Environment or TNCs benefits?

Nowadays, the Earth is suffering due to the deforestation, the excessive mining activities, the loss of topsoil and the pollution of seas and air. Humanity’s behavior has been focused on its own benefits and “welfare,” abusing of the wonderful resources that the Earth gently gives it. The world is positioned in a state of imminent danger, because of the abuse of Transnational Corporations (TNCs) and the incapacity of the governments to face TNCs environmental threats, and as a result of these, the actual global warming.

Currently, TNCs have done an abusive consumption of the natural resources causing a negative impact in the environment. Thus, provoking devastating results, which are doubtless endangering the harmony of the nature. Also, TNCs have been the culpable for some tragic environmental disasters over the past two decades. For example, in Bhopal, India the leaking of a poisonous gas in Union Carbide (1984). Exxon’s Valdez spill in Alaska, and Texaco in Ecuador. However, TNCs have tried to make conscience, promoting an environmental culture and proposing ecological reforms in favor to heal the damage that they have caused. Nonetheless, the pro-ecological reforms are only a minimal part of all the effort that must be done to counter the damage that TNCs have caused as Meena Raman, chair of Friends of the Earth International (1005) has declared, “The ‘greenwashing’ that corporations are now doing as their bit to clean up the environment cannot hide the damage they are causing.” Also, it is important to consider, that in many cases, all these environmental amends had only been part of campaign of public relations strategies and not a beneficial measure to improve the fragile environment as is observed by Meena Raman (2005), “They (TNCs) speak of what they have done by way of corporate social responsibility, which is voluntary and non-binding. But, we find these claims are ‘greenwashing,’ and much more public relations exercise.” Consequently, it is very important to always become aware that TNCs produce 50% of the global greenhouse emissions. Also, with their commercial logging and mining activities, they are responsible for the alarming deforestation rates. Today, of the large areas of ancient forests, only one fifth of them remain, but under increasing threat of degradation, too. Also, TNCs are the principal producers and consumers of chlorofluorocarbons, which are ozone-depleting. Finally, the air, land, ground water, wetlands and the ocean have been significantly polluted by TNCs’ activities and products.

Because local government’s lack of capacity to face the ecological threats caused by TNCs, they share the responsibility of the damage done to the world’s ecology. First of all, when TNCs arrive to developing countries, which don’t have the resources to exploit their own raw materials, TNCs offer long-term contracts that permit them to obtain all the profits, only giving the host country a minimal compensation. Then, governments establish very weak guidelines to contain the excessive exploitation of forest, minerals, and other resources. Finally, sometimes the local governments cannot superimpose themselves over the TNCs, because TNCs are self-sovereign entities, without a national identity. So, TNCs economies and capacity of deciding, become even more powerful that the ones of the host countries. As a result, TNCs can continue with their practices with an ineffective intervention of the host governments, because these countries sometimes seem obliged to fulfill their ‘guest’ whishes, instead of TNCs accomplishing the obligations and responsibilities established by their hosts.

Consequently as a result of the selfish actions of TNCs and the ineffectiveness of local governments, the global warming is alarming not only to the scientists, but even to every common person, because of the visible changes in the Earth’s climate. The main cause of global warming is the carbon dioxide and methane emissions emitted mainly by oil companies. Today, the world’s population can perceive the effects of the exceeding greenhouse gas emissions. These repercussions are presented in the excessive flooding that exists in several parts of the world, for example, the actual flooding in the Balkan countries due to the unusual melting of the Alps’ glaciers. Several teams of scientists have predicted that in 2100 the global temperature will rise four degrees higher than today, causing the poles to melt in incredible quantities, provoking more flooding and that the oceans will rise 13 to 20 feet. So as declared by Dr. Jonathan T. Overpeck of the University of Arizona, (2006), “If we don’t like the idea of flooding out New Orleans, major portions of South Florida, and many other valued parts of the coasts of U.S., we will have to commit soon to a major effort to stop most emissions of carbon to the atmosphere.” So he urges that TNCs and governments with the cooperation of man, as individual beings, take action to change their producing-consuming habits, because the balance of ecology has been greatly affected and even the life of man is in danger.

On the whole, TNCs should not abstain from utilizing natural resources, but they have to find the manner to promote the growth and development with the sustainable environmental practices. Also, governments ought to oblige TNCs to fulfill environmental responsible policies, even if TNCs appear to be very powerful entities. Now man has to begun to suffer the consequences of altering the ecology and these terrible results have claimed the extinction of species, drastic changes in the climate and people’s health, which are more valuable than all the benefits that TNCs protect.

References
Sury, Sanjay. (2005). “Greenwashing” Does not Make the World Cleaner. Inter Press Service of Global Policy. Retrieved March 24, 2006 from http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/tncs/2005/0703greenwashing.htm
Transnational Corporations: Impediments or Catalysts of Social Development (2006). United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. Retrieved March 14, 2006 from http://www.rrojasdatabank.org/op05-03.htm
Revkin, Andrew C. (2006). Climate Data Hint at Irreversible Rise in Seas. The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2006 from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/24/science/earth/24melt.html/_r=1&oref=slogin

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