Environmental Dissociations

Especially in today's complicated and intertwined world, it is easy to become disconnected from the consequences of our actions.  Those trying to cheat or take advantage of circumstances often ignore what they do to others because they place their greed or selfish needs ahead of others.  This has happened far too often in business and finance, sometimes with catastrophic economic impacts.

While some may concede that this is human nature and we should accept it, civilized societies usually try to encourage behavior that is good for everyone.  The "common good," then, is the motivation for the passage of laws and the establishment of regulations related to those laws.  Yet the common good is frequently not well served, especially in the most lawless of countries.  Though for different reasons, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Pakistan, Sudan and Columbia may be the most nightmarish of that group.  But even places that hold the "Rule of Law" in high regard find themselves struggling to do the right things environmentally.  It would seem that this happens for several reasons.

• We are part of a global economy, literally buying things from all the world.  If these places ignore common sense regulations and practices, we can be unwitting partners in the death and destruction that result. 
• The absence of an environmental protection tradition means that the environment can be a very low priority in some cultures.  China is the most notorious and now holds first place on a number of air pollution categories.  The incidence of related respiratory disease is staggering.
• Profits trump workplace safety.  This can sometimes happen even in places like the United States, but the regulations (that some complain about) actually translate into a much safer workplace.  By contrast, Pakistan and Indonesia experience nearly eight times the number of workplace deaths per capita we see in the US each year.
  
• We are disconnected from the environmental damage we help inflict.  Kenneth Worthy, author of the environmental book Invisible Nature, calls this environmental dissociation.  Looking not only at disconnections related to the environment, Worthy looks at research showing this dissociation happens anytime we are removed (in time or space) from a problem to which we contribute.  The further removed we are, the more likely we are to act irresponsibly.  Environmental scholar Rob Nixon calls this "slow violence", "a violence that happens gradually and out of sight, a violence of delayed destruction."
  
• Institutions and corporations are not always the overseers they should be.  In a large, complicated society, we depend on our institutions and those that provide us goods and services to do the right thing.  Americans have faith that their public utility companies will provide pure water, that our farmers will grow tasty and nutritious food and that manufacturers will sell us safe and durable products.  Worthy believes that, "Culture, custom and trust in the institutions that support modern life determines [our] decisions more than [we] may realize."

Our relationship to the environment and the way we consume things have changed profoundly, even in the last twenty years.  It is not only important that we better understand the impact we have on the planet, it is equally important that we hold business and institutions accountable to guide us the right direction.