eng 1012

1. ENG 1012: Individual
Assignment #2
[Type the document subtitle]
.
Name: Muhammad Sufyan
[Pick the date]

2. Question 2)
The basic economic problem of limited resources to cater for unlimited needs and wants has
dictated life on earth since the beginning of time. As the human race evolved into settled
communities, there arose a need for expansion of territory to procure natural resources required
to sustain the population. Add to that the desire for power amongst tribal/community leaders and
the perfect formula for waging war to acquire new territory and resources for the
community/tribe/country that won. This went on for centuries as part of the evolution of the
human race. Eventually, in the later part of the 18th century, as we built a solid body of research
and learned to establish industries and the world witnessed the industrial revolution. The human
race was now able to sustain a life of excesses and also learned to build bigger better weapons to
wage was and plunder other nations. All along we developed better means of communication
too, making it easier to access information and to travel across the world. This was a major
breakthrough, since the general public was more aware of the aftermath of war through
newspapers, television and also firsthand experiences since people could now travel to most parts
of the world. The whole world watched in horror the after effects of the two world wars.
However, it wasn’t until the 1960’s, more specifically the summer of 1967, when a whole
generation of young people in the United States, Canada and Europe, took to the streets to protest
against the Vietnam War. Infamously dubbed as the Summer of Love1, about 100,000 young
people across the world protested against war. This was a game changer in the world of politics.
Governments could no longer wage war without antagonism from the public. This was also the
time when people started to realize the ill effects of heavy industrialization and how large
corporations were ruining the environment to make money for a selected few. However, it wasn’t
until June, 1972 that world leaders gathered together under the United Nations to talk about the
pressing issue of a hurting ecosystem. It is necessary to be reminded that this was 26 years after
the UN was formed.
Question 3)
While the establishment of the UN was the birth of collectivist thought, in an effort to bring
world peace. The Stockholm Declaration, can be dubbed as a turning point in the face of global
politics, shifting focus towards more pressing issues, such as the environment, that would
inadvertently bring world peace.
The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm, Sweden
from June 5th to 16th in 1972. The plenary conference yielded the Stockholm Declaration, which
1 Summer of love https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_of_Love Accessed September 7th, 2019

3. was the first document in international environment law that recognized the right to a healthy
environment. The declaration was signed by world leaders agreeing to take responsibility for any
environmental effects caused by their actions.
The Stockholm Declaration contains seven proclamations that envisage the global nature of
pressing environmental issues and call out for all countries around the globe to cooperate for the
common good, ensuring survival of the human race at large. The declaration then states twenty
six principles to guide nations regarding their responsibilities, these will be elaborated further.
The next section of the document contains the action plan which. Is divided into three categories
namely
1. Earthwatch: Assessment of the physical environment to identify any issues that may
negatively affect the environment
2. Environmental Management: These involve measures taken to mitigate the issues
previously identified.
3. Supporting measures: These include 109 measures that can be taken to avoid, mitigate
and improve a country’s practices on environmental management.
Question 4)
Although internationally lauded, the Stockholm Declaration did not seem to produce the desired
results of an environmentally friendly global economy2. The world witnessed what could be
termed as social inertia i.e. resistance to change regardless of how positive the perceived
outcomes of change maybe. A decade after the Stockholm Declaration, there was an urgent need
to tie economic growth with preservation of the environment. It is imperative that one must
remember this was the era when the world was growing into a global village with enhancements
in technology, industrialization and international trade. Developed nations around the world were
starting to import products from underdeveloped countries, larger quantities than ever before.
Among others, one major question that arose was whether the immense demand for goods and
services from less developed countries, may give rise to environmentally irresponsible practices
in the said nations or not? Approaches to tackling the environmental problems amidst the
emerging global economy were also questioned, more particularly, whether resource efficient
means of production alone should be enough, or if socio-political and global consumption
patterns need to be changed to. In a nutshell, global leaders were thinking with a long term
approach, linking all macro and microeconomic questions with their impact on the environment.
2 Brundtland Commission https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brundtland_Commission accessed 7th September, 2019

4. Question 5)
While the Commission was able to help to change the association between economic growth
and resource extraction, the total worldwide consumption of resources is projected to
increase in the future. So much of the natural world has already been converted into human
use that the focus cannot simply remain on economic growth and omit the ever-growing
problem of environmental sustainability. Agenda 21 reinforces the importance of finding
ways to generate economic growth without hurting the environment. Through various trade
negotiations such as improving access to markets for exports of developing countries,
Agenda 21 looks to increase economic growth sustainability in countries that need it most.
Question 6)
Between 3rd to 14th June, 1992 the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED) was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The conference is more commonly known as the
Earth Summit and was intended for countries to reconcile economic development, keeping in
mind environmental protection. The Earth Summit was attended by 117 heads of state and
representatives of 178 countries, making it the largest gathering of world leaders.

5. References:
The USA and Global Environmental Policy: Domestic Constraints on Effective Leadership
Bryner, G. (1997). From Promises to Performance: Achieving Global Environmental Goals. New
York: W.W. Norton.
Bryner, G. (2001). Gaia's Wager: Environmental Movements and the Challenge of
Sustainability. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.
Bryner, G. (1999). "Agenda 21: Myth or Reality?" in N.J. Vig and R.S. Axelrod (eds), Global
Environmental Policy: Institutions, Law, and Policy. Washington, DC: CQ Press.
Wapner, P. (1996). Environmental Activism and World Civic Politics. Albany: State University
of New York Press.
Paul Wapner (1996: 1) contends that environmental protection "must be balanced with other
social goals, such as economic well-being, which, depending on how one thinks about it, can
conflict with environmentally sound measures."