The environmental
problems
we face are creations
of the capitalist system.
The problem is that
there is no planning on and no concern for environmental issues in an unplanned
economy. Short-term ‘rational' decisions produced
environmental disaster in the longer term. Socialism is
the only way we can protect the environment.
The Stern Report highlights the problem of global warming linked to the high emissions of carbon. Stern tries to find a solution within capitalism, without understanding that capitalism is actually the problem. The unplanned, chaotic nature of the system, where all is based on immediate profit means no real solution can be found within it. The answer lies in planning and that can only be achieved under socialism.
Earlier this year we received a letter from a reader of Socialist Appeal who says we put too much importance on one factor that contributes to climate change, human-induced emissions of "greenhouse" gases. In his answer Phil Mitchinson looks at the broader aspects of pollution, climate change and so on and stresses the need for a radical, socialist transformation of society if we are even to begin to tackle these vital problems.
Global warming and other environmental issues are always in the news. There is even
a party – the Green Party – that claims to put the environment at the
centre of its concerns. The Green Party claims to be neither right wing
nor left wing as, they say, environmental issues transcend the
traditional issues of class and the division between rich and poor that
define conventional political discussions and divisions. This is poppycock. Environmental issues are vitally important to
us inhabitants of the planet earth. But the environmental problems, and
the potential environmental catastrophe, we face are creations of the
capitalist system.
Dramatic climate change in recent years has led scientists to the conclusion that global warming is the cause. This is bad news for the private owners of the $2trn dollar oil, gas and natural gas industries. If serious action were taken to deal with global warming, their profits would be in trouble. That is why these big monopolies have spent millions on a campaign designed to rubbish the global warming theory.
The debate over global warming and the consequences it may or may not have for planet Earth and humanity has been raging for several decades now. Global warming is an endless source of controversy, but one thing is clear – our climate is changing.
On December 23, 2003 the US government officially acknowledged the outbreak of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in a herd of cattle in the state of Washington.This is officially the first case of mad cow in the US, but is in reality the second case of an outbreak in the integrated Canadian and US cattle industry. The farming and cattle crisis is at root a reflection of the crisis of capitalism worldwide and a result of "globalization".
"According to the defenders of capitalism and the "free market", socialism in general and marxism in particular is all but dead and buried. However it may be instructive to examine one of the main environmental problems created by the free market, namely global warming. This has been described as the greatest disaster facing humankind, not to mention a myriad of other species! The question is can the capitalist system find a global solution?".
Genetic engineering has come upon the world with a rush, accompanied by the usual claims of being a way of feeding the earth's poor and removing want. However these claims need to examined in the light of what has actually been done to date, and what is planned for the future. In fact the impetus for the development of genetic engineering, namely the rapid pursuit of maximum profits and futher control of world agriculture runs counter to the stated aims as well as encouraging unsafe science.
Sewage-fed cows, "mad cows", dioxin contaminated chickens, hormone injected cattle, genetically modified Soya, animal carcasses used to make animal feed, contaminated mineral water and Coca- Cola. A common thread runs through all these cases: the search for the highest profits on the part of the food industry to the detriment of everybody's health. Michele Fabbri, Italian Marxist magazine Falce Martello.
According to Monsanto, the American multinational currently making vast profits out of genetically modified food, the future's so bright that they could genetically modify us to wear shades! Joking apart, there is a serious issue here. Are GM foods safe?