Blogs
United States: 1c. Colonial Context AV
How are the effects of climate change related with power imbalances among countries or within countries?
When richer countries pollute the air and the globe gets warmer, less fortunate countries end up suffering the effects. Natural disasters like hurricanes are made worse because of global warming. The hurricanes then land on areas where people may not have the resources to protect and ready themselves for the hurricane. One example is Hurricane Irma which was a category five when it was over the ocean. The amount of pollution caused by the US is likely to have worsened Irma. As Irma traveled West towards land it hit many islands in the Atlantic including Barbuda, still as a Category five. The small island of Barbuda left in ruins, suffered a huge loss. Florida was hit terribly as well, but by a weaker, category 4 Irma.
How does your footprint reflect the economy of your country, including its colonial relations?
If I took a road trip across country every week, my carbon footprint would be large, because I would need lot’s of gasoline. But what does this have to do with the US's economy? The more gasoline I need, the more I need to pay to get it. The more I pay, the more the gas company profits. The more the gas company profits, the more salary everyone in the company gets. The more salary everyone in the company gets, the more daily needs they can buy, and the entire process repeats. Therefore, the larger everybody’s footprint, the larger their country's economy to be successful. In order to have a sustainable world, the economy and the environment need to have a healthy balance. The US is a country of mainly immigrants so it doesn’t really have indigenous people and colonial relations.
