Another diary penned by Ms AAF, who's toiling away on her psychology master. I did a little edit, not much.

The causes of environmental degradation in the South are manifold, and poverty is a symptom of a global economical and social system which drives this environmental degradation, both in North and South, in pursuit of short-term financial gain and greed, without consideration for future generations and sustainable development.

Citing poverty as the single cause for environmental degradation would be simplistic and plain false as both phenomena must be seen in their local, national and international context.

The extreme affluence of the North (or formerly 'First world') with their associated hunger for resources , drives environmental degradation in the South (formerly Third World) as much as the extreme poverty found there. Both conditions (extreme wealth and poverty) are unsustainable, but to achieve change the balance of economic, social and political powers would have to undergo radical change.