Impact of Globalization on the Environment
Globalization
has resulted in numerous benefits and one of them is interconnectivity.
However, it has caused detrimental harm to the environment. As the current
world population reaches 7.1 billion (Population Referene Bureau, 2013), the
environment will be subjected to more harm and this issue will be more apparent
as the population continues to increase.
Globalization is an
ongoing process and through this process, it has brought about an increase in
trade mainly due to the increase 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 have a direct relationship
to the increase in pollution levels and climate changes.
To reduce the impact
globalization in the long run, focus should be on the short-term solution as it
is these solutions that will help alleviate the impact of global warming. An
example would be 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.
Pollution
and the increasing population are the most severe man-made causes of global
warming (Oracle Think Quest, 2000). Both these
causes are interlinked, as population increases more energy is needed to supply
human activities. Thus, as more fossil fuels are burnt to meet this increasing
demand it released large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases
into the atmosphere (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2013).
Furthermore, 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) because as globalization
increases trade there will be more players entering the global market to meet
the needs of consumers and this causes mines to be exploited
and more timber to be felled. Hence, increased pollution is often the price of
globalization.
Additionally,
externalities, which are by-products of production and pollution, are 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 reducing 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 has taken the first
step in reducing pollution. For instance, the electricity power sector in the
United States is the main contributor of pollution, but they have switched to
utilizing natural gas instead of coal-fired
power. In addition, using natural gas has
not only reduce pollution but it has also increased the electricity
generated 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 the 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.
Increased in population not
only increases pollution but it also helps in economic growth. However, the
development of the economy comes at the expense of the environment and climate change can be disastrous (Mendelsohn, 2003).
Currently,
the global mercury
temperature has increased 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. 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,
governments 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.
In
conclusion, the effects of globalization on the environment are irreversible.
However, as more nations are aware of 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.
