For the last two hundred years, humans, as the dominant species of life, have been playing Gods on Earth, thinking that the it belongs to us and is our home: "Everything on Earth is all mine!”. However, it's not as straightforward as we'd like it to be. The water is wet, the sky is blue - these are no longer so. Water is still wet, but we have a shortage of it and it is even more expensive than oil, and the sky is not blue anymore, especially above megalopolises, especially above Almaty... The world has changed. It has become more aggressive, more unfriendly and more polluted. That's why the UN adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals through the prism of ecology. I will tell you about them below. Brief and to the point. Think about them, it is very important!
The SDGs themselves are a kind of call by the UN for the entire population of the Earth, a call for Life instead of Death. They were discussed for a long time, very painstakingly formed, and finally, in 2015, at the UN anniversary summit they were adopted and proclaimed as goals of the Planet to achieve until 2030. What are the environmental aspects of these goals, and how does ecology imperatively affect all of the SDGs? I do not want to cite difficult in understanding scientific judgments. I will take all 17 goals from Wikipedia, insert the word "Environment" into each one. Let’s see, what will came up:
1. End of ECOLOGICAL poverty in all its forms everywhere
Ecological poverty is one of the causes of poverty, in principle. See what happens: some people, ignoring ecology, increasing damage to the Planet based on unrestrained consumption, cut out their own kind, taking away their right to a clean environment, and through that, their right to income, essentially depriving them of their habitats and livelihoods. Does it exist? Undoubtedly! A simple example: mining displaces traditional activities - let's say, agriculture, deprives a certain category of people. You will say - this is for the good of society, for the production of vital goods... Yes, but by what methods and with what sacrifices! Some people will live a little better, while others will lose their habitats, their traditional income and livelihood. Isn't it? Think about it!
2. End hunger, achieve Ecological and food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Hunger is a derivative of poverty. These days traditional security is not enough, it is almost unattainable! We need to think about the environmental security for food programs. And here's why: We have already eaten almost everything on the planet. We produce food every second. We even live to eat! We sow and reap, grow and slaughter, boil, roast, steame, smoke, salt... Not for today, but for tomorrow, for the future… For a rainy day! But that rainy day is already here - in the form of those displaced from their traditional habitats (animals included), hungry and angry, with no way out. So how do we fight hunger? Only by competent distribution of edible resources, not momentarily (there is charity for that), but permanently, by careful distribution of opportunities and income, by taking from Nature only as much as needed, and not as much as it has. Careful use of land, animals and water resources, restoration of what has been taken from the Earth, rational consumption is the only way out. Not for us who are full and hoarding. But for those who in the morning consider a crust of bread from the garbage dump as breakfast. Isn't it? Think about it!
3. Ensure ENVIRONMENTALLY healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
How do you ensure a healthy lifestyle with dirty air and industrial emissions? There are many scientific studies on the effects of pollution on human health. I do not want to cite all of them here. I will say one - jogging in the morning and exercising in the open air, for example in the center of Almaty is not exactly a healthy lifestyle. It's just like doing CPR and smoking at the same time. Well-being can be tactfully silenced. Therefore, in order to ensure a healthy lifestyle, it is necessary to clean the environment first. This includes, in addition to sports, the fight against smoking, alcohol, drugs, and proper nutrition. How is our environment ecologically friendly now? How much of a HEALTHY LIFESTYLE is possible under these conditions? Think about it!
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality ECOLOGICAL education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Education is the foundation of well-being. The ability to study is what makes us different from our fellow brothers. In my opinion, our education, over the years, has become the basis of a consumerist attitude toward Nature, which, in turn, has led to the ecological collapse in many parts of the Earth. The emergence of people like Greta Tunberg, a girl who refuses to study because education is not useful to her, proves the need for environmental education in the first place. Only after you understand how harmoniously the planet and all its inhabitants should live you can continue learning the rest of the sciences and acquiring special knowledge to ensure future harmony for the planet. Isn't it? Think about it.
5. Achieve gender and ECOLOGICAL equality and empower all women and girls
We all come from a Mother, from a Woman. But we are born differently. Some in super conditions, with lots of devices and doctors, and some in poverty and hunger. This is where inequality begins, including gender inequality. And here ecology is a fundamental factor. Every Mother wants a better life for her child. This desire begins with an awareness of the comfort and purity of the environment. And this is ecology. Ecology, which must be conducive to the continuation of the species. Isn't it? Think about it!
6. Ensure availability and sustainable ECOLOGICAL management of water and sanitation for all
This goal in itself is ecological, it characterizes the necessary processes of using water for life. Water is Life. Clean water is a Good Life. More clean water means fewer problems of sanitation. Isn't it? Think about it!
7. Ensure access to affordable, ENVIRONMENTAL, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Here's a pun: conventional energy, as a life support sector, is irreparably damaging to the environment, causing death. Clean energy is a challenge to all of us who want to live. Solving this problem is the main stimulus for the further development of life on Earth. Many scientists-theorists, practitioners, and analysts-are thinking about this. What kind of energy do we consume today? The kind that produces all the main pollutants, that kills the planet, fosters poverty, inequality and disease. It should be the other way around! Energy must be fundamentally clean, not damaging. Then all derivatives of it will be for good. Isn't it? Think about it!
8. Promote sustained ECOLOGICAL, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
We live in a world where we desperately pursue economics, putting our lives for this goal. We think about Ecology only after environmental problems begin to taint our beloved economy. This is, I beg your pardon, masochism! Isn't it? Think about it!
9. Build resilient ECOLOGICAL infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
We are creating a livelihood infrastructure that is built for economic growth, which in turn is killing the Ecology. This is already, again, please, excuse me, sadistic! Isn't it? Think about it!
10. Reducing ECOLOGICAL inequalities within and among countries
It is environmental inequality that creates inequality, in principle. You cannot compare a resident of Temirtau, who has a constant risk of death from emissions that are visible in the black snow, and a resident of, say, the Swiss Alps. And the point is not that the economy, systems of state administration, democracy, and money are better and more liberal in Swiss, it is more comfortable and safer to live there, because the snow is white and the sky is blue. There you don't think about premature death or about the deformities of babies, because of the filth generated by the killer factory. They don't live there for the factory, they live there for themselves, the same people, with the same set of chromosomes and blood, but... totally different. Is not it so? Think about it!
11. Make cities and human settlements eco-friendly, inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Cities are a cluster of environmental problems: smog, landfills, densification, runoff, cutting down greenery, inequality, rampant overconsumption. Making them livable for eco-friendly living is difficult. But it is vital! How? First, we have to fulfill all of the above points, at a minimum. And it is through the lens of environmentalism! Isn't it? Think about it!
12. Ensure sustainable ECOLOGICAL consumption and production patterns
We all, to some degree, depend on models. Models of behavior, models of predictions for the future, models on the runways. How a situation is modeled determines how we can live it. Special programs, algorithms, and procedures have been created for this purpose. The model of production linked to the model of consumption is the basis of economics. But if we only model the economy (both production and consumption), we can forget about the equitable distribution of resources, food, water, etc. This would be modeling the killing of Planet Earth. In my opinion, along with modeling economic growth, it is necessary to predict the environmental consequences of such growth. Isn't it? Think about it!
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its ECOLOGICAL impacts
Climate change is Nature's verdict in response to imagined prosperity based on unbridled human consumption. Most importantly, climate change, as an environmental problem, brings with it related problems: desertification, loss of biodiversity, soil degradation, dehydration. The cause of this cocktail of problems is human activity. All the slogans about the minimal anthropogenic influence, that historically the Earth is approaching the end of its life cycle - are nothing. Just think about WHAT WE HAVE DONE??? How to live in the absence of glaciers in the Almaty mountains? How to take water from the shallowed Ural Mountains, the polluted Caspian Sea and Balkhash??? How to grow food without water in drought??? How can you graze cattle with no grass??? Think about it!
14. Conserve and sustainable, ECOLOGICAL use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
The ocean is the most unexplored part of the Earth. But that what has been explored is ruthlessly placed in the service of man, for his supposed benefit. To understand how much, imagine yourself as a whale. They are, by the way, intelligent creatures. They can think and speak, love and grieve. They feel pain! And suddenly they are pierced with an iron and killed... Pierced without enmity and hatred, just for the sake of an imaginary good... What would be your feelings and further actions? Or imagine that in your house there is a daily pile of plastic mixed with stinking, rotting waste... And there are no options, no alternatives! And you can't say you feel bad, they don't understand you. It's better to die, isn't it? And they die, throwing themselves into an unsuitable habitat, showing their protest by this action... And the ocean gives back - with tsunamis and typhoons, taking our lives on a tooth for a tooth basis... Think about it!
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable ECOLOGICAL use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
The key words in this goal are protection and restoration. Everything listed here is the essence of ecology. Isn't it? Think about it!
16. Promote ECOLOGICAL peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
We are building a civil society, fostering tolerance, and ensuring equal rights for all of us. At the same time, methodically and scrupulously, we divide ourselves into partnerships, factions, clans and neighborhoods, power and society, hanging up slogans and appeals for equality and unity, distributing from the common to the private such benefits as energy resources, clean air and water, fertile land and forests, and fat animals. "All for myself, all is mine" is the motto of our time. As a result, what is going on in the National Parks?; what was done to the city air?; mountains of waste; beaten seals; shallowing rivers; dead fish; fires; diseases; death... And the Law is silent. If it is not silent, then it tries to please people at the administration, who do not understand their own essence, and are not aware of the consequences. Isn't that so? Think about it!
17. Strengthen the ENVIRONMENTAL means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
If you take all of the above as a guide to action, as goals, without achieving which, life on planet Earth is not possible, then you are on the right track, I assure you. Try to set these goals right in front of you. Have you set them? Welcome to the New World, where the Sustainable Development Goals of Planet Earth rule!