Evil in the environment

There are many occurrences of evil in the world that have detrimental effects, such as causing death and destruction. Evil is something harmful to the well-being of living beings and evil, according to James Waller, contributes to the loss of land, deaths, and damage to the integrity of individuals. Water is a symbol of life, according to Jean Cooper's Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols, and when polluted by environmental evils such as pollution, it can inflict detrimental effects on the population. False news and pollution such as the one experienced by residents of Grass Narrows constitute evil in the environment since they have negative effects on human beings while benefiting the creators of the evils. Evil in the environment constitutes human activities that damage the natural phenomena. Evil is anything that harms human beings by causing illnesses, suffering, or death as argued by Waller. Actions such genocide constitutes evil in the environment since it leads to massive loss of lives. Some of genocide cases were experienced in Native America-North (15,000,000 people), Australia (10,000), and Uganda (300, 000) among others.
False news refers to stories that are made up and manipulated to appear like credible reports from journalists. False news is posted online to millions of audiences tarnishing the image of individuals, organizations, and nations. False news ignores facts through distortions spreading propaganda to many people and changing their perceptions on various issues addressed in the news. Fake news is a form of propaganda intentionally published since it spreads unconfirmed information and rumors to the public to tarnish other_x0092_ images.
Case Study
Natural evil refers to devastating occurrences that are not caused by human faults where no moral agent can be blamed for the consequences. Some examples of such occurrences include mudslides that bury hundreds of people, earthquakes that cause loss of lives and destruction of property, and typhoons among others. If something is not classified as a natural evil then it can be termed as a moral evil. Moral evils such as wars, pollution of the environment and other destructive human activities can lead to adverse effects on the population, vegetation, and the ecosystem.Mercury poisoning at Grassy Narrows is not a natural evil but a moral one since it is not caused by a natural phenomenon but contamination occurred due to human activities.
Mercury is a poisonous metal that causes long-term effects on the environment including ill health and deaths. When swept into water sources it can get into the bodies of human beings through drinking the contaminated water or eating species such as fish from such water sources. Evil in the environment constitutes human activities that have a negative impact on the human population and the natural environment such as damage to property, reputation, ill health, and pollution among others. The case of Grassy Narrows involving human activities at Reed Paper in Dryden is a serious issue. Dumping of chemicals occurred in the 1960s and 70s, resulted in
Mercury poisoning with the residents that ate fish from River English-Wabigoon. There is evidence of leaching of mercury from the factory and the contamination qualifies to be moral rather than natural evil. The contamination is still ongoing threatening the lives of the residents relying on the river. The government is ignoring the situation since the provincial administration has disagreed with a report by John Rudd arguing that it has monitored the facility accused of contamination of the water and has not found any evidence of leaching. This information is false and misleading yet the government is not willing to spend millions of dollars in cleaning the area. The denial of contamination by the government administration is the same act as perpetuating false information. It is evident from research that the mercury contamination level is rising and clean-up is required. People have also shown signs of illnesses associated with mercury in their bodies and have applied for compensation but the administration has shown no concern. According to results of tests on the residents by researcher Dr. Masazumi, mercury blood levels are down but the mercury poisoning is quite high. Seventy percent of the residents have shown signs of neurological disorders through tests that show poor coordination of muscles, blurred vision, and slurred speech. This is a clear indication that the government_x0092_s information about the situation is false since research results reveal that people are suffering from mercury poisoning. The government is aiming is to dodge the matter and avoid taking responsibility for compensating the victims.
Refusing to acknowledge the problem is evil since it causes trouble to the residents of the region who depend on the contaminated water. From Jean Cooper_x0092_s Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbol, water is a symbol of life and the source of all potentialities in the world. In the case, of Grass Narrows, the contaminated water is a symbol of the suffering people are going through and the reason for their ill health and death as well. Poisoned water is dangerous for human health and the administration has a big role to play to ensure clean water for the community. For the problem to be solved the government should find ways of reducing contamination and ensuring that people have clean water and fish instead of denying the results of the research.
Evil in the environment constitutes several activities that cause damage to humans, animals, and the landscape caused by human beings or natural calamities. Natural and moral evil can lead to loss of lives and destruction of environments. False information can be misleading yet is very convincing to the readers. Giving false news is, therefore, evil and people should ensure that they use the media appropriately to avoid hurting others. The mercury contamination case is a moral evil since it resulted from activities of humans that involved disposal of heavy metals on land leading to serious health issues. Environmental pollution is dangerous and human beings should avoid careless disposal of harmful substances in the environment to reduce the negative effects. Bibliography
Waller, James E. Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing. Oxford University Press, 2007.
Unit 4: Genocide. Plague of Genocides. Pandemic during the Twentieth Century: Unit 4 Lesson 9.
Balmas, Meital. "When Fake News Becomes Real: Combined Exposure to Multiple News Sources and Political Attitudes of Inefficacy, Alienation, and Cynicism." Communication Research 41, no. 3 (2014)
Swinburne, Richard. "Natural Evil." American Philosophical Quarterly 15, no. 4 (1978): 295-301.
Benrose, John. 2017. "John Bemrose Vic 7T0 Depth of the World". Issuu. https://issuu.com/vic_report/docs/john_bemrose_vic7t0_depthoftheworld.
"Federal Government Vows Action on Mercury Contamination Grassy Narrows _x0091_Once and for All_x0092_". 2017. Therecord.Com. http://www.therecord.com/news-story/7070371-federal-government-vows-action-on-mercury-contamination-grassy-narrows-once-and-for-all-/.
Porter, Jody. "57 Years Later, Mercury at Grassy Narrows Must be Cleaned up, New Report Says". 2017. CBC News. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/grassy-narrows-mercury-report-1.3604183.
Cooper, Jean C. An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols. (1978).