Are the poor the problem? There is no way. In my mind coming from a family of agriculture and farmers I always though we had the most sustainable practices! We cook with real fire, there is no electricity consumption, our night sky is always so beautiful fill with tons of stars because there aren’t as much green gases as in the city that disturbs the vision of all the stars. I was tempted to read the no article but then after remorse I went back to the yes and turns out both are right! Yes, the poor in fact do cause natural resources degradation but also, they are not the problem. The problem is management. The problem is our laws that do not have laws that protect our environment enough.

Honestly reading that article took forever and I still didn’t really capture the details. I did however know at least what they were talking about: do the poor have a direct or indirect effect on the environment?

The professor had great articles that capture this whole idea of the poor. They were very intriguing stories and made me want to search on my own as well. Also, I wonder where she gets all these insightful articles… is there a website? The news? I’m not sure but my favorite story was about the farmers in India. Shockingly they were committing suicide, could you imagine being that poor? Not being able to provide for your family no matter how much you try and how many things you’ve done. Pushing you that it will be better if you just don’t exist anymore. The best thing about this was that a solution arose. The farmers could make cotton instead which in return helps them financially but also assist the environment because cotton is a natural resource, there is no plastic, it isn’t synthetic.

Meditation helped me cleared my mind and also become aware of the MAJOR problem we have in our society about plastic. I work at a restaurant and it is full of plastic, one time use plastic cups, one time use straws, one time use forks, spoons and knifes. But the worst thing is that I am part of that, I consume the drinks and I use the plastic forks… I would say that my major takeaway is coming to the realization that we need a solution like the one for the farmers in India, we need to be using biodegradable resources.

What did I contribute to the learning society? I think it was a little confusing to digest all the big words the article had so I wasn’t really clear in the idea, but I mention how a better government with better management would make a great impact on the poor community and the environment. Because one thing that is clear history has shows us that when we help one another there is a cultural growth and an economic growth. At a big scale those who make the laws have an even bigger impact for the poor.