When in conflict, the UN should prioritize global poverty reduction over environmental protections

I will spend this round presenting my argument, and the next refuting my opponent. ================================================================================================================ I stand in firm negation of the resolution that "when in conflict, the United Nations should prioritize global poverty reduction over environmental protection." To prove my point, I'd like to bring up several contentions. My first contention is that poverty reduction is not a top priority. While we do agree that it is a major problem we do not agree that it should be prioritized over environmental protection. If our climate stays on the track it has been, we will suffer from more natural disasters, which in turn will kill more people and increase poverty. We are also on track for another Ice Age, and you know that movie called Ice Age? It won't be anything like that, because that movie had humans. Our next Ice Age won't have any humans, because mankind will be extinct, unless we embark on a path of cleaning the earth and changing the climate. So in the long run, sure, we could save thousands of people by giving them homes and food and clothing, or we could save trillions over the course of the years if we start protecting the environment. Next I would like to point out that environmental protection is paramount. What many people don't realize is that the U.N. is debating over a multitude of topics right now. These topics range from humanitarian affairs to international law to business to peace and security. However, at the top of that list is environmental protection, headed by the UNEP, or United Nations Environment Program. Amongst the topics that this program is discussing are climate change, ecosystem management, and environmental governance. Environmental protection for sure is the top priority, and the biggest problem mankind has faced in its history. Whatever we do now to harm the environment will harm us in the future generations. Likewise, what we do to help the environment will pay off and help using the years to come. The environment and the ecosystems we could fix contain all things necessary for life; living without it is literally living without air, protection from the sun, and natural resources. Today, it is obvious that such large changes, such as degradation of resources and climate change, threaten both the economies, but also to the stability, health, and survival of human communities. Knowing this should cause us to find some way to seek a sustainable development and start to fix and protect the environment. Finally, environmental degradation destroys peace. As a peace-keeping organization, the U.N. must prioritize environmental protection because it is a threat to peace. While it may seem unlikely, crime goes up when the environment is down. Last year, when the earth didn't provide enough oil to supply the demand, it became scarcer and pricier, and others began to siphon gas from the tanks when the owners of the vehicle weren't around. And so, when so many people are dying from skin cancer caused by UV rays, or drowning in tsunamis or having their property and all of their possessions whipped away from them by a tornado, and it can be changed, making a safer planet for everyone, it must be done, and this is why me and my partner still stand in firm affirmation of the resolution brought to us today.