Rich elites ply COP26 in Glasgow: A city where poorer males die 15.4 years earlier
Sawako Uchida and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Rich multi-millionaires representing many nations will ply the COP26 climate summit in the city of Glasgow in Scotland. However, just like CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) claimed that the end of the world may happen at any moment – while tens of millions of people have died in countless conventional wars (but not one person died from nuclear war since CND was created in 1957) and continue to die today – the mainly wealthy protesters and multi-millionaire political elites will not concern themselves about poverty in Glasgow.
Certain extremists in the environmental movement – just like CND – seem to thrive on spreading fear. Hence, the stresses on the younger generation from incitement and divisions via social media concerning race, the environment, gender, religion, and political issues are enormous. However, national governments will welcome environmental protests because it will lead to more taxes for countless governments.
The enormous population explosion is the main driving force of countless ills – from the environment, more wars, the exploitation of natural resources, and so forth. In 1800, the world reached 1 billion people, but by 2023 it is expected to pass 8 billion people. Henceforth, for the population to reach 1 billion, it took since the first time Homo Sapiens walked this earth. However, in approximately 223 years, another 7 billion people have been added to the human population.
Naturally, the consequences of the rapid rise in the human population are enormous. Especially, with the legacy of the Industrial Revolution – and further modernization – leading to pollution and other environmental ills. Therefore, the loss of natural habitat for animals and the pressure of the world population are putting enormous strains on the environment. Henceforth, the international community needs to focus on the best ways to preserve the natural balance. However, poorer developing nations don’t have the luxury of richer nations to change the working environment – nor to be choosy about the natural resources they utilize.
GLASGOW
In Glasgow, just like CND having the privilege to protest in leafy parts of the world while people were being killed in the millions in countless wars, the poor won’t be seen. Hence, rich multi-millionaire politicians will sprout soundbites about the environment – and mainly privileged protesters will demand political change. This combined force will mean more government environmental taxes. Therefore, it is hard to notice the difference between rich multi-millionaire politicians and the protesters because the same result will emerge.
Of course, the rich multi-millionaire politicians and privileged protesters won’t see the poor of Glasgow. In this city, the poorest 10 percent of males die 15.4 years less on average than the richest 10 percent. For females, the figure is 11.6 years. More alarmingly, the gap is increasing while international political elites and protesters will barely notice the same convulsions happening in many cities in the developed world.
In Greater Govan and wealthy Pollokshields, the gap in life expectancy is a staggering 17.6 years (average age 65.4 years to 83 years respectively).
In Scotland, 1,339 people died from drug-related deaths. Once more, Greater Glasgow and the Clyde regions had the highest death toll in Scotland. Therefore, deaths from drugs in Scotland are the highest in Europe concerning the percentage rate.
The National Records for Scotland website reports, “Scotland’s drug-death rate continues to be over 3½ times that for the UK as a whole, and higher than that of any European country.”
Poorer communities are especially blighted. Hence, the National Records for Scotland says, “At the beginning of the century, the rate of drug-related deaths in Scotland’s most deprived areas was 10 times that of our least deprived areas. By 2020 this gap had increased to 18 times as high.”
OVERALL
Wealthy G-20 nations (on the whole) will implement environmental policies at home but exploit poorer nations irrespective of the environmental consequences. Also, increasing technology concerning environmental issues is expensive in many sectors – and an expense that poorer nations often can’t afford.
A fine balance is needed because just like the poor in Glasgow being unseen to rich multi-millionaire politicians and environmentalists – the same applies to indigenous communities in Indonesia being ignored during environmental projects, bloodshed in the Democratic Republic of Congo when environmental projects began because of no consultation with local people, to villagers in parts of Cambodia protecting the natural habitat but receiving little money in return after stopping past work.
It seems that the rich can afford environmentalism at home – and exploit it abroad. Likewise, many grand environmental projects don’t take into account indigenous groups and their livelihoods. Therefore, the poor need to be seen (jobs, poverty, and social deprivation) – and the entire picture of environmental degradation and pollution needs to be taken into account from the concerns of less wealthy nations.
After all, rich nations got rich by exploiting natural resources, mass pollution connected to industrialization, and exploiting the natural resources of poorer nations. Therefore, the same rich international politicians who don’t see the poor in Glasgow during their lofty COP26 conference – are the same elites who now seek to dictate to poorer nations under the disguise of environmentalism.
Likewise, politicians in G-20 nations and environmental protesters often don’t see the poor at home struggling from low wages, poor housing, reduced working rights, and other social ills. Therefore, Glasgow and the COP26 environmental conference will highlight this stark duality!
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-58118599
https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/news/2021/drug-related-deaths-rise
https://phys.org/news/2021-10-deforestation-scheme-scrutiny-indonesia-debacle.html
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