Reduction of Natural Resources Essay -- Environment Developing Essays

Reduction of Natural Resources Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to make known the negative social implications of the â€Å"catching-up development myth† through globalization and to break down specific concepts of vertical and lateral oppression from the top natural resources consumers of oil in the world. This paper also demonstrates my interest in creating biological and economic equity in the world through breaking down these oppressive frameworks and hence, my interest in obtaining knowledge about alternative energy uses to be used as a tool to help liberate others in places of need. The â€Å"catching up development myth† as explained by Maria Mies and Vandana Shiva in Ecofeminism, is the idea that underdeveloped countries (meaning, countries that do not equal or exceed the industrial capabilities of modernized counties like the U.S.), through modern technology, are given equal opportunity to become as economically progressive as other countries like the U.S. It is a false precept in many ways. The U.S. has become a model for industrial countries because it has exploited other underdeveloped countries in order to gain its economic power. If underdeveloped countries were to â€Å"catch-up† to where the U.S. is today, they would also need to find another country that they could exploit as much as the U.S. exploits them. When economic reasons are discussed as to the possibilities of unlimited growth in underdeveloped countries the externalization of cost is almost never factored in. The economic, social, and most importantly ecological costs of constant growth in industrialized countries have been and are shifted to the people of underdeveloped countries. Both economic and social costs can be seen in the Maquiladoras on the b... ... natural resources like oil. Understanding ones role in this conceptual framework is also essential in creating a paradigm shift toward ones own awareness and participation in consuming the world’s natural resources such as oil. Building solar houses, using alternative energy sources for transportation, self-sustainability through growing ones own food can all contribute to creating a paradigm shift towards a more Earth sustaining living environments. These are just a few of the things that both affluent and poor countries can do to help deconstruct the negative codependent relationships that currently exist between each other. Works Cited: Mies, Maria, Shiva Vandana. Ecofeminism, Fernwood Publishing Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1993, pp 60 and 302. Weisman, Alan. Gaviotas, A Village to Reinvent the World, Chelsea Green Publishing Co., Vermont, 1998, pp126-127.