Environmental Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Environmental Issues - Essay Example The current interest in environmental education is actually spurred by two factors. First is the realization of business firms that complying to environmental standards and implementing programs advocating environmental awareness could increase the preference of customers because they know that the company is very concerned with the whole of society. In other words, it has become a point of competitiveness of the companies. The second factor is the realization that the problem has become so serious to the point that it threatens all sectors of society that it needs immediate attention. The way we are made to perceive environmental issues are distorted by the way the information is relayed to us. Environmental catastrophes are relayed to the audience but its root causes are never fully explained or in some instances, not even analyzed. The ideology that pervades among corporate media practitioners is to simply relay the information but they do not go as far as promoting advocacy. There exists a problem in the way environmental awareness is understood by educators and mass media practitioners and many people in general. They tend to mention events that have harmed the environment but they seldom do point out the root cause. We can only speculate that they are constrained to do so because most of the pollution such as oil spills came from big corporations who may have interests in the establishment where they are employed or who can sue them of all their belongings for tarnishing the name of the company. Those who had the courage to speak out have been branded as agents of doom for the dark predilections that they make. Some of them are actually lampooned and criticized for their messages which bears the truth regarding the state of the environment and the role we humans are playing in its destruction. Saving the environment requires a shift in ideology, an extension of democracy where the institutions are oriented towards environmental protection rather than living in denial and abstraction. The Currents of Ecological Democracy In the contemporary setting, environmentalists have begun to take on a new perspective regarding the pursuit of environmental awareness and environmental protection. What they advocate is direct political action which refers to mass mobilization and extensive forums pressuring the government to take action rather than waiting in vain for environmentally conscious individual to get elected in office. Capitalism which is basically a general term for the desire to acquire profits is seen as totally detrimental to the environment. It is impossible to arrive to a compromise between the desire for profits and the desire to save the environment for business firms will always need to expand and exploit resources to acquire more money. If the resources such as oil are depleted in an area, they move towards another area to keep the business going. As such, the cycle of environmental degradation continues. With this line of thinking, the attempts of corporations to project themselves as environmentally conscious are but a mere propaganda that is full of deceit and lies. Private firms are not the only one to blame. Much of the toxic materials comes from weapons used by