1. Introduction
Globalization
has resulted in numerous benefits and one of it is interconnectivity. However,
it has also cause detrimental harm to the environment that the world live in
today. As the current world population reaches 7.1 billion (Population Referene Bureau, 2013) , the
environment would be subjected to more harm and this issue would be more
apparent as the population continue to increase.
Globalization is an
ongoing process and through this process, it has brought about an increase in
trade mainly due to the swell in demand (Chanda, 2007) . With the
increase in global activity, it has accelerated and heightened the impact of
global warming. For instance, rising global temperatures has direct relation to
the increase in pollution levels and climate changes.
The short-term
solution to alleviate the impact of global warming is for all industries to
reduce the carbon footprint. In addition, the consequences of global warming
should be communicated to the masses through education such as event road shows
to increase the population’s awareness of the consequences.
2. Pollution
Globalization reinforces the need to utilise resources from the environment and
this results in pollution (Mendelsohn, 2003) . This is
illustrated with the example provided by Chanda (2007) as globalization
increases trade there would be more players entering the global market scene to
meet the needs of consumers and this causes mines
to be exploited and more timber is felled. Hence, increased pollution is often
the price of globalization.
Pollution
and increasing population are man-made causes of global warming that is the
most severe (Oracle Think Quest, 2000) . Both this
causes are interlinked, as population increases more energy is needed to supply
human activities. Hence, as more fossil fuels
are burnt to meet this increasing demand it releases large amounts of carbon
dioxide and other green house gases into the atmosphere (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2013) .
Externalities
are by-products of production and pollution is an example of a negative externality. As there is an increase in
production, businesses require more fossil fuels to be burnt in order to
support the growth and this leads to an increase in emission of green house gases
causing severe health problems. The threat of pollution on
health is evident as the stark map created by NASA, shows area with high
premature deaths. The average number of deaths between 1850 and 2000 was 386 per square miles per year due to air pollution (Danigelis, 2013) .
The solution to reduce pollution causing global
warming is to stop the burning of coal and fossil fuels
and instead utilizes renewable energy sources (Greenpeace East Asia, 2009) . This has not
been successful as industries and countries are still dependent on this energy
source and it is a drastic change that requires time. However, it is evident
that there are countries such as the United States that is making the first
move; the electricity power sector is the main contributor to pollution, but natural gas is replacing most of this coal-fired power.
Electricity generated by from natural gases has increase by 50 percent from
2008 to 2012 (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2013) .
Though
switching to natural gases is a viable solution in the long run, in the short
run government should intervene to help alleviate this problem by imposing
taxes on firms for the amount of pollutants emitted or enforce legal requirements
for companies to have a permit to emit a limited amount of pollutants.
Therefore
to slow down the consequences of global warming, pollution and emission of
greenhouse gases needs to be controlled.
3. Climate Changes
Economic growth comes at the
expense of the environment and climate
change can be disastrous (Mendelsohn, 2003) .
Currently,
the mercury
is already up more than 1 degree Fahrenheit (National Geographic, 2013) and this is due
to the increased emission of greenhouse
gases such as carbon dioxide being trapped within the atmosphere and hence,
leading to an increase in global temperatures.
The
impact of climate changes is periodically happening around the world with higher
occurrence of natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes. (Youtube, 2012) .
Individuals
can help mitigate these problems by changing certain aspects of their daily
lives. For instance, switching to energy conserving appliances or
fuel-efficient cars can help slow down the rate of global warming.
Also,
government can prepare the citizens to deal with natural disasters. For
instance in Japan, the citizens are prepared to face earthquakes.
In
addition, more road show can be organized to educate the public on the effects
of global warming and how small actions such as recycling can help as every
small gesture counts.
4. Conclusion
In
conclusion, the effects of globalization on the environment are irreversible.
However, as more nations are aware or the consequences, steps such as using
natural energy and fuel-efficient cars can help prolong the existence of the
world we live in.
References
Chanda, N. (2007,
June 28). Yale Global Online.
Retrieved October 8, 2013, from The Double Edge of Globalization:
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/double-edge-globalization
Danigelis, A.
(2013, September 28). Discovery News.
Retrieved October 9, 2013, from NASA Earth Map Shows Where Pollution Kills:
http://news.discovery.com/earth/global-warming/nasa-earth-map-illuminates-where-pollution-kills-130928.htm
Greenpeace East
Asia. (2009, July 28). Greenpeace East
Asia. Retrieved October 10, 2013, from The Solutions to Air Pollution:
http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/campaigns/air-pollution/solutions/
Mendelsohn, R.
(2003). Globalization and the
Environment. New Haven: Yale University.
National
Geographic. (2013). Global Warming
Effects Information. Retrieved October 10, 2013, from Effects of Global
Warming:
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-effects/#close-modal
Oracle Think
Quest. (2000). Global Warming.
Retrieved October 9, 2013, from Causes: http://library.thinkquest.org/J003411/causes.htm
Population
Referene Bureau. (2013). World
Population Data Sheet. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from 2013 World
Population Data Sheet:
http://www.prb.org/pdf13/2013-population-data-sheet_eng.pdf
Union of
Concerned Scientists. (2013, April 10). Natural
Gas and Climate Change. Retrieved October 10, 2013, from Assessing the
Climate Risk of an Overreliance on Natural Gas for Electricity:
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/coal-and-other-fossil-fuels/natural-gas-climate-change.html
United States
Environmental Protection Agency. (2013, September 9). US EPA. Retrieved October 9, 2013, from Climate Change : Basic
Information: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basics/
Youtube. (2012,
July 26). This is What Global Warming Looks Like 2.0.
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