Blaming Americans for pollution is unfair. Yes much of pollution is a result of American consumerism, but it is not the average American’s fault that he is well off enough to purchase a large number of goods. Anything that is produced by humans damages the environment. Just because Americans have the power to purchase many of these man made goods does not make them accountable. Sure, there are many American corporations that have made environmentally irresponsible decisions such as Asarco, but the majority of Americans are not directly affiliated with these businesses. Also, such environmentally irresponsible decisions are an international problem. Things are cheaper when made dirty; that’s just business. Until green business becomes profitable, there will be unnecessary pollution for the sake of profit. Even if is this accomplished, there will still pollution because humanity has failed to reach an equilibrium point in its population growth. Humanity has exceeded its carrying capacity and inevitably takes more from the environment than the environment can safely give. Until technology brings humanity to the point where people no longer rely on the Earth to provide the raw materials for the things humanity desires and needs, the environment will suffer. It is ignorant to blame America for pollution. Environmental instability is a problem larger than any one nation or even group of nations. It is a problem as large as humanity itself.
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