as high infant mortality rates, internal conflict/corruption, and a lack of adequate education and/or healthcare, equality on a global scale seems like a far away dream. Fortunately though, agents of change have the power to take affirmative action and close the disparity gap— individuals, organizations, and governments in particular, which can be quite influential in encouraging citizens to create change. For instance, the United Nations declaring clean water a basic human right puts pressure on local governments to seek internal change. Comparatively, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) work laterally to stabilize the global monetary system as well as assist low-income nations. Both institutions work to promote global economic cohesion, ensure countries are less vulnerable to crisis, and provide essential aid. Another way in which we can close the disparity gap is through the endorsement of fair trade, a policy that advocates for producers in developing countries by increasing export costs, to bring about sustainable and equitable trade relations. Above all, reducing infant mortality rates should be at the top of the list for closing the disparity gap; child survival rates are a direct reflection (or development indicator) of a given population. We can improve infant mortality rates through improved access to safe drinking water, building sustainable and resilient communities to set higher standards of living; demonstrating why water rights for all should be at the cutting edge of solving world issues.

<aside> 🌐 Globalization can be defined as an ongoing process that interconnects people, companies, and countries through trade, travel, technology, culture, and ideas— but is this necessarily a good thing?

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With attention to McDonald’s, easily the world’s most recognized symbol of globalization, the ethnic identity of a country becomes eroded, with the pressure to assimilate to an Americanized diet. Such a high demand for global trade calls for goods that must be readily available, and cheap, but at the expense of the environment, as well as unregulated labour. Trade helps the richer stay rich, as developing nations often get left out of trade deals, creating monopolies. But globalization is only accelerating, with free trade, increased consumerism, and rises in individualism acting as heavy drivers. To keep up with the accelerating rate of globalization, we need to regulate labour conditions and increase environmental standards in a manner that doesn’t exclude developing nations, so that the playing field is leveled for everyone; not just catered towards the power nations. If companies are faced with more obstacles to trade, there won’t be such a need for us to be dependent on other countries.

<aside> ♻️ To work towards sustainable development as well as eliminate the disparity gap, the United Nations put out 17 sustainable development objectives so that by 2030, we can conserve our resources in a way where everyone benefits; not just environmentally, but building sustainable societies and economies as well.

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Common-pool resources, or resources that are shared by a variety of different people should be managed and controlled by that same diversity of ideas and opinions to act in the best interest of everyone to avoid the tragedy of the commons. Water for example, when polluted with garbage, it loses its natural ability to purify itself, depleting the resource. Another instance, in the Angry Inuks documentary, seals are traditionally hunted in a way that allows for sustainability from both an economic and ecological perspective. However, the ways in which decisions were being made to manage the seals were made by those who have little knowledge of the socio-economic value of seals to the Inuks. By involving those who best represent a common resource in the decision making process, we can slowly work towards mutual coercion to sustainably set boundaries.

In essence, ensuring global sustainability and equity is a multidimensional issue that cannot just be solved by governments alone— it is up to the global community to stand out and make a difference. Through understanding and prioritizing certain issues, we can develop renewable and interrelated solutions that aim to close disparity gaps worldwide.