Security 2.0

            In my security essay, I argued that without human security protected, other securities, such as national security, cannot be ensured. Human security is the foundation to ensuring a nation or sovereign state can be secure. I argued that access to food, water, shelter, and other basic needs is the most important factor to ensure human security can be met. I also stated that without human security in s sovereign state, citizens do not have assurance that their needs will be met. In order to feel assured and satisfied with the way a country is being ran, the citizens need to feel as if they are the number one priority and if they are the number one priority, then their basic needs will be met. Without basic assurance in government, people will either migrate or show lack of support for their government. Without citizens in a sovereign state or support for it, there is no national security needed, as there would be no one to protect to continue the state. A sovereign state does not exist without its citizens. I referenced the counter argument that without strong national security, human security cannot be protected. To counter it, I cite that in most war torn countries, there is a lack of human security.

            After taking this class, I am now arguing that a new form of security be implemented, that of environmental security. The reason why I think this should be a whole separate category is because natural disasters, though can be influenced by human actions such as with climate changed, is unpredictable. Why I think this is the most foundational part to security is because climate, disease, and geographical location are random. Where a country is located can be the reason for lack of human security, which as argued in my first paper is needed to protect national security. Environmental security is the basis for all other securities to be protected.

            The first example that we talked about in class to support why environmental security is the basis for all other securities to be protected can be seen with the 2010 Haitian Earthquake. Haiti happens to be located close to a fault line. Of course there are other major cities, like San Francisco that fall on fault lines that do not face damage from earthquakes like the one seen in Haiti. But, what is special about Haiti is the history behind it. The nation was depleted of their natural resources, therefore could not make a profit to support a flourishing economy. The depletion of resources was not exactly random, but because they had desired resources, of which are random and depend on the area, they were robbed of what they had and enslaved. The geographical location and history of their geographical location of Haiti played a big role in the ability to withstand the earthquake the stroke the nation in 2010. The national lacked human security at the time and still do because unfortunately they were stricken with a resource curse in the mid 1700s that is a main factor for their downfall as a nation.

            A second example for why environmental security is the basic foundation to all other securities can be seen with the case of Ebola. Diseases are random things. Doctors and scientists cannot really predict when a pandemic will occur nor can predict when new diseases threaten the world. The environment of western Africa is the reason why the disease became prevalent. The fruit bats in Guinea carried the disease, unware to scientists and the children who played and ate the bats. The children ate the bats because their region, similar to many other regions in Africa, lack access to food, so they ate the bats because they were hungry. The lack of accessible food does fall under human security, but the reason why I am arguing it first falls under environmental security is because food comes from the environment for most countries, unlike in the U.S and developed countries where much of the food we eat is produced in factories. Nonetheless, a country cannot thrive if they do not have access to resources, of which are reliant on the environment of the location of the country.

            Overall, other forms of security cannot be ensured without environmental security. Access to food, water, and shelter are reliant on the geographical location of an area. Without a country flourishing in natural resources for both basic necessities and commodities, it is extremely difficult to become a developed country where all forms of security are protected. Environmental security should be its own entity, as it is the clear foundation for other securities to be protected.