Outline of the Discussion


 Modernization and Environmental
Flows
 Differences Among Nation-States
 Global Climate Change
 Other Environmental Problems
 Global Responses
 Introduction

 The environment has always been
global.
 We all share the atmosphere, are
warmed by the sun, and are connected
by oceans.
 Introduction

 Not everyone or every part of the
world is equally responsible for the
most pressing global environmental
problems.
 Introduction

 Environmental problems do not, and
will not, affect everyone and all areas of
the world in the same way.
 rise of sea level
 tornados
 Introduction

 The main sources of environmental
problems change as, for example, the
center of manufacturing (with its
associated pollutants) is moving from,
for example, the US to China.
 Introduction

 There is much dispute over how
nations of the world should respond to
environmental problems.
 
 MODERNIZATION
AND
ENVIRONMENTAL
FLOWS
 Modernization and
Environment

 Modernization is the belief of an
evolutionary process that moved
humankind from agricultural and pre-
modern societies into the modern era.
 Modernization and
Environment

 Environmentalists view economic
globalization as leading to more
manufacturing which increases
pollution.
 Modernization and
Environment

 Ecological economics is an economic
theory that argues that productive
economic activity must consider the
ecological carrying capacity of the
earth.
 Modernization and
Environment

 Neoliberal economists view
environmental resources as
commodities to be bought and sold,
and prioritize economic production
above any environmental concerns.
 Modernization and
Environment

 Ecological economists argue that
without a sustainable environment,
markets will eventually be unable to
produce anything efficiently.
 
 DIFFERENCES
AMONG NATION-
STATES
 Global Differences

 In 2012, states were ranked on their
environmental performance on a
number of dimensions such as air
pollution, greenhouse gas emissions,
sanitation, agricultural policies, etc.
 Global Differences

 The highest-ranking nations in terms
of sustainability were Switzerland,
Latvia, Norway, Luxembourg, Costa
Rica, France, Austria, Italy, United
Kingdom, and Sweden.
 Global Differences

 US ranked 49th while rising industrial
powers China and India had overall
rankings of 116th and 125th respectively.
 Philippines ranked 42nd.
 Iraq was 132nd.
 Global Differences

 Switzerland was at the top because of
its system of hydroelectric power and
because its extensive train system tends
to reduce the use of cars and trucks.
 Global Differences

 US performed poorly on greenhouse
gas (ex. carbon dioxide) emissions that
contributed to global warming.
 
 GLOBAL CLIMATE
CHANGE
Global Climate Change

 Global warming is a real phenomenon
brought about by human activity, most
notably the huge increase in
greenhouse gases.
Global Climate Change

 The Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC), under the UN,
was established in 1988.
 Current period of warming is caused
by humans (carbon dioxide, methane,
and nitrous oxide).
 Rising Sea Levels

 As temperatures rise on earth, glaciers
around the world melt, and sea levels
rise.
 People near coastlines will lose their
homes to the sea.
 Loss of biodiversity

 Global climate change can alter natural
ecosystems with profound effects on
biodiversity, animal and human food
systems, etc.
 Polar bears in the Artic (north region)
are on the move because of climate
change.
Threats to food security

 Higher temperatures, increase in
floods and droughts, etc. can bring
changes in farming and affect the food
supply.
Threats to food security

 Climate change might increase water
shortages and crop failures.
 Food prices could rapidly increase.
 Global warming and
health

 Global warming will bring with it
more, and more intense, heat waves,
and excessive heat can be deadly.
 Severe storms will lead to more
deaths.
 Global warming and
health

 Increased heat will speed up chemical
reactions and make worse pollution
from ozone and soot (black dust given
off by fire).
 Waterborne diseases (e.g. cholera) will
increase with higher temperatures and
more rains.
 Global warming and
health

 Food-borne infections (e.g. salmonella)
will also increase with hotter weather.
 
 OTHER
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS
 Destruction of Natural
Habitats

 Destruction of natural habitats
includes their conversion into human
habitats, and clearing or damaging of
natural habitats such as “forest,
wetlands (swamps), coral reefs, and the
ocean bottom.”
 Decline of fish and
whales

 Many fishing areas are in decline or
have collapsed.
 Ocean fishing (overexploitation) and
illegal hunting of whales are prevalent.
 Decline in usable
farmland

 Farmland soil is being carried away by
the erosion caused by water and wind.
 Desertification, a process by which
land becomes increasingly dry until
almost no vegetation grows on it,
making it a desert, happens.
 Decline in fresh water

 Water concerns include water
pollution, flooding, increasing scarcity
of water, etc.
 Water is becoming a valuable and
prized commodity.
 Toxic chemicals

 Various industries, especially the
chemical industry, “manufacture or
release into the air, soil, oceans, lakes,
and rivers many toxic chemicals”.
 Toxic chemicals are especially
widespread in industrial agriculture
(pesticides).
 Population growth

 Significant population growth will
exacerbate the kinds of ecological
problems discussed above.
 Consumption and manufacturing
increase.
 
 GLOBAL RESPONSES
 Sustainable
Development

 The origin of this concept is a 1987
report to the UN by the World
Commission on Environment and
Development entitled “Our Common
Future.”
 Sustainable
Development

 Sustainable development involves
economic and environmental change
that meet the needs of the present,
especially of the world’s poor, without
jeopardizing the needs of the future.
 Sustainable
Development

 There are a number of dimensions to
the relationship between globalization
and sustainable development.
 Sustainable
Development

 First, there is economic dimension and
the issue of whether economic
development destroys the environment
or whether economic development
enables the desire and the ability to
better control the factors that are
adversely affecting the environment.
 Sustainable
Development

 Second, technology can be seen as both
producing environmental degradation
and creating the possibility of limiting
the damage.
 Sustainable
Development

 Third is the dimension of awareness.
 On the one hand, a nation’s integration
within the world polity, through the
presence of civil and political
international organizations, tend to
lead to more individual environmental
concern.
 Sustainable
Development

 On the other hand, it is unclear
whether the global media have led to
greater awareness of environmental
problems and their causes, or whether
consumerism also pushed by the global
media increased people’s blindness to
these issues.
 Sustainable
Development

 Finally, there is the politics of
environmentalism with some global
organizations (e.g. WTO) pushing for
more economic growth, while many
others (INGOs like Greenpeace) are
seeking to reduce it or limit its negative
impact on the environment.
 Dealing with climate
change

 Kyoto Protocol in 1997 was a major
effort to deal with climate change due
to carbon emissions.
 Dealing with climate
change

 Corporations are producing
sustainability reports and emission
reduction targets, and participating in
discussions on climate change.
 Dealing with climate
change

 There is failure in providing a political
framework necessary to develop
policies in addressing climate change.
 An Evaluation

 Damage will depend, in part, on what
people do in part on the degree of
fragility or resilience of the
environment (e.g. its ability to restore
itself).
 An Evaluation

 Another factor affecting degree of
damage is the way in which different
societies respond to these
environmental problems.
 An Evaluation

 Global interconnectedness means that
ecological problems in one part of the
world are likely to affect others,
perhaps the entire planet.
 References

 Baylis, J., Owens, P., & Smith, S. (2017). The globalization of world
politics: An introduction to international relations. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
 Charles, R. (Ed.). (2015). Global environmental change. New York:
Callisto Reference.
 Dean, Paul & Ritzer, G. (2015). Globalization: A basic text. West
Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.
 DeLaet, D. L. (2015). The global struggle for human rights: Universal
principles in world politics. Australia: Cengage Learning.
 Gutierrez-Ang, J. (2018). The contemporary world: A text manual for
the 21st century Filipino student. Manila: Mindshapers.
 References

 Robertson, A. (2015). Media and politics in a globalizing world.
Cambridge: Polity Press.
 Schaeffer, R. K. (2018). Understanding globalization: The social
consequences of political, economic, and environmental change.
Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
 Schuerkens, U. (2017). Social changes in a global world. Los
Angeles: SAGE.
 Thompson, G. (2015). Globalization revisited. London: Routledge.
 Walhrab, A. & Steger, M. B. (2017). What is global studies?:
Theory and practice. New York: Routledge.