Background Knowledge, Environment vs. Globalisation, Environment vs.

Politics
Lufei, Tang Liang, Yedi, Yuemei

GP FACT FARMING Environmental Issues:

08S06M

Contents:
Background Information.............................................................3 Pollution (Yuemei)....................................................................................3 Global Warming (Tang Liang)...................................................................7 Deforestation (Tang Liang).......................................................................9 Desertification (Tang Liang)...................................................................10 Environment vs. Globalisation (Lufei)................................................11 Economic Growth and Environmental Quality........................................11 Interaction between the Environment and Globalisation........................12 Can globalisation help to improve the environment?.............................13 Environment vs. Politics (Yedi)............................................................16 Environmental Voting.............................................................................16 Environmental Refugees........................................................................16 Politics is an effective tool to achieve environmental goals...................16 Environmental problems can cause international conflicts....................17 Appendix 1: Quotes...............................................................................17 Appendix 2: References........................................................................17

Background Information
Pollution
Air pollution
Causes: Anthropogenic causes: Oil refining, and industrial activity in general. Emission of pollutants from vehicles Waste deposition in landfills, which generate methane Military, such as nuclear weapons, toxic gases, germ warfare and rocketry Natural causes Smoke and carbon monoxide from wildfires. Volcanic eruptions Wind erosion Evaporation of organic compounds Natural radioactivity Impacts: Human heath effects: A study from 1999 to 2000 by the University of Washington showed that patients near and around particulate matter air pollution had an increased risk of pulmonary exacerbations and decrease in lung function. The World Health Organization states that 2.4 million people die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution; with 1.5 million of these deaths attributable to indoor air pollution Environmental effects: Acid rains: contaminate drinking water and vegetation, damage aquatic life, and erode buildings. Smog: 1952 London fog, which kills around 12,000 and Indonesia Haze in recent years. Ways to control: Legal regulation: o In Canada, air quality is typically evaluated against standards set by the Canadian Council of Minister for the Environment (CCME), an intergovernmental body of federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for the environment. o In the 1960s, 70s, and 90s, the United States Congress enacted a series of Clean Air Acts which significantly strengthened regulation of air pollution. Raise public awareness through campaigns. Increase fuel efficiency. Eg, by using hybrid vehicles. Conversion to cleaner fuels, such as bioteano and biodiesel.
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Land pollution
Causes: Increased mechanization: the excavation of metal ores, sand and limestone led to large scale quarrying and defacing of the countryside Increased urbanization: as the demand for labor grew, the areas round the factories and mines were given over to housing. This took up former agricultural land, caused sewage and waste problems. Increased agricultural land and field size Use of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. Increased leisure and available wealth: more cars are purchased Impacts: Extinction of plants and animals Cause serious health problems, such as cancers and birth defects Disrupt the balance of nature Ways to control: People should be educated and made aware about the harmful effects of littering Items used for domestic purposes ought to be reused or recycled Personal litter should be disposed properly Organic waste matter should be disposed in areas that are far away from residential places Encourage organic farming Reduce use of herbicides and pesticides

Water pollution
Causes: Discharge of contaminated or heated water that has been used for industrial purposes. Spilled petroleum products. The improper disposal of solid wastes like littering on a localized scale. Addition of excessive nutrients by runoff containing detergents or fertilizers (eutrophication) Radioactive substances from nuclear power plants Uranium and thorium mining and refining. A discharge of cooling water by factories and power plants lowers the temperature of the water bodies. Impacts Run-off Pollution effects Dirt and silt that settle in the water body will clog fish gills and smother organisms that live on the bottom of the body of the water. Oil Pollution and Antifreeze effects If oil is spilled on the water, many animals can be annihilated in case they ingest oil. If the oil coats the feathers of birds, these may die. Oil and antifreeze makes the water have a foul odor and there is a sticky film on the surface of water that kills animals. Contaminated Ground Water effects People may become sick while consuming and there is a probability of developing liver or kidney problems and cancer or other illnesses. Agricultural Water Pollution effect Pesticides will cause de-oxygenation of water and annihilate flora and fauna in a stream, lake and river. Fertilizers enhance the growth of bacteria that are in water and increase the concentration of bacteria to hazardous levels. Ways to control: Sampling & monitoring Legal regulation: for example, in the UK there are common law rights to protect the passage of water across land unfettered in either quality of quantity Store and dispose toxic products properly. Use environmentally friendly household products like toiletries, soap-based household cleaning material, and washing powder. Use natural fertilizers and pesticides Reuse automobile oil Raise public awareness on the issue through campaigning.

Noise pollution
Causes: Appliances in the home such as mixer grinders, vacuum cleaners, washing machines Small factories using single unit machines Airplanes and road vehicles Lighting hum Impacts: Human health effects Chronic exposure to noise may cause noise-induced hearing loss. Cause of annoyance, aggression, hypertension and high stress levels Environmental effects Cause reduction of usable habitat for animals and lead to extinction of endangered species. Ways to control: Use of noise barriers, Limitation of vehicle speeds and heavy duty vehicles. Alteration of roadway surface texture Use of traffic controls that smooth vehicle flow to reduce braking and acceleration Grow trees: absorb the sound that is produced on the streets and hence reduce noise pollution.

Global Warming1
Causes Excessive emission of greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide especially by industrialized countries which consume a lot of energy. Combustion of coal, oil to raise surrounding temperatures during winter Generation of electricity Consequences Rapid changes in global temperature Will result in many negative impacts to humans and the environment; causes worldwide concern. A documentary titled Whats up with the weather has noted that the levels of carbon dioxide were currently at their highest levels in the past 450,000 years. Extreme weather patterns2 o More hurricanes and drought o Longer spells of dry heat or intense rain (depending on where you are in the world); o Northern Europe could be severely affected with colder weather if climate change continues, as the arctic begins to melt and send fresher waters further south. It would effectively cut off the Gulf Stream that brings warmth from the Gulf of Mexico, keeping countries such as Britain warmer than expected; o In South Asia, the Himalayan glaciers could retreat causing water scarcity in the long run. Imbalance of the ecosystem o Destroys habitats e.g. corral reefs o Rates of extinction of animal and plant species, and the temperature changes around the world since the industrial revolution, have been significantly different from normal expectations. An analysis of population trends, climate change, increasing pollution and emerging diseases found that 40 percent of deaths in the world could be attributed to environmental factors. Flooding of low-lying countries o Rising sea levels: because water expands when heated, and polar caps are beginning to melt. o Already affecting many small islands. o Affects many coastlines, and a large mass of humanity lives near the coasts or by major rivers.

See also http://www.globalissues.org/EnvIssues/GlobalWarming/Intro.asp There is abundant evidence of an unprecedented number of severe weather events in the past decade, [professor of biological oceanography at Harvard University, James] McCarthy says. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch killed nearly 20,000 people in Central America, and more than 4,000 people died during disastrous flooding in China. Bangladesh suffered some of its worst floods ever the following year, as did Venezuela. Europe was hit with record floods in 2002, and then a record heat wave in 2003.
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 Islands and deltas with low altitude like Mal Dive and Louisiana in the US will soon be flooded if sea levels keep rising due to melting of polar ice caps and glaciers. Spread of tropical diseases o Bacteria and viruses usually tend to survive more easily in a moderately warmer environment. o Wider spread of potentially tropical diseases, like malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, even in places with colder climes A report in the journal Science in June 2002 described the alarming increase in the outbreaks and epidemics of diseases throughout the land and ocean based wildlife due to climate changes. One of the authors points out that, Climate change is disrupting natural ecosystems in a way that is making life better for infectious diseases. Falling agricultural output, increase in world hunger o Extreme weathers like hurricanes and super-storms would disrupt the growth of crops and other agricultural products greatly o Spreading drought and desertification in some parts of the world can make land barren o Global agricultural output is likely to fall and cause a world-scale famine as a result. The Guardian summarizes a United Nations warning that, One in six countries in the world face food shortages this year because of severe droughts that could become semi-permanent under climate change. Control of Global Warming Use alternative energy sources like solar radiation, wind, geothermal heat, hydro power and nuclear power instead of combusting oil and coal. Potential harm of using nuclear power: radioactive pollution caused by hard-to-contain reactions of radioactive uranium

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Deforestation3
Causes Colonization of forests o Exacerbated by overpopulation in the cities o Poverty is the main reason; impoverished farmers are the principal and direct agents of deforestation as they move into the forest for survival. o Underlying cause: they have been deprived of land or other means of subsistence which in many cases can be directly attributed to the government and international agencies. Government policies and international agencies promoted and even subsidized massive transfers of populations into tropical forests. E.g. Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. Cash crops not produced in forest zones can be linked to deforestation. o Subsistence farmers have to fell the trees in the forests in order to have their own land for cultivation of cash crops. Guatemala's coffee and sugar plantations have driven the Indian peasantry into the forest region to grow their corn. Consequences Exacerbates global warming: felled trees release CO2; less trees to absorb CO2 Increases risk of landslides on slopes; soil erosion Drier climate, desertification; less plants to absorb water in the land

http://www.botany.uwc.ac.za/envfacts/facts/deforestation.htm
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Desertification
It is the degradation of land in arid, semi arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting primarily from human activities and influenced by climatic variations. Desertification is on the rise at an ever-alarming rate. The United Nations Environment Program judges 35 percent of the land surface are at risk of desertification. Causes Droughts increase rate of land degradation o The drought of 1969-1973 in Africa was an untimely aggravation to the growing problem. o NOT the main cause; merely exacerbates the problem Excessive population densities and the displacement of poor people on the fragile lands. o The doubling of the African population in less than 40 years, and the increased number of livestock they raise are major factors to the current desertification of the African continent today4 Soil degradation may begin in any cultivated field; doesnt have to be near a desert

Challenges Deforestation and desertification occur mainly in developing countries, which will likely be affected sooner, and more severely by environmental changes than the developed nations. o Do not have the financial, material, or intellectual resources of the developed nations o Tend to have more fragile social and political institutions o Less able to respond to the environmental protection needs important to all mankind Consequences Lower carrying capacity for animals and people Crop production reduced Flooding of lower lying lands is increased Capacity to support human life is reduced. Solutions Techniques for grazing management, water and soil conservation Low cost implementation of these techniques in developing world Turning to sustainable development so as not to use up or destroy natural resources, like fossil fuels

In Africa in 1950 the population was 278 million people who kept 272 million livestock animals. In 1987 the African population was 604 million people who had 543 million livestock animals.
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Environment vs. Globalisation

Economic growth and environmental quality
Objective:
To deliver the best environment for a given economic cost OR the lowest economic cost for a given environmental goal. Economic growth higher GDP more output more pollution, however, there tends to be favorable shifts in the composition of output and in the techniques of production towards greener alternatives. The question is whether the latter two effects can outweigh the first.

Problems
Poorly implemented environmental regulations impose large and unnecessary economic costs on firms, and workers, and consumers.

Unnecessary subsidies Use of coal Ocean fishing US subsidize mining and cattle grazing on federal land, and logging and oil drilling as well, not to mention water use o Elimination of such subsidies would improve the environment and save money at the same time. However, often this economists approach is extremely unpopular politically. Barriers against international trade in environmental equipment and services, Equipment & services involved in renewable energy generation, smokestack scrubbing, or waste treatment facilities. Barriers to the imports of fuel-efficient cars from Japan. Environmental concerns can be an excuse for protectionism were worse off than necessary in both respects o Policymakers give in to protectionist arguments and erect trade barriers less growth in trade and income without a better environment. o Import-competing corporations may themselves not be particularly friendly to the environment, seek to erect or retain barriers to imports in the name of environmental protection, when in reality it is their own pocket books they are trying to protect.

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Interaction between globalisation:

Means of influence: economy. How does Globalisation affect the environment?

the

environment

and

How does environment affect Globalisation?

Natural resource scarcity or/and abundance are drivers of Globalisation, as they incite supply and demand forces in global markets. The need for environmental amelioration can extract costs from economy and siphon resources away from development goals.

Scale and composition of economic activity changes, and consumption increases, allowing for more widely dispersed effects e.g. pollution Income increases, creating more resources for environmental protection. Techniques change as technologies are able to extract more from nature but can also become cleaner.

Means of influence: knowledge How does Globalisation affect the How does environment affect environment? Globalisation?
Global interactions facilitate exchange of environmental knowledge and best practices. Environmental consciousness increases with emergence of global environmental networks and civil society movements. Globalisation facilitates the spread of existing technologies and the emergence of new technologies, often replacing existing technologies with more extractive alternatives; greener technologies may also be spurred. Globalisation helps spread a homogenization of consumptiondriven aspirations. Signals of environmental stress travel fast in a compressed world, environmentally degraded and unsustainable locations become marginalized from trade, investment, etc. Sensibilities born out of environmental stress can push towards localization and nonconsumptive development in retaliation to the thrust of Globalisation. Environmental stress can trigger alternative technological paths, e.g., dematerialization, alternative energy, etc., which may not have otherwise emerged. Environmentalism becomes a global norm.

Means of influence: governance How does Globalisation affect the How does environment affect environment? Globalisation?

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Globalisation makes it increasingly difficult for states to rely only on national regulation to ensure the wellbeing of their citizens and their environment. There is a growing demand and need for global regulation, especially for the means to enforce existing agreements and build upon their synergies to improve environmental performance. Globalisation facilitates the involvement of a growing diversity of participants and their coalitions in addressing environmental threats, including market and civil society actors.

Environmental standards influence patterns of trade and investment nationally and internationally. The nature of environmental challenges requires the incorporation of environmental governance into other areas (e.g., trade, investment, health, labor, etc.). Stakeholder participation in global environmental governance especially the participation of NGOs and civil societyhas become a model for other areas of global governance.

Can globalisation help to improve the environment?

Globalisation is a complex trend, encompassing many forces and many effects. It would be surprising if all of them were always unfavourable to the environment, or all of them favourable. The highest priority should be to determine ways in which globalisation can be successfully harnessed to promote protection of the environment, along with other shared objectives, as opposed to degradation of the environment.

Arguments:
Liberal trade and economic growth within a globalizing world will have severely adverse environmental consequences Free trade leads to increased world consumption5 Increased production is generally accompanied by some extent of environmental degradation Extent of damage depends on production methods and regulations in place Globalisation enables the exercise of consumer power Thanks to international trade The beginning of a worldwide trend toward labelling, codes of corporate conduct, etc. o Fair Trade Labels Allow environmentally conscious consumers to use their purchasing power to give expression and weight to their wishes. o America is an importer of tuna from Mexico; this gives American consumers leverage to dissuade Mexican fishermen from using dolphin-unfriendly nets

Econs!
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 Rules or standards are needed otherwise any producer could inaccurately label its product as environmentally pure, and any country could unfairly put pejorative label on imports from rival producers. International environmental issues require international cooperation. Increasing importance of major sources of environmental damage that cross national borders. Some externalities have long spilled over from each country to its neighbours Examples of such damage: o SO2 pollution, which is responsible for acid rain, or water pollution, which flows downriver. They can be addressed by negotiations between the two countries involved (e.g., U.S. and Canada). o Greenhouse gases: A ton of carbon dioxide creates the same global warming potential regardless where in the world it is emitted. o Stratospheric ozone depletion, depletion of ocean fish stocks, and threats to biodiversity. o An endangered species may contain a unique genetic element that someday could be useful to international scientists. o Desertification can lead to social instability and political conflict, which can in turn produce problems for international security. International attempts at cooperation: o The Kyoto Protocol represented the international community's attempt to begin to deal with global warming in a fair and efficient way. Does not include a majority of the sources of emissions (e.g. US) Will be little more than a symbolic gesture unless the US and the developing countries are engaged in a meaningful way,. o The WTO6 asserts in panel decisions countries ability to adopt laws that may be trade-restricting, but that have as their objective influencing other countries processes and production methods, such as their fishermens use of nets. May not be fair to poorer countries, which may not have access to greener production methods

Countries can learn from others experiences. There is evidence on how globalisation and growth tend to affect environmental objectives on average, even without multilateral institutions Increased international trade turns out to have been beneficial for some environmental measures o E.g. SO2 pollution.

World Trade Organization

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o Globalisation can aid the process whereby economic growth enables people to demand higher environmental quality. o High-income countries tend to use some of their wealth to clean up the environment. Effective government regulation is required to translate the demand of people into actual improvement. o While high-income countries spend more on environmental protection, they are usually at the same time the main polluters in the world. o E.g. US accounts for roughly a quarter of global carbon emissions. For problems such as emission of greenhouse gases, regulation at the national level is not enough. Reversing globalisation would not end the tension of regulation vs. sovereignty For an increasingly important set of environmental issues, individual countries can no longer address the issues on their own. If countries do not cooperate through multilateral institutions, each will be tempted to free ride on the efforts of others, and little will get done. Environmentalists need global agreements and global agencies to get countries to cooperate. The appeal of national sovereignty is an obstacle to such cooperation The United Nations Environmental Program: only multilateral organization dedicated to environmental issues in general o Considered small and weak o Very little support among the worlds governments for a powerful multilateral agency in the area of the environment Fear of infringement on their sovereignty o There is nothing in the WTO to block multilateral environmental treaties from adopting trade sanctions7 would give such treaties more teeth But most governments do not favour international environmental agreements that are so aggressive as to include trade sanctions

Indeed, the Montreal Protocol on stratospheric ozone depletion has such sanctions, ran into no problems under international trade rules, and is generally considered to have been successful in achieving its goals
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Possible Conclusions:
As peoples real income rises, their demand for environmental quality rises. Under the right conditions, this can translate into environmental progress. The right conditions may include democracy, effective regulation, and externalities that are largely confined within national borders and are therefore amenable to national regulation. If one broadens the definition of Globalisation, beyond international trade and investment, to include the Globalisation of ideas, then one can see the international environmental movement as itself an example of Globalisation. Many aspects of the environment that might have been considered purely domestic matters in the past, or that foreign residents might not even have known about, are increasingly of concern to those living in other countries. Two-way relationship: Not only does Globalisation impact the environment, but also that the environment impacts the pace, direction and quality of Globalisation.

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Environment vs. Politics

It is now no longer possible to deal with only the environmental problem, as it has become a political issue. The environmental problem is no longer just about the environment; it includes the economy, society, and politics.

Environmental Voting
Environmental issue has become an important criterion in politicians campaign for election due to several reasons Greater affluence people can now afford to think beyond immediate concerns More education, greater access to knowledge about how we affect our environment Environmental voting can mean better health o We can protect the health of ourselves and our families by reducing pollution, by encouraging better farming practices that result in more nutritious agricultural products, and by getting the toxic chemicals out of the products we use every day. Environmental voting may mean more jobs o Embarking on an ambitious program to develop renewable energy will allow countries to create new, high quality jobs.

Environmental Refugees
Climate refugee: a displaced person caused by climate change induced environmental disasters. In 2005, half of Bhola Island in Bangladesh became permanently flooded, leaving 500,000 people homeless. No set definition of what constitutes a climate refugee, and they are often classified as environmental refugees. The use of the term "refugee" itself is controversial; the main concern being that use of the term "refugee" for climate or environment-related displacement could detract from those people protected under the 1951 Geneva Convention. The problem now is that there is no clear rules and regulation for such groups of people so that it is very hard to help them through normal ways

Politics is an effective tool to achieve environmental goals

Environment protection is more likely to be successful through political means Government regulation can reign in business practices and production methods Concerted national effort for the green cause

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How the two Australian premiers treated the Kyoto Protocol differently The former PM of Australia, John Howard, refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol because he took economic growth as the priority However, the first thing that the next Australian MP Kevin Rudd did was to sign the Kyoto Protocol Politics and political pandering can slow down the progress of environmentalism, but without political backing, success becomes even more unlikely

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Environmental problems can cause international conflicts

The Kyoto Protocol: o Some developing countries claim the current problem has mostly been caused by industrialized nations and that their developing economies should not have to be constrained to their current low levels of fossil-fuel use. o They point at the US, the only developed country that has not signed the Protocol, as an excuse to keep on their stand Indonesian Forest Fires o Causes haze in Singapore, Malaysia and other countries around the region o Haze can affect economic activities (flights, tourism, disrupting visibility and hence traffic) and health; causes cross-border tiffs

Appendix 1
Environmental Quotes
"It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment." Ansel Adams "I do not recall ever receiving a suggestion, let alone an order, from the White House as to how I should make a regulatory decision. How times have changed." Russell Train, former EPA8 head, comment on Bush Administration interference with science

Appendix 2
Reference Websites http://www.grinningplanet.com/ http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/7625 http://www.actahort.org/books/481/481_69.htm http://www.actahort.org/books/481/481_69.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollution Reference books and CD ROM available in Library
Acid rain [videorecording] : the invisible threat / Scott Resources ; directed by Herb Saperstone ; written by Herb Saperstone and Eric Miller. (363.7386 ACI) An inconvenient truth [videorecording] (363.73874 INC ) Air pollution, acid rain, and the environment / edited by Kenneth Mellanby. (363.7386 AIR)
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US Environmental Protection Agency

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