Environmental Awareness

Transboundary pollution: Examine the growth of environmental awareness as a consequence of these global interactions.

Last week the world celebrated Earth Hour. It was a worldwide event where everyone would conserve energy to raise environmental awareness. This event shows that there is a growth in efforts to promote environmental efforts. One reason for the need of a rise in environmental awareness is the growth of transboundary pollution.

The world is shrinking due to Transnational corporations which means the boundaries of countries are shrinking. It is becoming easier for pollution to affect more and more countries. The transport of goods can create pollution in the home country, the country where the goods are being transported to, and all of the countries in between. The grandness of the oceans also connect many countries together, so pollution can be carried by winds or water currents. An example would be mercury that is dumped at the Arctic which is found in fish in North America and Greenland.

NGO's and other groups are trying to spread the idea that we are all connected and our actions can affect others in far away places. If pollution continues to rise and the negative effects continue to show we might have to have an earth day instead of just an hour to make a statement that changes need to be made.