Governing bodies are vital entities that can have a substantial influence on the outcomes of the environmental crisis. Given governments have political power, financial, technical and human resources and the ability to organize and mobilize agendas, they are often able to do what smaller communities or groups of people cannot do and in a timely manner. They can also pool resources with other countries’ governments to address mutual global concerns.
Given the environmental crisis is a global concern; it needs the attention and action of all the world’s governing bodies as a collective commitment. Differences in ideologies and practices should be put aside in order to create coordinated and cooperative efforts and results that are comprehensive and remedy the identified problems in the most effective manner possible. Organizations, such as the United Nations, could bring nations together to discuss mutual concerns and create and initiate interventions as deemed necessary.
AL Gore has suggested using the prior successful Marshall Plan as a model for creating a new Marshall Plan to unite the world’s nations to a common purpose in addressing global problems and the environmental crisis and to establish protocols for ethical behavior and the settlement of disputes and other issues of conflict.
A world government might also be considered although this concept has had considerable resistance considering the administrative difficulties and inefficiency of such a large system, the chaotic state of some of the world’s governments and the fear that such an institution would have unintended side effects and complications that might interfere with its intended goals and objectives.
Reference:
Earth in the BalanceEcology and the Human Spirit by AL Gore, 1992, Rodale Inc., A New Common Purpose, pp. 269-294. Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit by AL Gore, 1992, Rodale Inc., A Global Marshall Plan, pp. 301-302.
Passionate Earth Project 