unit 6

Government’s Role during Disaster
Name
Institution

Interpretation of Sources
Pollution has been a topic of contentious debate; hence, the reason for the formulation of the 7th MDG on environmental sustainability. The government plays an essential role in setting up mitigation measures to prevent and/or minimize the effects of a disaster. The government is considered as the governing body of any nation; hence, it is mandated with the responsibility of ensuring that its citizens’ standards of living are worthwhile. In the first source whose focus is on understanding the environment from a survey point of view, the government has several arms that act as stewards of preserving the environment. The government endorses the adoption of technology to prevent indoor pollution. In The same way, the government should continuously seek novel ways to prevent pollution. The developing countries are still grappling with indoor pollution that isn’t a high concern for the developed states. Thereby, governments in developing states should emulate and adopt feasible technologies that can work in their individual states. In addition, it educates its citizens on the use and integration of the new technology in their daily lives. The children are epitomized as the leaders of tomorrow and the fact that they value education means that the government should ensure all children go to school. Hopefully, these future leaders will devise more effective and efficient ways of handling pollution given the fact that they currently have to contend with the loathed pollution.

The government manages the national revenue by allocating certain funds to different dockets. In the docket of emergency programs, after FEMA threatened to pull out in the event it did not receive more money, the government is ready to spend cuts sourced from other dockets in the government (Muhd, 2011). The government solely funds FEMA, whose actions are meant to help the affected populations survive through destructive disasters by providing food, water, and transport. Political woes within the government arena, however, impede government’s agenda with the boycotting of the FEMA. Nonetheless, the government informs the citizens about the impending disaster, but this is not beneficial to the threatened society members as they have no means of relocation. The government is the main avenue through which communities affected by disaster are able to recover. In addition, it is able to predict the occurrence of a disaster; hence, should respond promptly by funding the FEMA to avoid political issues at a time when help is needed most. Unlike in the example below, the American government solely takes up all the responsibility of ensuring that recovery after a disaster proceeds on successfully by funding various agents.
The government cannot work alone; thus, it liaises with international bodies to provide aid to its local citizens. The UN is a humanitarian organization is one such body that sets up its offices in various parts of the world in order to support national governments tackle emerging issues through the provision of relief aid. The government, through such collaborations, ensures that citizens are moved to safety, away from areas engulfed by the disaster. Despite the fact that there is no apparent disaster in the photograph by Hazou (cited in United Nations, 2012), the girl being assisted to board the truck is seeking safety from some simulated civil war given the fact that one of the men helping her is in army uniform. In such a case, the government intervenes by helping the vulnerable populations, mainly women, and children.
Position Statement on the Role of the Government
A disaster tends to affect various domains of society. In the same way, responsive action requires a multi-faceted approach in that donors and international bodies can chip in. A multifaceted coordinated approach helps to supplement government funds and avoid the challenges of lacking money to help its citizens in times of disaster. Notwithstanding a developed or developing nation, the government should form networks with international organizations to enable a collective approach in addressing disasters. In some way, it all narrows down to pollution as strong correlation exists between global warming and the occurrence of hurricanes (The Nature Conservancy, 2015). The utmost responsibility of the government would be to advocate for a pollution free environment that will help to reduce some of these disasters, for example, the forest fires and hurricanes. The government should set up intervention mechanisms prior to the disaster itself. With the help of satellites, the government should forecast the probability of a disaster; hence, make plans to resettle its citizens. When the right measures in readiness for a disaster are already in place, the damages are not as intense and extensive, and the society is able to recover instead of starting all over again. The government should closely work with the safety networks to ensure that utilities and basic commodities do not lack. In addition, the government should not wait until the disaster has struck. Political wrangles happening in the wake of a disaster are uncalled for, and governments should learn to give priority to the most pressing community needs. In order to avoid the cycle of hurricanes and normalcy, mobile hospital clinical should suffice while recreational parks should be built further away from the coastline to reduce the cost of anticipated damages.
Foremost, the government should indulge in environmental campaigns and national activities aimed at preserving the environment, for example, a tree planting day where each individual is encouraged to plant a tree. These initiatives are meant to mobilize the society and encourage individual responsibility in the goal towards achieving environmental sustainability as part of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). In the developed countries, industries should be asked to devise more effective environmental friendly ways of managing their effluence while individuals in developing countries should be enlightened and educated on environmentally friendly and cost-effective ways of cooking to avoid indoor pollution. The government should reinforce the integration of current gas emission management practices by continuously monitoring the waste management practices of industries. Community delegates are imperative in achieving this goal because they understand community practices and beliefs; thus, are in a better position to influence these beliefs and practices.
The government should engage communities in peace talks and informative programs to avoid the emergence of war (Oxfam America, 2015). The root cause of war should be addressed, For example, in the case of unequal distribution of resources, modifications should be made to ensure that all community members have an equal share of the national cake. Possession of firearms should be discouraged, and communities encouraged to surrender all their arms. The high unemployment rate should be tackled by empowering and supporting the productive youth to set up businesses or develop technologies aimed at improving the standards of living and especially focusing on environmental sustainability. Educational programs and community meetings should be guided by the theme of peace. The communities should be taught on how to coexist despite their differences, and how to resolve conflict.

References
Goddard, A. (2013). Global survey turns focus on the environment. The Huffington Post. Retrieved Dec. 30, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anne-goddard/children-developing-countries_b_2231319.html.
United Nations. (2012). MINUSTAH participates in Joint natural disaster national simulation exercise. Retrieved Dec. 31, 2015, from http://www.unmultimedia.org/s/photo/detail/522/0522720.html.
Muhd, A. (2011). Eric Cantor: Soup Nazi? Retrieved Dec. 31, 2015, from https://ozmud.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/eric-cantor-soup-nazi-2/.
Oxfam America. (2015). Disasters & conflicts. Retrieved Dec. 31, 2015, from http://policy-practice.oxfamamerica.org/work/disasters-and-conflicts/.
The Nature Conservancy. (2015). Climate change Impacts. Retrieved Dec. 30, 2015, from http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/global-warming-climate-change/threats-impacts/stronger-storms.xml.