ARAGON, Shaina B.

B127
STS May 15, 2020

Forget developing rich countries, it’s time to develop rich countries

The SDGs also explicitly include disability and persons with disabilities eleven times.

Disability is referenced in multiple parts of the SDGs, specifically in the parts related to

education, growth and employment, inequality, accessibility of human settlements, as well as

data collection and the monitoring of the SDGs.

Although, the word “disability” is not cited directly in all goals, the goals are indeed

relevant to ensure the inclusion and development of persons with disabilities. Here are the list of

UN SDG:

 GOAL 1: No Poverty

 GOAL 2: Zero Hunger

 GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being

 GOAL 4: Quality Education

 GOAL 5: Gender Equality

 GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

 GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

 GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

 GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

 GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality

 GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

 GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

  GOAL 13: Climate Action

 GOAL 14: Life Below Water

 GOAL 15: Life on Land

 GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions

 GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal

For me, the UN SDG is GOAL 1: No Poverty is still experiencing now, nationwide,

because most of us still live in extreme poverty and is struggling to fulfill the most basic needs

like health, education, and access to water and sanitation, to name a few. Having a job does not

guarantee a decent living. In fact, some of employed workers and their families worldwide lived

in extreme poverty. Poverty affects children disproportionately. Ensuring social protection for all

children and other vulnerable groups is critical to reduce poverty.

Poverty has many dimensions, but its causes include unemployment, social exclusion,

and high vulnerability of certain populations to disasters, diseases and other phenomena which

prevent them from being productive. Growing inequality is detrimental to economic growth and

undermines social cohesion, increasing political and social tensions and, in some circumstances,

driving instability and conflicts.

The main strategy in eradicating poverty is by prioritizing:

 improving access to sustainable livelihoods, entrepreneurial opportunities and productive

resources;

 providing universal access to basic social services;

 progressively developing social protection systems to support those who cannot support

themselves;
  empowering people living in poverty and their organizations; and

 addressing the disproportionate impact of poverty on women;

Jason Hickel’s paradigm of de-develop stated that we tend to imagine that the poverty of

poor countries has to do with their internal domestic problems, maybe its corruption, or weak

institutions. Of course, that has something to do with it. But we too often ignore the much more

significant external forces that perpetuate poverty. Take the debt system, for example. Poor

countries have to bend to the wishes of creditors and investors, who prohibit the use of tariffs,

subsidies, capital controls and regulations. It is also clear that development agencies need to shift

their focus beyond aid to tackle the structural determinants of global poverty and inequality. Yes

it is possible because they can find ways to create a new and more meaningful public narrative.

Instead of representing poverty as a problem that’s out there, unconnected to the rich world, we

also need to help people understand that it is a problem that is perpetuated in large part by the

rules of the global economic system, and that we can and should work together to change those

rules.

Overconsumption does not mean more happiness because buying stuff can only make us

happy for a short time. But it will revert to needing another happiness boost by buying even more

stuff. We can, however, replace the boom and bust of a consumption-driven search for

satisfaction with lives that are more fulfilling and economically sustainable. But most people

living the consumerist lifestyle, small changes over time work best like deciding to vacation

closer to home, occasionally doing grocery shopping without the use of a car, dropping the need

for a nice lawn, and not assuming that one needs machinery for things like leaf-raking.

Here are some of my ways to stop us from overconsumption:

  Shop less

 Resist the urge to buy things from advertisement and commercials

 Buy things that are more durable and last longer

 Grow and make your own food and things

 Buy sustainable, eco-friendly materials

 Bring on Solar Power

 Inspiring others - when we find that we are making progress with cutting down in our

own life, share the love. By aiming to inspire each other in our own lives, we can all start

to create a positive movement towards more mindful consumption. The potential benefits

for our health, happiness, wallets and planet are infinite.

Reading Exercise (Found in the book)

1. What is the main objective of UN SDG?

The main objective of UN SG is to take action to end poverty, protect the planet and

ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.

2. What is the standardized unit that measures resource use and waste?

The standardized unit that measures resource and waste is to consume 1.8 “global

hectares annually and it is the average person in Ghana or Guatemala consumes while in US

and Canada, they consume for about 8 hectares per person and lastly, the Europeans which

needs to consume 4.7 hectares ---- many times their fair share.

3. What is the standard response to eradicating poverty?

 The Sustainable Development Goals sets an agenda to eradicate or alleviate poverty

and that is to end hunger or end poverty in all its forms everywhere, achieve food security

and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture, ensure healthy lives, ensure

food security and good nutrition and ensure exclusive and equitable quality education and

promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

The standard response to eradicating poverty is to have structural change so that it

will have permanent solution. Help the poor on how to survive rather than help the poor

survive. Despise corruption and raise awareness to people.

4. What is the threshold of the Earth for adequately sustaining life?

Some of the excess income and consumption we see in the rich world yields

improvements in quality of life that are not captured by life expectancy, or even literacy rates

but many countries have achieved similar life expectancy with a mere fraction of the income.

The threshold of ecological sustainability consists of GDP per capita which is 6,000 dollars

and consumption of only 1.9 hectares.

5. According to the majority of people in middle and high income countries, what puts the

planet and society at risk?

According to research, 70% of people in middle- and high-income countries believe

that the reason why planet and society is at risk was due to overconsumption. Another thing

is striving to buy and own less and that doing so would not compromise our happiness.

Poverty and poor economic strategies of the countries is putting the planet and society

at risk. Poverty has been rampant nowadays most especially to countries who have poor
economic strategies. This causes people to do crimes in order to survive. As observed in

studies, countries who experience poverty tend to have higher rates of crimes putting each

individual's life in danger. Poor people are forced to do crimes in order to live and earn

money for their needs. If these countries work out on their economic status, poverty will be

alleviated as more opportunities will open up to them. This will give them more choices in

earning money.

6. How many hectares should each of us consume annually based on the resources available

in the planet?

Each person should consume at least 1.8 hectares annually based on the resources

available in the planet because the planet consists enough resources to consume by a person.

7. What are two indicators of the quality of life given in the article?

The two indicators of the quality of life given in the article by Jason Hickel is the

composite indexes which includes Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic (composite

index) of life expectancy, education, and per capita income indicators, which are used to rank

countries into four tiers of human development. Another indicator is the Genuine Process

Indicator (GPI) is a metric used to measure the economic growth of a country. Meaning to

say, the two indicators of life is happiness and life expectancies or contentment, quality over

quantity.

8. What crisis in the planet would force us to slow down if we do not do so voluntarily?

The crisis of climate change will be the one to force us to use the proper allocation of

natural and physical resources.

9. According to Hickel, what must be done instead of urging poor countries to “catch up”

with rich ones?

Hickel coined that instead of poor countries to “catch up with” the rich one’s, the rich

one’s should be the one who catch down, for them to have equal opportunities and equal

share for the uses of resources.

10. How would the different areas of the world react to the idea of “de-development”?

The idea of de-development or de-developing countries to others especially to global

south, but the concept might not be impossible to implement if there is cooperation with one

another.