Environmental Issues, Endangered Cultures, and Euro-centrism

Overview

Today’s post covers a few issues that seem to be present in the world. These issues have affected millions, but all in different ways. What’s sad is that they are only a small number of many so what are they? What can we do to fix them? Will they ever go away?

Question #1: What does climate change have to do with human rights? See Elizabeth Lindsey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrmZUqcVdow

This video didn’t support the question, and if it did then I must have missed the answer. I believe that climate change should be considered a moral issue. This is because it has a clear impact on human rights like rising sea levels, water contamination, and loss of land. Climate change affects us all, but sadly seems to hurt those that contribute to it the least the most. This is because most climate change is caused by those in first world countries and big businesses, but climate change has taken homes from those in third world countries and many islands. Poor groups tend to live very sustainably and are faced with climate change daily as larger nations aren’t hurt nearly as much by its impacts so tend to live more carelessly.

New Caledonia

• According to a report by CNRS and Science News that was released in 2013 “by the year 2100, global warming will have caused sea levels to rise by 1 to 3 meters”. This will definitely affect all islands, but the article continues to state that “New Caledonia would be the worst affected”. It’s scary to see that the country is home to “two thirds of the islands that would be submerged in the archipelagos”.

What are endangered cultures? Do you agree or have other examples?

Endangered cultures are cultures that are currently being lost. With a world that is constantly globalizing we are seeing larger cultures take over or over shadow smaller ones. This is ultimately getting rid of these smaller cultures and creating a more homogenized world. One great example of this is through Westernization. Westernization makes this very clear with its forever growing brands like McDonalds, Coca-Cola, and like Noor says the movie “Baywatch”.

1. New Caledonia
   1. Currently Kanak is becoming an endangered culture of New Caledonia’s. The process of this happening and the cultures current status can be found in my previous article. (Nationalism and Inequality)

What are the main points Farish Noor makes when he talks about going beyond eurocentrism? What is eurocentrism?

1. Eurocentrism- “a worldview centered on the biased towards western civilization. The exact scope of centrism varies from the entire Western world to only Europe or even just Western Europe”
2. Noor “eurocentrism denotes the emerging perception within the European cultural, historical experience of European identity as good and all other forms as less good or less advanced”
   1. “the cultural perspective from which the West views and judges the rest of the world by its own standards is much like the cultural superiority in vogue during the age of Empire.”
3. When talking about “going beyond eurocentrism” Farish makes the point that western cultures won’t accept other views because it devalues their own (ex: Fahrenheit/Celsius). He states that “the Western world cannot serve as an example to the rest of the world” and that even though the West has a large amount of power, its power will not last forever. Countries are have pushed back and always will. Even efforts taken by western minorities had a backlash on the global community. This was brought to attention by Noor when he talks about the feminist movement in the 70’s and how it further divided women and men.