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Zamora Memorial College

College Department
Bacacay, Albay

TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SOCIAL STUDIES MODULE 2

Name: __________________________ Year and Course: __________ Date: ______

TOPIC/S:
Lesson 4: The Concept of Human Rights
Lesson 5: Poverty
Lesson 6: Environment Issues
Lesson 7: Philippine Environmental Law

OVERVIEW

OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:
a. identify the types and components of human rights;
b. discuss the history and human rights violations; and
c. explain the importance of human rights
d. compare the theories of poverty; and identify its causes and effects
e. describe global concerns on environment;
f. discuss the effects of greenhouse warning; and illustrate the causes of La Nina
and El Nino Phenomena
g. discuss ways in order to support the UN Conference on Environment.

LEARNING TASK/S
TASK 1: INTERPRETING AN EDITORIAL CARTOON

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Process Questions:
1. What are your thoughts upon seeing the picture?
2. How will you describe human rights in the Philippines?
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LET’S KNOW MORE!

LESSON 4: THE CONCEPT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

What Are Human Rights?

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex,
nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the
right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and
expression, the right to work and education, and many more.  Everyone is entitled to
these rights, without discrimination.
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A Brief History of Human Rights
The Cyrus Cylinder (539 B.C.)
In 539 B.C., the armies of Cyrus the Great, the first king of ancient Persia,
conquered the city of Babylon. But it was his next actions that marked a major advance
for Man. He freed the slaves, declared that all people had the right to choose their own
religion, and established racial equality. These and other decrees were recorded on a
baked-clay cylinder in the Akkadian language with cuneiform script.

Known today as the Cyrus Cylinder, this ancient record has now been
recognized as the world’s first charter of human rights. It is translated into all six official
languages of the United Nations and its provisions parallel the first four Articles of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Spread of Human Rights

From Babylon, the idea of human rights spread quickly to India, Greece and
eventually Rome. There the concept of “natural law” arose, in observation of the fact
that people tended to follow certain unwritten laws in the course of life, and Roman law
was based on rational ideas derived from the nature of things.

Documents asserting individual rights, such as the Magna Carta (1215), the
Petition of Right (1628), the US Constitution (1787), the French Declaration of the
Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789), and the US Bill of Rights (1791) are the written
precursors to many of today’s human rights documents.

The Magna Carta (1215)

The Magna Carta, or “Great Charter,” was arguably the most significant early
influence on the extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law
today in the English-speaking world.

In 1215, after King John of England violated a number of ancient laws and
customs by which England had been governed, his subjects forced him to sign the
Magna Carta, which enumerates what later came to be thought of as human rights.
Among them was the right of the church to be free from governmental interference, the
rights of all free citizens to own and inherit property and to be protected from excessive
taxes. It established the right of widows who owned property to choose not to remarry,
and established principles of due process and equality before the law. It also contained
provisions forbidding bribery and official misconduct.

Widely viewed as one of the most important legal documents in the development
of modern democracy, the Magna Carta was a crucial turning point in the struggle to
establish freedom.
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Petition of Right (1628)

The next recorded milestone in the development of human rights was the Petition
of Right, produced in 1628 by the English Parliament and sent to Charles I as a
statement of civil liberties. Refusal by Parliament to finance the king’s unpopular foreign
policy had caused his government to exact forced loans and to quarter troops in
subjects’ houses as an economy measure. Arbitrary arrest and imprisonment for
opposing these policies had produced in Parliament a violent hostility to Charles and to
George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham. The Petition of Right, initiated by Sir Edward
Coke, was based upon earlier statutes and charters and asserted four principles: (1) No
taxes may be levied without consent of Parliament, (2) No subject may be imprisoned
without cause shown (reaffirmation of the right of habeas corpus), (3) No soldiers may
be quartered upon the citizenry, and (4) Martial law may not be used in time of peace.

United States Declaration of Independence (1776)

On July 4, 1776, the United States Congress approved the Declaration of
Independence. Its primary author, Thomas Jefferson, wrote the Declaration as a formal
explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great
Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and as
a statement announcing that the thirteen American Colonies were no longer a part of
the British Empire. Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms.
It was initially published as a printed broadsheet that was widely distributed and read to
the public.

Philosophically, the Declaration stressed two themes: individual rights and the
right of revolution. These ideas became widely held by Americans and spread
internationally as well, influencing in particular the French Revolution.
The Constitution of the United States of America (1787) and Bill of Rights (1791)
Written during the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, the Constitution of the United States
of America is the fundamental law of the US federal system of government and the
landmark document of the Western world. It is the oldest written national constitution in
use and defines the principal organs of government and their jurisdictions and the basic
rights of citizens.

The first ten amendments to the Constitution—the Bill of Rights—came into effect
on December 15, 1791, limiting the powers of the federal government of the United
States and protecting the rights of all citizens, residents and visitors in American
territory.
The Bill of Rights protects freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to keep and
bear arms, the freedom of assembly and the freedom to petition. It also prohibits
unreasonable search and seizure, cruel and unusual punishment and compelled self-
incrimination. Among the legal protections it affords, the Bill of Rights prohibits
Congress from making any law respecting establishment of religion and prohibits the
federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty or property without due
process of law. In federal criminal cases it requires indictment by a grand jury for any
capital offense, or infamous crime, guarantees a speedy public trial with an impartial
jury in the district in which the crime occurred, and prohibits double jeopardy.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)

In 1789 the people of France brought about the abolishment of the absolute
monarchy and set the stage for the establishment of the first French Republic. Just six
weeks after the storming of the Bastille, and barely three weeks after the abolition of
feudalism, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (French: La
Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen) was adopted by the National
Constituent Assembly as the first step toward writing a constitution for the Republic of
France.
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The Declaration proclaims that all citizens are to be guaranteed the rights of
“liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.” It argues that the need for law
derives from the fact that “...the exercise of the natural rights of each man has only
those borders which assure other members of the society the enjoyment of these same
rights.” Thus, the Declaration sees law as an “expression of the general will,“ intended
to promote this equality of rights and to forbid “only actions harmful to the society.”

The First Geneva Convention (1864)

In 1864, sixteen European countries and several American states attended a
conference in Geneva, at the invitation of the Swiss Federal Council, on the initiative of
the Geneva Committee. The diplomatic conference was held for the purpose of
adopting a convention for the treatment of wounded soldiers in combat.

The main principles laid down in the Convention and maintained by the later
Geneva Conventions provided for the obligation to extend care without discrimination to
wounded and sick military personnel and respect for and marking of medical personnel
transports and equipment with the distinctive sign of the red cross on a white
background.

The United Nations (1945)

World War II had raged from 1939 to 1945, and as the end drew near, cities
throughout Europe and Asia lay in smoldering ruins. Millions of people were dead,
millions more were homeless or starving. Russian forces were closing in on the
remnants of German resistance in Germany’s bombed-out capital of Berlin. In the
Pacific, US Marines were still battling entrenched Japanese forces on such islands as
Okinawa.

In April 1945, delegates from fifty countries met in San Francisco full of optimism
and hope. The goal of the United Nations Conference on International Organization was
to fashion an international body to promote peace and prevent future wars. The ideals
of the organization were stated in the preamble to its proposed charter: “We the peoples
of the United Nations are determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge
of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind.”
The Charter of the new United Nations organization went into effect on October 24,
1945, a date that is celebrated each year as United Nations Day.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

By 1948, the United Nations’ new Human Rights Commission had captured the
world’s attention. Under the dynamic chairmanship of Eleanor Roosevelt—President
Franklin Roosevelt’s widow, a human rights champion in her own right and the United
States delegate to the UN—the Commission set out to draft the document that became
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Roosevelt, credited with its inspiration,
referred to the Declaration as the international Magna Carta for all mankind. It was
adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948.

In its preamble and in Article 1, the Declaration unequivocally proclaims the

inherent rights of all human beings: “Disregard and contempt for human rights have
resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the
advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and
freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the
common people...All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
The Member States of the United Nations pledged to work together to promote the thirty
Articles of human rights that, for the first time in history, had been assembled and
codified into a single document. In consequence, many of these rights, in various forms,
are today part of the constitutional laws of democratic nations.
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Types of Rights
1. Natural Rights
Many researchers have faith in natural rights. They stated that people inherit
several rights from nature. Before they came to live in society and state, they used to
live in a state of nature. In it, they appreciated certain natural rights, like the right to life,
right to liberty and right to property. Natural rights are parts of human nature and
reason. Political theory maintains that an individual enters into society with certain basic
rights and that no government can deny these rights.

In classical political philosophy “natural right” denotes to the objective rightness

of the right things, whether the virtue of a soul, the correctness of an action, or the
excellence of a regime. Aristotle stated in Politics (1323a29-33) that no one would call a
man happy who was completely lacking in courage, temperance, justice, or wisdom. A
man who was easily terrified, unable to restrain any impulse toward food or drink, willing
to ruin his friends for a trifle, and generally senseless could not possibly lead a good life.
Even though chance may occasionally prevent good actions from having their normal
consequences, so that sometimes cowards fare better than brave men, courage is still
objectively better than cowardice. The virtues and actions that contribute to the good
life, and the activities intrinsic to the good life, are naturally right.

The modern idea of natural rights grew out of the ancient and medieval doctrines
of natural law, but for other scholars, the concept of natural rights is unreal. Rights are
the products of social living. These can be used only in a society. Rights have behind
them the recognition of society as common claims for development, and that is why the
state protects these rights. John Locke (1632–1704), the most influential political
philosophers of the modern period, argued that people have rights, such as the right to
life, liberty, and property that have a foundation independent of the laws of any
particular society. Locke claimed that men are naturally free and equal as part of the
justification for understanding legitimate political government as the result of a social
contract where people in the state of nature conditionally transfer some of their rights to
the government in order to better ensure the stable, comfortable enjoyment of their
lives, liberty, and property. Since governments exist by the consent of the people in
order to protect the rights of the people and promote the public good, governments that
fail to do so can be resisted and replaced with new governments.

2. Moral Rights
Moral Rights are based on human consciousness. They are supported by moral
force of human mind. These are based on human sense of goodness and justice. These
are not assisted by the force of law. Sense of goodness and public opinion are the
sanctions behind moral rights.
If any person disrupts any moral right, no legal action can be taken against him. The
state does not enforce these rights. Its courts do not recognize these rights. Moral
Rights include rules of good conduct, courtesy and of moral behaviour. These stand for
moral perfection of the people.
Moral rights were first acknowledged in France and Germany, before they were
included in the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in
1928. Canada recognized moral rights in its Copyright Act. The United States became a
signatory to the convention in 1989, and incorporated a version of moral rights under its
copyright law under Title 17 of the U.S. Code. There are two major moral rights under
the U.S. Copyright Act. These are the right of attribution, also called the right of
paternity and the right of integrity.

3. Legal Rights
Legal rights are those rights which are accepted and enforced by the state. Any
defilement of any legal right is punished by law. Law courts of the state enforce legal
rights. These rights can be enforced against individuals and also against the
government. In this way, legal rights are different from moral rights. Legal rights are
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equally available to all the citizens. All citizens follow legal rights without any
discrimination. They can go to the courts for getting their legal rights enforced.

Legal Rights are of three types:

a. Civil Rights: Civil rights are those rights which provide opportunity to each
person to lead a civilized social life. These fulfil basic needs of human life in
society. Right to life, liberty and equality are civil rights. Civil rights are protected
by the state.
b. Political Rights: Political rights are those rights by virtue of which inhabitants get
a share in the political process. These allow them to take an active part in the
political process. These rights include right to vote, right to get elected, right to
hold public office and right to criticise and oppose the government. Political rights
are really available to the people in a democratic state.
c. Economic Rights: Economic rights are those rights which provide economic
security to the people. These empower all citizens to make proper use of their
civil and political rights. The basic needs of every person are related to his food,
clothing, shelter, and medical treatment. Without the fulfilment of these no person
can really enjoy his civil and political rights. It is therefore essential, that every
person must get the right to work, right to adequate wages, right to leisure and
rest, and right to social security in case of illness, physical disability and old age.
d. Human and Legal Rights: There is some difference between moral or human
rights and legal rights. Legal rights require for their justification an existing
system of law. Legal rights are, roughly, what the law says they are, at least
insofar as the law is enforced. Legal rights gain their force first of all through
legislation or decree by a legally authorized authority. Those who support
adoption of laws establishing legal rights often appeal to a notion of human
rights. Laws against theft might appeal to notions of a moral right to own
property. But human or moral rights must gain their validity through some other
source other than legal rights, since people can appeal to human or moral rights
to criticize the law or advocate changes in the law (or legal rights), and people
could not do this if moral rights were based upon the law.
e. Contractual Rights: Contractual rights originated from the practice of promise-
keeping. They apply to particular individuals to whom contractual promises have
been made. Contractual rights ascend from specific acts of contract making.
They normally come into being when the contract is made, and they reflect the
contractual duty that another party has acquired at the same time. As a result of
a contract, party A has a contractual duty, say, to deliver some good or service to
party B, who has a contractual right to the good or service. Contractual rights
may be upheld by the law, and in that sense can rest upon legal rights, but it is
possible to conceive of contracts made outside of a legal framework and to rest
purely upon moral principles. However, such contracts are less secure than
contracts made within a legal framework, for obvious reasons. There are
numerous examples of contractual rights such as:
o Rights to purchase a particular product or service
o Rights to be sell a product or service
o Rights to be the only seller or buyer
o Rights to delivery and timely payment
o Rights to refunds or repairs
o Various rights according to the specific intentions of each party
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Human Rights Violations

Human rights advocates agree that, sixty years after its issue, the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights is still more a dream than reality. Violations exist in every
part of the world. For example, Amnesty International’s 2009 World Report and other
sources show that individuals are:
 Tortured or abused in at least 81 countries
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 Face unfair trials in at least 54 countries

 Restricted in their freedom of expression in at least 77 countries

Not only that, but women and children in particular are marginalized in numerous
ways, the press is not free in many countries, and dissenters are silenced, too often
permanently. While some gains have been made over the course of the last six
decades, human rights violations still plague the world today.

To help inform you of the true situation throughout the world, this section provides
examples of violations of six Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR):

ARTICLE 3 — THE RIGHT TO LIVE FREE

“Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.”

An estimated 6,500 people were killed in 2007 in armed conflict in Afghanistan—

nearly half being noncombatant civilian deaths at the hands of insurgents. Hundreds of
civilians were also killed in suicide attacks by armed groups.
In Brazil in 2007, according to official figures, police killed at least 1,260 individuals—the
highest total to date. All incidents were officially labeled “acts of resistance” and
received little or no investigation.

In Uganda, 1,500 people die each week in the internally displaced person camps.
According to the World Health Organization, 500,000 have died in these camps.
Vietnamese authorities forced at least 75,000 drug addicts and prostitutes into 71
overpopulated “rehab” camps, labeling the detainees at “high risk” of contracting
HIV/AIDS but providing no treatment.

ARTICLE 4 — NO SLAVERY
“No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be
prohibited in all their forms.”
In northern Uganda, the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) guerrillas have kidnapped
20,000 children over the past twenty years and forced them into service as soldiers or
sexual slaves for the army.
In Guinea-Bissau, children as young as five are trafficked out of the country to work in
cotton fields in southern Senegal or as beggars in the capital city. In Ghana, children
five to fourteen are tricked with false promises of education and future into dangerous,
unpaid jobs in the fishing industry.

In Asia, Japan is the major destination country for trafficked women, especially
women coming from the Philippines and Thailand. UNICEF estimates 60,000 child
prostitutes in the Philippines.

The US State Department estimates 600,000 to 820,000 men, women and

children are trafficked across international borders each year, half of whom are minors,
including record numbers of women and girls fleeing from Iraq. In nearly all countries,
including Canada, the US and the UK, deportation or harassment are the usual
governmental responses, with no assistance services for the victims.
In the Dominican Republic, the operations of a trafficking ring led to the death by
asphyxiation of 25 Haitian migrant workers. In 2007, two civilians and two military
officers received lenient prison sentences for their part in the operation.
In Somalia in 2007, more than 1,400 displaced Somalis and Ethiopian nationals died at
sea in trafficking operations.

ARTICLE 5 — NO TORTURE
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.”
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In 2008, US authorities continued to hold 270 prisoners in Guantánamo Bay,

Cuba, without charge or trial, subjecting them to “water-boarding,” torture that simulates
drowning. Former-President George W. Bush authorized the CIA to continue secret
detention and interrogation, despite its violation of international law.
In Darfur, violence, atrocities and abduction are rampant and outside aid all but cut off.
Women in particular are the victims of unrestrained assault, with more than 200 rapes in
the vicinity of a displaced persons camp in one five-week period, with no effort by
authorities to punish the perpetrators.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, acts of torture and ill treatment are
routinely committed by government security services and armed groups, including
sustained beatings, stabbings and rapes of those in custody. Detainees are held
incommunicado, sometimes in secret detention sites. In 2007, the Republican Guard
(presidential guard) and Special Services police division in Kinshasa arbitrarily detained
and tortured numerous individuals labeled as critics of the government.

ARTICLE 13 — FREEDOM TO MOVE

“1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of
each State.
“2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his
country.”

In Algeria, refugees and asylum-seekers were frequent victims of detention,

expulsion or ill treatment. Twenty-eight individuals from sub-Saharan African countries
with official refugee status from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) were deported to Mali after being falsely tried, without legal counsel or
interpreters, on charges of entering Algeria illegally. They were dumped near a desert
town where a Malian armed group was active, without food, water or medical aid.
In Kenya, authorities violated international refugee law when they closed the border to
thousands of people fleeing armed conflict in Somalia. Asylum-seekers were illegally
detained at the Kenyan border without charge or trial and forcibly returned to Somalia.
In northern Uganda, 1.6 million citizens remained in displacement camps. In the Acholi
subregion, the area most affected by armed conflict, 63 percent of the 1.1 million people
displaced in 2005 were still living in camps in 2007, with only 7,000 returned
permanently to their places of origin.

ARTICLE 18 — FREEDOM OF THOUGHT

“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right
includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in
community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in
teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

In Myanmar, the military junta crushed peaceful demonstrations led by monks,

raided and closed monasteries, confiscated and destroyed property, shot, beat and
detained protesters, and harassed or held hostage the friends and family members of
the protesters.

In China, Falun Gong practitioners were singled out for torture and other abuses
while in detention. Christians were persecuted for practicing their religion outside state-
sanctioned channels.
In Kazakhstan, local authorities in a community near Almaty authorized the destruction
of twelve homes, all belonging to Hare Krishna members, falsely charging that the land
on which the homes were built had been illegally acquired. Only homes belonging to
members of the Hare Krishna community were destroyed.

ARTICLE 19 — FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

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“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes
freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

In Sudan, dozens of human rights defenders were arrested and tortured by

national intelligence and security forces.
In Ethiopia, two prominent human rights defenders were convicted on false charges and
sentenced to nearly three years in prison.

In Somalia, a prominent human rights defender was murdered.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the government attacks and threatens
human rights defenders and restricts freedom of expression and association. In 2007,
provisions of the 2004 Press Act were used by the government to censor newspapers
and limit freedom of expression.

Russia repressed political dissent, pressured or shut down independent media

and harassed nongovernmental organizations. Peaceful public demonstrations were
dispersed with force, and lawyers, human rights defenders and journalists were
threatened and attacked. Since 2000, the murders of seventeen journalists, all critical of
government policies and actions, remain unsolved.
In Iraq, at least thirty-seven Iraqi employees of media networks were killed in 2008, and
a total of 235 since the invasion of March 2003, making Iraq the world’s most dangerous
place for journalists.

ARTICLE 21 — RIGHT TO DEMOCRACY

“1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or
through freely chosen representatives.
“2. Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.
“3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall
be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal
suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.”
In Zimbabwe, hundreds of human rights defenders and members of the main opposition
party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), were arrested for participating in
peaceful gatherings.

In Pakistan, thousands of lawyers, journalists, human rights defenders and

political activists were arrested for demanding democracy, the rule of law and an
independent judiciary.

In Cuba, at the end of 2007, sixty two prisoners of conscience remained

incarcerated for their nonviolent political views or activities.

SUMMARY
Human rights exist, as embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and the entire body of international human rights law. They are recognized—at least in
principle—by most nations and form the heart of many national constitutions. Yet the
actual situation in the world is far distant from the ideals envisioned in the Declaration.
To some, the full realization of human rights is a remote and unattainable goal. Even
international human rights laws are difficult to enforce and pursuing a complaint can
take years and a great deal of money. These international laws serve as a restraining
function but are insufficient to provide adequate human rights protection, as evidenced
by the stark reality of abuses perpetrated daily.

Discrimination is rampant throughout the world. Thousands are in prison for

speaking their minds. Torture and politically motivated imprisonment, often without trial,
are commonplace, condoned and practiced—even in some democratic countries.
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TASK 2: FILM VIEWING

Watch the film entitled, “Alaala: A Martial Law Special”. You can watch it on
the provided link below. Create a reflection paper out of it.

Link: (40) Alaala: A Martial Law Special | Full Episode - YouTube

RUBRICS FOR RATING REFLECTION PAPER

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LET’S KNOW MORE!

LESSON 5: POVERTY

What Is Poverty?
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Poverty is a state or condition in which a person or community lacks the financial

resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living. Poverty means that the
income level from employment is so low that basic human needs can't be met. Poverty-
stricken people and families might go without proper housing, clean water, healthy food,
and medical attention. Each nation may have its own threshold that determines how
many of its people are living in poverty.
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Theories of Poverty

Poverty is a condition in which an individual or community lacks a definite

amount of resources or possessions, including material or monetary possessions.
Specific situations called absolute or extreme poverty involve the complete absence of
the means required to meet basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. Note that
there are different definitions and qualifiers or measures of poverty that are dependent
on context.

Nonetheless, there are several theories of poverty, each explaining the reasons
why individuals or communities lack the capacity to meet and maintaining a minimum
standard of living. These theories of the causes of poverty also provide different
frameworks for developing and implementing poverty alleviation strategies.

THE TWO MAJOR SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT OF POVERTY

There are two major theories or schools of thought explaining the causes of
poverty: individualistic theories and structural theories. The individualistic perspective
generally considers poverty as a condition resulting from the shortcomings of
impoverished individuals while the structural perspective trace the roots of impoverished
conditions from the deficiencies in social structures and systems.

1. Individualistic Theories of Poverty

There is a group of theories arguing that poverty results from the deficiencies of
individuals or the shortcomings of poor people. These theories are collectively called the
individualistic theories of poverty.

Eighteenth-century sociologist and biologist Herbert Spencer, in his book “Social

Statics: Or The Conditions Essential to Human Happiness” first published in 1851,
blamed poverty on the poor. He explained that poverty should be attributed to bad moral
character. For him, poor people should not be allowed to eat because they are unwilling
to pursue employment.

Under the individualistic theories are more specific theories of the causes of
poverty. These theories include the biogenic theory of poverty and inequality, the
human capital theory, and the cultural theory of poverty.
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2. Structural Theories of Poverty

Structural functionalism is a framework in sociology used for developing theories

based on the notion that the society is a complex system composed of different parts
that collectively work together to promote solidarity and stability. It is a model for
attempting to explain why a society or a certain element or situation in a society
functions the way it does by focusing on the relationship between different social
institutions.

As one of the theories of the causes of poverty, structural theory presents the
concept of structural poverty. The theory argues that macro-level factors such as
demographic vulnerabilities, labor market opportunities, and resource distribution can
determine the susceptibility of individuals and communities to poverty. There are more
specific theories under the structural perspective of poverty.

INDIVIDUALISTIC PERSPECTIVE VS. STRUCTURAL PERSPECTIVE

The Individualistic Theories of Poverty
1. Biogenic Theory

The book “The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life” by
psychologist Richard J. Herrnstein and political scientist Charles Murray provides the
foundational contentions related to the biogenic theory of poverty and inequality.

Accordingly, the intelligence of an individual can better predict his or her financial
income and job performance, among other personal dynamics. The primary force that
creates and divides modern social classes is not family background but inherited
cognitive ability. Hence, the upper class and the lower class represent a distinction
between the class of intelligent people and the class of those who lack relevant
intelligence levels.

Thus, the biogenetic theory of poverty and inequality argues that native
intelligence, rather than social status, influence the life prospect of an individual. Nature
essentially determines the socioeconomic status of an individual. People with a high
level of intelligence are destined to become rich while those with a lower level of
intelligence are naturally fated to become poor. Granted that all things are equal except
for level of intelligence, this argument has been evident in inequalities in educational
attainment, occupational performance, and other social outcomes.

2. Human Capital Theory

Human capital is the collection of competencies or skills and knowledge, as well

as traits or personal attributes, behaviors, and habits embodied within an individual and
needed to perform labor and produce economic value.
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Scottish economist Adam Smith introduced the concept in the 18th century while
American economists Gary Becker and Theodore Schultz first introduced its modern
and more definite conceptualization during the 1960s and 1970s.

When considered as a theory for explaining the causes of poverty, human capital
provides a model for illustrating the relationship between the decision of an individual to
invest in education or training and the pattern of his or her lifetime earnings. The
different levels of investment in human capital can also determine different levels of
earnings.

The concept can also illustrate the relationship between age and earnings.
Younger individuals are more likely to become poor because they have not yet
accumulated enough human capital. However, older adults are also likely to become
poor either because they are too late to acquire human capital or are not equipped with
time-relevant set of competencies.

3. Cultural Theory

Similar to the biogenic theory, the cultural theory of poverty blames the
prevalence of socioeconomic inequality not on the social structures or systems but on
the deficiencies of impoverished individuals. If the biogenic theory specifically argues
that poor people lack intelligence or cognitive ability, the cultural theory claims that they
lack the motivation to achieve because of their negative values.

The theory has a close resemblance to the contentions of Spencer. However, it

was expounded further by American anthropologist Oscar Lewis. It is also similar to the
flawed character theory of poverty by economist Bradley R. Schiller. Nevertheless, the
theory essentially explains that the values of an individual experiencing poverty play a
critical role in perpetuating his or her impoverished condition. This assertion tries to
explain why people in certain communities remain poor remains despite the existence of
poverty alleviation programs.

An interesting aspect of the cultural theory of poverty is that it does not only
affect a particular individual but also the generations preceding and succeeding him or
her. In the book chapter “Culture of Poverty” published in 1969, Lewis explained that the
subculture of the poor has mechanisms that perpetuate poverty. For example, children
growing up in impoverished communities will internalize feelings of desperation or
dependence, thus making them unable to capitalize on opportunities when they grow
up.

Poverty is essentially a result of negative and counterproductive cultural values

passed down through generations according to this theory. The reason why poverty
endures is that it creates a cycle. Furthermore, this theory also contends that the
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affluent members of the community have cultures or values that are very different from
their impoverished counterparts.

The Structural Theories of Poverty

1. General Structural Theories

In his book, political science professor David Brady argues that poverty is not
simply a result of the inability of an individual. Poverty tends to be prevalent in
vulnerable demographic environments and troubled labor market circumstances.
Hence, the greater the number of people living under these circumstances, the higher
the prevalence of poverty.

Brady specifically explains that poverty results from the failure of the society to
collectively take responsibility for promoting the economic security of its citizens through
the instrument of the welfare state. Hence, welfare programs are collectively the best
tool for reducing poverty.

Sociology professor Edward Royce also argues that in the United States, despite
being a rich country, poverty remains rampant not because of the individual failings of
the poor but because of the failings of the American social system, especially of its
political economy.

Royce specifically noted that poverty represents structural inequality. In societies

with incidents of poverty, people have unequal status as demonstrated in unequal
relations in roles, functions, decisions, rights, and opportunities.

2. Marxian Theory
The works of German economist and sociologist Karl Marx provided the
fundamental basis for the body of ideas called Marxism. These ideas generally
represent a criticism of capitalism, specifically arguing that inequality is a necessary
component of a capitalistic economic system.

Note that the separate works of Brady and Royce also explained the role of
inequality in perpetuating poverty. They each noted that modern social structures
promote an imbalance of power and thus, promote inequality. Hence, Marxism is a
specific theory within the general structural theory of poverty.

Of course, true to the assertions of classical Marxism, the Marxian theory asserts
that the cause of poverty is intentional due to the class struggle between the capitalist or
owners of the means of production and the laborers. Essentially, the capitalists
intentionally exploit their laborers and try to prevent them from gaining socioeconomic
advancements as much as possible to maintain their control over the means of
production.
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3. Restricted Opportunity Theory

The restricted opportunity theory explains that poverty results from the
circumstances that are beyond the control of an impoverished individual. These
circumstances generally center on the absence of opportunities or the lack of access to
such opportunities.

Economist Bradley Schiller first introduced the restricted opportunity theory as

one of the three theories of the causes of poverty—along with the flawed character
theory and Big Brother theory—in the book “The Economics of Poverty and
Discrimination” first published in 1972.

Central to the theory is an argument that poor people lack suitable and relatively
abundant access to economic opportunities. They cannot avoid poverty or would not be
able to get out of their impoverished conditions unless their economic opportunities
improve.

Poverty is essentially the lack of opportunity. The restricted opportunity theory

explains that opportunities such as access to high-quality education, effective and
efficient health care programs, safe communities, and relevant public services and
programs are factors that can determine the socioeconomic status of an individual
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CAUSES OF POVERTY

1. INEQUALITY AND MARGINALIZATION

“Inequality” is an easy, but sometimes misleading term used to describe the
systemic barriers leaving groups of people without a voice or representation within their
communities. For a population to escape poverty, all groups must be involved in the
decision-making process — especially when it comes to having a say in the things that
determine your place in society. Some of these may be obvious, but in other situations,
it can be subtle. 

Gender inequality, caste systems, marginalization based on race or tribal

affiliations are all economic and social inequalities that mean the same thing: Little to no
access to the resources needed to live a full, productive life. When combined with
different combinations of vulnerability and hazards which comprise the rest of this list —
a marginalized community may become even more vulnerable to the cycle of poverty. 

2. CONFLICT
Conflict is one of the most common forms of risk driving poverty today. Large-
scale, protracted violence that we’ve seen in areas like Syria can grind society to a halt,
destroying infrastructure and causing people to flee (often with nothing but the clothes
on their backs). In its tenth year of conflict, Syria’s middle class has been all but
destroyed, and over 80% of the population now lives below the poverty line. 

But even small bouts of violence can have huge impacts on communities that are
already struggling. For example, if farmers are worried about their crops being stolen,
they won’t invest in planting. Women also bear the brunt of conflict, which adds a layer
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of inequality to all conflict: During periods of violence, female-headed households

become very common. And because women often have difficulty getting well-paying
work and are typically excluded from community decision-making, their families are
particularly vulnerable. 

3. HUNGER, MALNUTRITION, AND STUNTING

You might think that poverty causes hunger (and you would be right!), but hunger
is also a cause — and maintainer — of poverty. If a person doesn’t get enough food,
they’ll lack the strength and energy needed to work (or their immune system will weaken
from malnutrition and leave them more susceptible to illness that prevents them from
getting to work). 

The first 1,000 days of a child’s life (from womb to world) are key to ensuring
their future health and likelihood of staying out of poverty. If a mother is malnourished
during pregnancy, that can be passed on to her children, leading to wasting (low weight
for height) or stunting (low height for age). Child stunting, both physical and cognitive,
can lead to a lifetime of impacts: Adults who were stunted as children earn, on average,
22% less than those who weren’t stunted. In Ethiopia, stunting contributes to GDP
losses as high as 16%. 

4. POOR HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS — ESPECIALLY FOR MOTHERS AND

CHILDREN
Extreme poverty and poor health often go hand in hand. In countries where
health systems are weak, easily preventable and treatable illnesses like malaria,
diarrhea, and respiratory infections can be fatal — especially for young children. And
when people must travel far distances to clinics or pay for medicine, it drains already
vulnerable households of money and assets, and can tip a family from poverty into
extreme poverty.

For some women, pregnancy and childbirth can be a death sentence. In many of
the countries where Concern works, access to quality maternal healthcare is poor.
Pregnant and lactating mothers face a multitude of barriers when seeking care, from not
being allowed to go to a clinic without a male chaperone to receiving poor or even
abusive care from a doctor. This is especially true for adolescent girls aged 18 and
under, leaving mothers-to-be and their children at increased risk for disease and death.

5. LITTLE OR NO ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER, SANITATION, AND HYGIENE

Currently, more than 2 billion people don’t have access to clean water at home.
This means that people (which is to say, women and girls) collectively spend some  200
million hours every day walking long distances to fetch water. That’s precious time that
could be used working, or getting an education to help secure a job later in life.

Contaminated water can also lead to a host of waterborne diseases, ranging

from the chronic to the life-threatening. Poor water infrastructure — such as sanitation
and hygiene facilities — can compound this, or create other barriers to escaping
poverty, such as keeping girls out of school during menstruation. 

6. CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change creates hunger, whether through too little water (drought) or too
much (flooding), and its effects contribute to the cycle of poverty in several other ways
including disproportionately affecting women, creating refugees, and even influencing
conflict. One World Bank estimates that climate change has the power to push more
than 100 million people into poverty over the next decade. 
2

Many of the world’s poorest populations rely on farming or hunting and gathering
to eat and earn a living  — for example, Malawi is 80% agrarian. They often have only
just enough food and assets to last through the next season, and not enough reserves
to fall back on in the event of a poor harvest. So when climate change or natural
disasters (including the widespread droughts caused by El Niño) leave millions of
people without food, it pushes them further into poverty, and can make recovery even
more difficult.

7. LACK OF EDUCATION
Not every person without an education is living in extreme poverty. But most of
the extremely poor don’t have an education. There are many barriers to education
around the world, including a lack of money for uniforms and books, a bias against girls’
education, or many of the other causes of poverty mentioned here. 

But education is often referred to as the great equalizer, because it can open the
door to jobs and other resources and skills that a family needs to not just survive, but
thrive. UNESCO estimates that 171 million people could be lifted out of extreme poverty
if they left school with basic reading skills. Poverty threatens education, but education
can also help end poverty. 

8. POOR PUBLIC WORKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE 

Imagine that you have to go to work, but there are no roads to get you there. Or
heavy rains have flooded your route and made it impossible to travel. A lack of
infrastructure — from roads, bridges, and wells, to cables for light, cell phones, and
internet — can isolate communities living in rural areas. Living off the grid often means
living without the ability to go to school, work, or the market to buy and sell goods.
Traveling further distances to access basic services not only takes time, it costs money,
keeping families in poverty. 

Isolation limits opportunity. Without opportunity, many find it difficult, if not

impossible, to escape extreme poverty.

9. LACK OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

Many people living in the United States are familiar with social welfare programs
that people can access if they need healthcare or food assistance. But not every
government can provide this type of help to its citizens — and without that safety net,
there’s nothing to stop vulnerable families from backsliding further into extreme poverty.
Ineffective governments also contribute to several of the other causes of extreme
poverty mentioned above, as they are unable to provide necessary infrastructure or
healthcare, or ensure the safety and security of their citizens in the event of conflict.

10. LACK OF JOBS OR LIVELIHOODS

This might seem like a no-brainer: Without a job or a livelihood, people will face
poverty. Dwindling access to productive land (often due to conflict, overpopulation, or
climate change) and overexploitation of resources like fish or minerals puts increasing
pressure on many traditional livelihoods. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
for example, most of the population lives in rural communities where natural resources
have been plundered over centuries of colonial rule — while conflict over land has
forced people away from their source of income and food. Now, more than half of the
country lives in extreme poverty. 

11. LACK OF RESERVES

All of the above risk factors — from conflict to climate change or even a family
illness — can be weathered if a family or community has reserves in place. Cash
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savings and loans can offset unemployment due to conflict or illness. Proper food
storage systems can help if a drought or natural disaster ruins a harvest. 

People living in extreme poverty usually don’t have these means available. This
means that, when a risk turns into a disaster, they turn to negative coping mechanisms,
including pulling children out of school to work (or even marry), and selling off assets to
buy food. That can help a family make it through one bad season, but not another. For
communities constantly facing climate extremes or prolonged conflict, the repeated
shocks can send a family reeling into extreme poverty and prevent them from ever
recovering.
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Solutions to Poverty

Nearly half of the world’s population lives at or below the poverty line; out of the
2.2 billion children in the world, one billion of them live in poverty. Though this issue
may not be as prevalent or visible in the U.S., it is an issue that affects everyone. Small
steps can be taken to better this problem, leading to possible solutions to global
poverty.

A. Properly Identifying Issues

One of the largest issues involving poverty is the inability to properly identify

contributing factors at the micro and macro level. Many organizations assume that local
aid alone will better the problem, but it is only with the combined efforts of local, state
and national governments that poverty will lessen.

B. Allocating Proper Time and Resources

Preventable diseases such as pneumonia claim the lives of nearly two million
children per year. Without proper planning, which includes allocating enough time,
money and volunteer work, global poverty will continue to exist. Currently, the U.S.
spends only about one percent of the federal budget on foreign aid. By creating detailed
plans and projects aimed at helping other nations, global poverty will begin to lessen.

C. Creating organizations and communities to work locally

Enacting policy is not the only solution to global poverty, as policy often does not
affect those suffering directly. As previously stated, efforts must come from both local
and federal domains. Essentially, while policy is created to change legislation, local
organizations enact the changes, directly helping those in need. On top of that, working
with entire communities instead of specific individuals has been proven to be more
effective.

D. Creating Jobs

Creating jobs in poverty-ridden communities allows individuals to pull themselves

out of poverty. This solution to global poverty is arguably one of the most effective.
Federal governments can achieve this by rebuilding their infrastructures, developing
renewable energy sources, renovating abandoned housing and raising the minimum
wage.

By raising the minimum wage in existing jobs, companies would combat recent
inflation in both developed and developing countries. This change in the states (in
places such as Seattle and Washington) has been shown to reduce poverty.
2

E. Providing Access to Healthcare

Unpaid medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy. Having access to free
or affordable healthcare would allow families to allocate the money they would normally
spend on healthcare elsewhere.

F. Empowering Women

Female empowerment in developing countries often comes from organizations

that work to reduce poverty by allowing them to take leadership positions and advance
socially and economically.

G. Microfinancing

Microfinancing provides improvements to socioeconomic status by providing

access to more, larger loans, providing better repayment rates for women, as they are
less likely to default on their loans than men and extending education programs for
loan-payers’ children. It can also improve health and welfare by providing access to
clean water and better sanitation, create new jobs and teach developing countries to be
more sustainable.

Microfinancing continues to prove that even the smallest amounts of credit can

be one of the many solutions to global poverty.

H. Provide paid leave and paid sick days

Paid maternal and paternal leave allows families to save money after childbirth,
as having a child is a leading cause of economic hardship. Furthermore, giving workers
paid sick days allows them to properly get over their illness without worrying about
missing a paycheck or receiving a paycheck with fewer funds than normal.

I. Supporting equal pay for men and women

Closing the wage gap between men and women would reduce 50 percent of
poverty experienced by women and their families. This would also add money to the
nation’s gross domestic product.

Global poverty has proven to be an unruly, frustrating cycle, but eradicating it is

within our means. These solutions to global poverty can and should be implemented to
begin the end of poverty.
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TASK 3: POSITION PAPER

A position paper (sometimes position piece for brief items) is an essay that presents an arguable
opinion about an issue – typically that of the author or some specified entity.
Create a position paper about the issues of poverty in the Philippines including the
different programs of the government to alleviate poverty.

RUBRICS FOR RATING POSITION PAPER

Criterion Poor Fair Good Excellent
2 4 6 8
Content & No clear position taken; Position not clearly Clear position taken Takes a strong, well
Development reasons undeveloped; stated; and defined; some defined
50% no supporting facts development is brief; reasons and some position; uses at least
used unrelated, unsupported details present, but not three
general statements, fully developed. appropriate reasons with
reasons, and details; Counter arguments at
minimal facts used. addressed. least two supporting
Counter arguments not details
acknowledged. for each reason. Counter
arguments effectively
2

addressed, w/o
undercutting
position.
Organization Organization and Structure of the paper is Structure is mostly clear Structure of paper is clear
& Structure structure detract from not easy to follow. and easy to follow. and easy to follow.
20 % the message of the Paragraph transitions Paragraph transitions Paragraph
writer. Paragraphs are need improvement. are present. Conclusion transitions are logical and
disjointed and lack Conclusion is missing, or is logical. maintain the flow of
transition of thoughts. if provided, does not thought throughout the
flow from the body of the paper. Conclusion is
paper. logical and flows from
the body of the
paper.
Format Paper lacks many Paper follows most Paper follows Paper follows all
10 % elements of correct guidelines. Paper is over/ designated guidelines. designated
formatting. Paper is under word length. Paper is the appropriate guidelines. Paper is the
inadequate/ excessive length as described for appropriate length as
in length. Paper is not the assignment. described for the
double spaced. Format is good. assignment.
Format enhances
readability
of paper.
Grammar, Paper contains Paper contains few Rules of grammar, Rules of grammar, usage,
Punct. & grammatical, grammatical, punctuation usage, and punctuation and punctuation are
Spelling punctuation, and and spelling errors. are followed with minor followed; spelling is
20 % spelling errors. Language lacks clarity or errors. Few or no correct. Language
Language uses jargon includes the use of some spelling errors. is clear and precise;
or conversational tone. jargon or conversational sentences display
tone. consistently strong,
varied structure.

LET’S KNOW MORE!

LESSON 6: ENVIRONMENT ISSUES

Five of the world's biggest environmental problems

These five megatrends present major global threats for planet Earth — problems that
must be solved if the world is to remain a supportive habitat for humans and other
species. DW looks at causes and possible solutions.

1. Air pollution and climate change.

Problem: Overloading of the atmosphere and of ocean waters with carbon.
Atmospheric CO2 absorbs and re-emits infrared-wavelength radiation, leading to
warmer air, soils, and ocean surface waters - which is good: The planet would be frozen
solid without this. Unfortunately, there's now too much carbon in the air. Burning of fossil
fuels, deforestation for agriculture, and industrial activities have pushed up atmospheric
CO2 concentrations from 280 parts per million (ppm) 200 years ago, to about 400 ppm
today. That's an unprecedented rise, in both size and speed. The result: climate
disruption. Carbon overloading is only one form of air pollution caused by burning coal,
oil, gas and wood. The World Health Organization recently estimated that one in nine
deaths in 2012 were attributable to diseases caused by carcinogens and other poisons
in polluted air.

Solutions: Replace fossil fuels with renewable energy. Reforestation. Reduce

emissions from agriculture. Change industrial processes. The good news is that clean
energy is abundant - it just needs to be harvested. Many say a 100 percent renewable-
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energy future is feasible with existing technology now. But the bad news is that even
though renewable energy infrastructure - solar panels, wind turbines, energy storage
and distribution systems - are already widespread, and getting cheaper and more
efficient all the time, experts say we're not applying them quickly enough to prevent
catastrophic climate disruption. Barriers in policy and finance remain to be overcome. 

2. Deforestation.
Problem: Species-rich wild forests are being destroyed, especially in the tropics,
often to make way for cattle ranching, soybean or palm oil plantations, or other
agricultural monocultures.
Today, about 30 percent of the planet's land area is covered by forests - which is about
half as much as before agriculture got started around 11,000 years ago. About 7.3
million hectares (18 million acres) of forest are destroyed each year, mostly in the
tropics. Tropical forests used to cover about 15 percent of the planet's land area; they're
now down to 6 or 7 percent. Much of this remainder has been degraded by  logging or
burning.
Not only do natural forests act as biodiversity reserves, they are also carbon sinks,
keeping carbon out of the atmosphere and oceans.

Solutions: Conserve of what's left of natural forests, and restore degraded areas

by replanting with native tree species. This requires strong governance - but many
tropical countries are still developing, with increasing populations, uneven rule-of-law,
and widespread cronyism and bribery when it comes to allocating land use.

3. Species extinction.
Problem: On land, wild animals are being hunted to extinction for bushmeat,
ivory, or "medicinal" products. At sea, huge industrial fishing boats equipped with
bottom-trawling or purse-seine nets clean out entire fish populations. The loss and
destruction of habitat are also major factors contributing to a wave of extinction -
unprecedented in that it is caused by a single species: humans. The IUCN's Red List of
threatened and endangered species continues to grow.
Not only do species inherently deserve to exist, they also provide products and
"services" essential to human survival. Think bees and their pollinating prowess -
necessary for growing food.

Solutions: Concerted efforts need to be made to prevent further loss of

biodiversity. Protecting and restoring habitats is one side of this - protecting against
poaching and wildlife trade is another. This should be done in partnership with locals, so
that wildlife conservation is in their social and economic interest.
4. Soil degradation.
Problem: Overgrazing, monoculture planting, erosion, soil compaction,
overexposure to pollutants, land-use conversion - there's a long list of ways that soils
2

are being damaged. About 12 million hectares of farmland a year get seriously
degraded, according to UN estimates.

Solutions: A wide range of soil conservation and restoration techniques exist,

from no-till agriculture to crop rotation to water-retention through terrace-building. Given
that food security depends on keeping soils in good condition, we're likely master this
challenge in the long run. Whether this will be done in a way equitable to all people
around the globe, remains an open question.

5. Overpopulation.
Problem: Human population continues to grow rapidly worldwide. Humanity
entered the 20th century with 1.6 billion people; right now, we're about 7.5 billion.
Estimates put us at nearly 10 billion by 2050. Growing global populations, combined
with growing affluence, is putting ever greater pressure on essential natural
resources, like water. Most of the growth is happening on the African continent, and in
southern and eastern Asia.

Solutions: Experience has shown that when women are empowered to control

their own reproduction, and gain access to education and basic social services, the
average number of births per woman drops precipitously.
Done right, networked aid systems could bring women out of extreme poverty, even in
countries where state-level governance remains abysmal.

GREENHOUSE EFFECT AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Global warming describes the current rise in the average temperature of Earth’s

air and oceans. Global warming is often described as the most recent example
of climate change.

Earth’s climate has changed many times. Our planet has gone through

multiple ice ages, in which ice sheets and glaciers covered large portions of the Earth. It
has also gone through warm periods when temperatures were higher than they are
today.

Past changes in Earth’s temperature happened very slowly, over hundreds of

thousands of years. However, the recent warming trend is happening much faster than
it ever has. Natural cycles of warming and cooling are not enough to explain the amount
of warming we have experienced in such a short time—only human activities can
account for it. Scientists worry that the climate is changing faster than some living things
can adapt to it.

In 1988, the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations

Environment Programme established a committee
of climatologists, meteorologists, geographers, and other scientists from around the
world. This Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) includes thousands of
scientists who review the most up-to-date research available related to global warming
and climate change. The IPCC evaluates the risk of climate change caused by human
activities.
2

According to the IPCC’s most recent report (in 2007), Earth’s average surface
temperatures have risen about 0.74 degrees Celsius (1.33 degrees Fahrenheit) during
the past 100 years. The increase is greater in northern latitudes. The IPCC also found
that land regions are warming faster than oceans. The IPCC states that most of the
temperature increase since the mid-20th century is likely due to human activities.

The Greenhouse Effect

Human activities contribute to global warming by increasing the greenhouse

effect. The greenhouse effect happens when certain gases—known as greenhouse
gases—collect in Earth’s atmosphere. These gases, which occur naturally in the
atmosphere, include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxide, and fluorinated gases
sometimes known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

Greenhouse gases let the sun’s light shine onto the Earth’s surface, but they trap
the heat that reflects back up into the atmosphere. In this way, they act like the
insulating glass walls of a greenhouse. The greenhouse effect keeps Earth’s climate
comfortable. Without it, surface temperatures would be cooler by about 33 degrees
Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit), and many life forms would freeze.

Since the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s and early 1800s, people have
been releasing large quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. That amount
has skyrocketed in the past century. Greenhouse gas emissions increased 70 percent
between 1970 and 2004. Emissions of carbon dioxide, the most important greenhouse
gas, rose by about 80 percent during that time. The amount of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere today far exceeds the natural range seen over the last 650,000 years.

Most of the carbon dioxide that people put into the atmosphere comes from
burning fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas. Cars, trucks, trains, and planes all
burn fossil fuels. Many electric power plants also burn fossil fuels.

Another way people release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is by cutting
down forests. This happens for two reasons. Decaying plant material, including trees,
releases tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Living trees absorb carbon
dioxide. By diminishing the number of trees to absorb carbon dioxide, the gas remains
in the atmosphere.

Most methane in the atmosphere comes from livestock farming, landfills, and

fossil fuel production such as coal mining and natural gas processing. Nitrous
oxide comes from agricultural technology and fossil fuel burning.

Fluorinated gases include chlorofluorocarbons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and

hydrofluorocarbons. These greenhouse gases are used in aerosol cans and
refrigeration.

All of these human activities add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, trapping
more heat than usual and contributing to global warming.

Effects of Global Warming

Even slight rises in average global temperatures can have huge effects. Perhaps
the biggest, most obvious effect is that glaciers and ice caps melt faster than usual.
The meltwater drains into the oceans, causing sea levels to rise and oceans to become
less salty.
2

Ice sheets and glaciers advance and retreat naturally. As Earth’s temperature
has changed, the ice sheets have grown and shrunk, and sea levels have fallen and
risen. Ancient corals found on land in Florida, Bermuda, and the Bahamas show that the
sea level must have been 5 to 6 meters (16-20 feet) higher 130,000 years ago than it is
today. Earth doesn’t need to become oven-hot to melt the glaciers. Northern summers
were just 3 to 5 degrees Celsius (5-9 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer during the time of
those ancient fossils than they are today.

However, the speed at which global warming is taking place is unprecedented.

The effects are unknown.

Glaciers and ice caps cover about 10 percent of the world’s landmass today.
They hold about 75 percent of the world’s fresh water. If all of this ice melted, sea levels
would rise by about 70 meters (230 feet). The IPCC reported that the global sea level
rose about 1.8 millimeters (0.07 inches) per year from 1961 to 1993, and 3.1 millimeters
(0.12 inches) per year since 1993.

Rising sea levels could flood coastal communities, displacing millions of people
in areas such as Bangladesh, the Netherlands, and the U.S. state of Florida.
Forced migration would impact not only those areas, but the regions to which the
“climate refugees” flee. Millions more people in countries like Bolivia, Peru, and India
depend on glacial meltwater for drinking, irrigation, and hydroelectric power. Rapid loss
of these glaciers would devastate those countries.

Glacial melt has already raised the global sea level slightly. However, scientists
are discovering ways the sea level could increase even faster. For example, the melting
of the Chacaltaya Glacier in Bolivia has exposed dark rocks beneath it. The rocks
absorb heat from the sun, speeding up the melting process.

Many scientists use the term “climate change” instead of “global warming.” This
is because greenhouse gas emissions affect more than just temperature. Another effect
involves changes in precipitation like rain and snow. Patterns in precipitation may
change or become more extreme. Over the course of the 20th century, precipitation
increased in eastern parts of North and South America, northern Europe, and northern
and central Asia. However, it has decreased in parts of Africa, the Mediterranean, and
parts of southern Asia.

Future Changes

Nobody can look into a crystal ball and predict the future with certainty. However,
scientists can make estimates about future population growth, greenhouse gas
emissions, and other factors that affect climate. They can enter those estimates into
computer models to find out the most likely effects of global warming.

The IPCC predicts that greenhouse gas emissions will continue to increase over
the next few decades. As a result, they predict the average global temperature will
increase by about 0.2 degrees Celsius (0.36 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade. Even if
we reduce greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions to their 2000 levels, we can still
expect a warming of about 0.1 degree Celsius (0.18 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade.

The panel also predicts global warming will contribute to some serious changes
in water supplies around the world. By the middle of the 21st century, the IPCC predicts,
river runoff and water availability will most likely increase at high latitudes and in
some tropical areas. However, many dry regions in the mid-latitudes and tropics will
experience a decrease in water resources.
2

As a result, millions of people may be exposed to water shortages. Water

shortages decrease the amount of water available for drinking, electricity, and hygiene.
Shortages also reduce water used for irrigation. Agricultural output would slow and food
prices would climb. Consistent years of drought in the Great Plains of the United States
and Canada would have this effect.

IPCC data also suggest that the frequency of heat waves and extreme

precipitation will increase. Weather patterns such as storms and tropical cyclones will
become more intense. Storms themselves may be stronger, more frequent, and longer-
lasting. They would be followed by stronger storm surges, the immediate rise in sea
level following storms. Storm surges are particularly damaging to coastal areas because
their effects (flooding, erosion, damage to buildings and crops) are lasting.

What We Can Do

Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions is a critical step in slowing the global

warming trend. Many governments around the world are working toward this goal.

The biggest effort so far has been the Kyoto Protocol, which was adopted in
1997 and went into effect in 2005. By the end of 2009, 187 countries had signed and
ratified the agreement. Under the protocol, 37 industrialized countries and the European
Union have committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.

There are several ways that governments, industries, and individuals can reduce
greenhouse gases. We can improve energy efficiency in homes and businesses. We
can improve the fuel efficiency of cars and other vehicles. We can also support
development of alternative energy sources, such as solar power and biofuels, that don’t
involve burning fossil fuels.

Some scientists are working to capture carbon dioxide and store it underground,
rather than let it go into the atmosphere. This process is called carbon sequestration.

Trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow. Protecting existing
forests and planting new ones can help balance greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Changes in farming practices could also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For

example, farms use large amounts of nitrogen-based fertilizers, which increase nitrogen
oxide emissions from the soil. Reducing the use of these fertilizers would reduce the
amount of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.

The way farmers handle animal manure can also have an effect on global

warming. When manure is stored as liquid or slurry in ponds or tanks, it releases
methane. When it dries as a solid, however, it does not.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is vitally important. However, the global

temperature has already changed and will most likely continue to change for years to
come. The IPCC suggests that people explore ways to adapt to global warming as well
as try to slow or stop it. Some of the suggestions for adapting include:

 Expanding water supplies through rain catchment, conservation, reuse,

and desalination.
 Adjusting crop locations, variety, and planting dates.
 Building seawalls and storm surge barriers and creating marshes and wetlands
as buffers against rising sea levels.
 Creating heat-health action plans, boosting emergency medical services, and
improving disease surveillance and control.
2

 Diversifying tourism attractions, because existing attractions like ski resorts

and coral reefs may disappear.
 Planning for roads and rail lines to cope with warming and/or flooding.
 Strengthening energy infrastructure, improving energy efficiency, and reducing
dependence on single sources of energy.

TASK 4: PAMPHLET MAKING

Create a pamphlet showcasing different situation that increase environmental

awareness.

LET’S KNOW MORE!

LESSON 7: PHILIPPINE ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS

TASK 5: COLLECTING INFORMATION

To have a deeper understanding on the different environmental laws being

implemented in the Philippines, read the information on the provided link
(https://aboutphilippines.org/files/Philippine-Laws-on-Environmental-Pollution.pdf) and
be able to answer the question on your graded recitation in your group chat.

TASK 6: REFLECTION AND GENERALIZATIONS

Give at least 10 points to ponder you have learned from the lessons in your
module and write a brief reflection about it.

-end-

Prepared by:
ALMIRA S. BERSABE
Instructor