The experts say that if every person on the Earth (out of seven billion who live now) consumed as much as an average citizen of the US, we would need five planets. A few years ago, when the economic crisis started, mass media and experts began stressing the need to reduce consumption: use less water, oil, timber, gas, buy fewer goods, etc.
Back in the 1970s the world came to the conclusion that if everything stayed the way it was, in a century or two the population of the Earth (which is expected to number more than nine billion by 2050) will catastrophically lack all the basic necessities. Even today a billion and a half people do not have access to electricity and almost one billion people starve every day. As to ecology, it is believed that if nothing is done to solve the climate change issue, one third of all species of animals might become extinct. That is why the main topics of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development that is going to take place in Brazil in June are going to be economy ecologization, protection of seas and oceans from ecosystems destruction and excessive fishing, city infrastructure improvement, promotion of renewable energy sources, sustainable use of timber resources, and preservation of biodiversity. Ukraine is going to participate in this conference as well.
Concerning the environmental conditions in Ukraine and the country’s development, the experts say the same problems persist: the ecology is in poor state, the pollution is directly connected to the highly detrimental economy, low power efficiency, and disuse of natural energy sources. Representatives of the environmental NGOs think that in order to improve the ecology significantly in the countries of the Eastern Partnership, including Ukraine, the topic of nature conservation should be brought up to the “highest level.” Also, the experts think that Ukraine should prioritize the consolidation of cooperation with the European Union in the area of environmental protection and the integration of ecological matters in all spheres of the country’s life.
Ricarda RIEGER, director of the UN Development Program in Ukraine:
“Ukraine should change the basic approach to the energy resources use, because your economy is one of the most inefficient ones in the world. The second problem is the degrading of the agriculture, low quality of land use, while its natural potential is great. The third problem is that since 1998, the amount of industrial waste, including toxic waste, has been increasing. New utilization and recycling regulations are required. The fourth one is the pollution of drinking water with industrial waste and the overall drinking water deficiency: today 25 percent of Ukrainians consume low quality drinking water. Often it is not the water that lacks the quality, but the pipes it flows through. Also, the matter of biodiversity preservation is of grave importance in Ukraine. Rare kinds of animals and plants tend to vanish. For example, you have only 300 aurochs and 200 bison left. I think that if they and the other species become extinct, this will hurt not only the biodiversity, but Ukraine’s image as well. The social development of the country is directly related to its economic development. The 2011 annual report says that 40 percent of Ukrainian households suffer from unsatisfactory social conditions, they are socially isolated. Another pressing issue is the gap between the poor and the rich, it still continues to grow larger, though the poverty level in Ukraine has decreased during the past few years.
“The level of the dialog depends on the society’s level of development, and nowadays you can hear that Ukraine does not think in a global way. But every country has its own abilities and priorities. It is important that local initiatives are supported in the country, because even the small deeds make their contribution to the well-being of the whole planet. I can give examples of how projects on heat energy preservation are implemented within small Ukrainian communities. I am talking about kindergartens, schools, where administration decided to replace old wooden window frames with new metal-plastic ones. It was done on a local scale, but it was done for the benefit of the civilization.”
Tetiana TYMOCHKO, head of the All-Ukrainian Ecological League:
“I think that the understanding of the energy production and use coincides with the understanding of old, balanced development. What is more important for us: to keep our houses, cars, other belongings, or just live in a normal environment without constant fear for our children – that they will die from an unknown disease, or will eat genetically modified food, while the international corporations will be gaining multibillion profit from this? The myth about cheap nuclear energy was imposed on us. But let us count its price, starting from uranium extraction. There are two large uranium deposits in Ukraine: in Dniprodzerzhynsk and in Zhovti Vody. Uranium is practically not extracted there anymore. However, there are still two tailing dumps left in Dniprodzerzhynsk, and one of them was flooded during the Soviet era. When the Soviet Union fell apart, the pipes were stolen and water was pumped to the pond no more. The water level started decreasing and soon the shores covered with uranium were exposed. This was a serious threat not only for Ukraine’s ecology. A special commission was created in 2009 to solve this problem. The information about this was not divulged, because it could cause panic not only in Ukraine, but in other European countries as well, since dust storms could carry uranium dust very far from Dniprodzerzhynsk. Finally, the pond was filled with water again. This is the price Ukraine still pays for one kilowatt of nuclear energy. Moreover, the process of uranium extraction, uranium, and nuclear power plants maintenance nowadays are costly. Another area of spending is the waste, because there are no technologies of nuclear waste handling in the world yet. And how much money did Europe and Ukraine invest into the construction of the new sarcophagus in Chornobyl? And even if the nuclear power plant is shut down, there still are people working there, the security officers stay there, everything stays the way it was while the plant had been working, and this requires money too. And what about the health of children and grown-ups who fell ill? What about all the Chornobyl money? Nuclear power is not the cheapest, it is the most expensive in the world. And if we talk about the alternative, solar energy, biogas, or other options, it turns out their production does not influence our health, does not destroy our children and the future generations (though it does cost more than nuclear energy). Unfortunately, our politicians do not think about environment at all. Their programs do not have an ecological compound. Read one of the governmental programs: 90 pages are occupied with the ways to deal with economic problems, four pages contain information on social problems, and environmental issues get a page at best.”
