10.

It is more impoMant tO e liMi ^ ›

•0 e r• • < y
O e
t h •El f3
'° S O ) VG' ”' I *°•° »•t»i
e •ft
probiems. Do ¿ou agree?

O ’More important’- s Ndeno need ¿p compare tEe relaove impoWmce .of

povccy eUminaoon vis-a-vis solving environmental problems (that
is, £iey nted to argue which problem is more cnciA to be solved. It is
important to note that it ’is necessary to get rid of both problems but
scdents have to argue which shoJ d take priority).
W ‘Eliminate poverty'- get rid of the prob!em of poverty.
O ’‘Solve environmental problems?- eliminate environme ntal probl-ems.
Smdents need to consider a range of problems born pokution to
deforestation and climate changc to issues like oE spJs for a more
comprehensive discuss-ion.
$t 'D o you agree?'- scdents have to either agree or disagree with the given
statement.
Smdenta have to provide good reasons/arguments as to why it is more
important to get rid of one problem over the oGer. They coYd consider
if getting rid of one problem can Oso help address Ge oG er problem.

A news report in 2017 hlghlighted 1.3 billion people worldwide are living in
that
ab,ject poverty. Indeed, elimination ought to be important issue of conce:n
poverty an
to the world. However, when compared to the issue environmen tal degradation,
of
which «an hava- dire consequenc es -on not just the but future generations of
current
peop l-e, it may be compelling to -argu e that we firs-1 focus on solving t”he” various
sh oulé
environmental woes that confront today - from pollut-ion to global warming and
u» problems can exacerbate the poverty problem
even oil spills. Severe environment
al
so it is more importa nt for world to prioritise the elimination of environmental
”the
(Problems. Mo reover, a» compared to poverty elimin ation, may seem to be an
which
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unrealistic goal in the short--term , of tal problems, though
elimination
environ men-
equally c h allenging, may be more succe-»-sfuI given technolog ical advancement all
the yossibility of«hanging people»’ Thus, I d-isagre e that it its more important
mindsets. »oIve enviro nm ental proble' ms.
tu eIiw› inate poVeh y. Rather, it is more
vital to
First, it is more important to environmenta l problems as that would indirec tly
solve
hclg ac/c/re ss the problem of poven ¿. repon in TIfVlE zine in 2d16 re vealed
A
mag a-
that a new researc h Shows that eHects of clima1» change unfairly
study the burden*
y>oorer countri es and that aHluent which have been the primary con tribUtâ [S
nation»,

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to /?Iim ?/ t €? fg h /*zI f\ :s fñ . SE! €? = i C\ be i €t r geiy immune t €/ its eF €?I?t ña. Th i!3 / i Fldi f I :v h i:r h!
i
s h*S the impact of extreme weather on poorer communities and so, we need to
inxest greater eFo1 in solving environmen tal problems first. It is easy to unde
rstand how poor communities can be ravaged by typhoons and how floods as
well as other extreme weather car lead to severe health problems like dysentery
and cholera for rural communities. Therefore, it is vital to solve enviro nmental
prob iems first before deaiing with the probiem of pove6y, which will take a long
whiie. If we can eradicate environmental problems, at least the destitute need not
fret over how naturaT disaste rs would further worsen their already poor living
conditions.
Fu1 hermore, as environmental problems aPect future generations at an even
larger scale, it is more impo1 ant to eradicate them as compared to geb !ng rid ol
the problem of pove6 y. Undoubtedly, the problem of poverty will also aFect
future generat ions but this probiem has always existed, aF ecting generation
aHer generation. However, the efiects of the probiem will remain within a relatively
smaller group compa red to the probiem of environmental degradation, which
will not just aFect the poor but everyone in future if we continue to deplete
resources. It is unfair an d may be a r gu l? d t O b e m O r ñ:IlIy w r O lfl g I f CU rr e I’1 t ge Ifl e r ñ:Iti
O n S • ñ:Ik e f U t U r e se »e r ñsI t / O fñS P ?5 y *•= r OU I" mistake s. Therefore, it is more crucial
and urgent to raise awareness among the current generation about the h a rms they
are knowingly or unknowingly inflicting upon Mother Ealh so thst there is a cha nge
in mindsets towards conservation . The annual EaMh Ho ur, recyciing eF orts, eco-
friendly malls and eco-tourist sites are steps in the right direction, in highlighting the
importance of cha nging our perspectives a nd lifes@les.

Moreove r, it is more impo6ant to eliminate environmental problems first

simply because we may have the solutions to do so and all we need is to
continue working on these compared to the problem of pove6 y, which is a
deep-seated problem that has multifacete d causes to it - we have yet to find a
realistic solution to address this problem. Rather than wasting our time, efioh
and resources on an impossibility, it is more i mportant to work on something
that is possible. Some may argue thai yuroviding access to educat ion can lih
people out of the pove6y cycle but the issue is not as simple as it seems. First £
even if children want to study, th eir families may require them to work to
make ends meet or the corrupt systems in many pals cf the world, like the
countries in Africa, may make such solution s challexging to implement.
Furthermore, conflicts in various parts of the world also add ano ther layLr of
complexity to this problem, where poor people are forced to flee their homes,
sometim e5 becoming refugee s or losing their loved ones. Given such
r.ornplicateU circumstances, poverty eliminat ion may seem an unrealistic task,
at least in the shos term. We may be flgln ting a losing bah le if we prioritise our
resources in solving this (oroblem. Alleviating the problem may be possible and
›ve shoulJ continue to work on workable solutions but era dic ation rem ains an
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ideal. How»x er, environm enta l scientists are oFering Lis great er hope that an a
rray of

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 w»ergiog tm$,„p,¿gm }ilyy renem ble solar
›w«ves »reJ fi6es and sensor technology. ^“^*9
mp tecfinologies ae at a nascent stage ang
It+dy° séa h»'ee their limiafions, ley nemM o&r concete ways to solve our
elem
,¿„,;;,; pj ; S
yy|jye j¿e jpUe O{ pg\g/¿y, |\ iS m€/e impoñ ant to ftapi\fI |
jgg
a&6ed by 6ese @chnologies and woA
%uniSes OU SO) V
"9
w›.ronmenpI prQggms firg\ Ige&e ackling 4e in ue of poverty.

E›wn &ough &e a&remmdoned ap umenN clearly make a case for why
xt é*o«*fi gséoritise solng enfia nmextal pa blems, humanitaria ns may ap« e
thg\ o• ce«pessimae gaunds, especially in ei ation to the numeaus hum6n
rigFts fl•oéfions â›at ae commonpiam in many poverty-stñcken societies,
upent attention r.aecis D & p«id O 6e elimination of poverty so that these
peopies’ dignity can be resñam•d. Poverg/ is in iOeYan imue of human ñghR, as
apued by some human rights
»nd O éaim &at 6is iuue of gave conmrn is of secondary imponance
1 inn b -ieQnfiy disrega6 6e UnDid Su#eñn9 inti Cted on severai thousand inn oc ent
inéT>ééuak, esjaecially &e w lneable- For example, despite the independence
given zo Sou?h Sedan in 2011, intemai confliu in 2OJ3 emeped at a greater scale,
resulting ir. nu:nea us human ñghR atTocities and the tapeting of the poor for
extrajudicial
@llings- Simiiañy, in Saudi Aabia, it was epo1ed that 2013 was one of the wont
yearn ?or human ñghD. Females and the poor ae considered to be at the bot
om ofi- fi+e totem pole and ae o6en denied legal rights and knowingly
oppressed by 6» counuy*s polomi entities- When such circumstances are
considered, it would be mom ?empLng to be inclined towa6 s the ap uments
of humanitaria ns. Yet, it
»houId & noted 6at &e & iIue to soive environmental problems may also lead to
a
ñuman%ñan Isis as many iives have been lost to extreme weather in the past
and 6is un1ownate siRation wili continue to exist as iong as we do not urgently
address tñis pabiem. Cile bo6the problem of poverty and environmental
problems result in devas1afing ami ! cations, the eFems of environmentai
problems are greater dS
many can potenfially be aPeC ed, won ening the humanitarian crisis already existent
iñ
poverty*-sU1& en regions. Therefore, when weighing reiative impo1 ance
the
poblem 6ould & solved fint, i wouid still argue that the environment al crisis S# OU)
Rke prmedence-
Poverty and environmental degradation are both globai problems that nations hfil*/?
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& en grappling wi6 for years. While it is vital to address both if we were to
problems,
pñoritise our resources and ePo1, it may seem that environmental problems, which
&reaten a larger number of people both living in current and ages, shout*
future
re<eive greater aRention for we can avoid a humanitarian catastrophe if we act
sgVlft(
in get Mo&er Eanh in order. In view of this, I disagree that it is '***portant to
more
era dimte poverty fict and instead be lie \/e tha t it is more crucial to priortis e C\^ fe
CI
*
in miving environmental probiems.

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