Pollution (based upon https://policy.greenparty.org.uk/pl.html )

Uncontrolled economic growth and the increasing human population have led to a massive exploitation of natural resources and as a consequence are reducing the quality of life on Earth.

We have polluted the air, the land, the lakes, rivers and oceans. More importantly, we are destroying the natural restorative systems on which life itself depends for survival.

Exploitation of resources, energy demand, and the pollution that results, have greatly reduced the amount and quality of natural communities of plants and animals throughout the world. They have also led to a process of atmospheric warming which now poses a threat of the climate emergency so widespread and rapid that natural systems stand little chance of adaptive evolution. The disastrous changes put in train by humankind since the industrial revolution threaten the future of civilisation and the future of a majority of species on Earth.

Pollution is not coincidental to economic activity, but it is presently an integral part of it.

Frequently it is caused by the activities of one group of people, while its costs and impacts are borne by others and by the biosphere. Changes of lifestyle and of government in line with the principles of the Green Party are essential to ensure a viable future and an end to pollution.

Pollution has to be stopped at source. Economic growth has to be secondary to the health and safety of the planet in both political and social development. Only by adopting these Green Party principles, can natural diversity can be maintained and the quality of life can be improved for all species on the planet.

Pollution reduces our ability to manage resources and natural systems in a sustainable and ecological way, and it damages natural restorative systems.

It is important to ensure etter resource conservation. The efficient use of resources, the recycling of materials and the establishment of binding timetables to reduce the use of toxic chemicals and the production of waste, wherever it is feasible to do so, will minimise environmental pollution and reduce absolute cost. Environmental pollution:

1. reduces the range of choice for future generations.
2. directly damages health and reduces potential lifespan.
3. directly and indirectly damages natural communities of plants and animals.
4. transgresses national boundaries both in space and through time. It is a global responsibility for all countries and communities to accept full economic and environmental responsibility for their own pollution.