The
article titled “The Double edged on Globalization” has presented some of the negtive
impacts of globalization that have largely affected the environment in this
modern world. Consumerism has driven the destructive forces of globalization
towards the environment and caused a ripple effect to the society. Conversely,
the author has emphasized on how globalization has positively led to economic
growth. In addition, the advancement of technology has also provided opportunity
for environmentalists to spread the message about environmental damage effectively
that are much contributed by globalization itself.
The global consumerism habits
have driven environmental destruction. Consumerism implies the efforts to cater
to consumers’ interest. So, how is this bad towards individuals and worst;
responsible for causing harm to the environment? It is easier to acquire a
greater understanding of the effects of consumerism that have loomed when
globalization gets into the picture.
Globalization has expanded
trade worldwide. The
tremendous expansion of crop cultivation for export has led to further
deforestation globally (Nayan Chandra, 2007) and the burgeoning industries of many
developing nations have been the culprits for the large emissions of
pollutants. To meet the world’s interests and growing demands, the developing nations are providing a variety of less expensive
goods to consumers in the developed world ( Kohuk and Wike, 2008) in the
expense of
deforestation that has contributed to one-fifth of the world’s carbon release.
One should never underestimate and limit the impacts of destruction of forests within
a region as they could pose detrimental threats worldwide. Prior to the heavy
production of low cost product by China, deforestation was undertaken to
accommodate more factories. This intensified industrialization has generated pollutants
that have traversed and affected other nations too (Wall Street Journal, 2004).
As this article is focused on “double
edged” globalization, it has addressed a positive role of globalization in the
advancement of technology today. Globalization has strengthened the world’s interconnection and certainly has provided an unmatched platform for advocates to
spread environmental
awareness worldwide in comparison to the past.
Information is
rapidly broadcasted and publicized such that consequences are felt quicker than
before. Many have expressed high levels of concern towards the environment than
before. It is evident in a recent study conducted by (Kohuk and Wike, 2008) that most wealthy and poor nations are
well informed about the damage done to the environment owing to the growth in
economy. Consumers
are more apprehensive of the threats posed by globalization and many may have
come to a consensus that damaging the environment is too high a price to
pay for economic expansion.
Globalization has also posed
problems to the society. There is a widespread concern in immigration policies
where many workers in poor nations have shifted to cities in search of
new jobs, while some in richer countries have lost jobs that have moved
overseas. Regular flooding due to global
warming has caused millions of migrants to become homeless. Ironically, this
world being well equipped with technologies has been unable to counteract the
problem.
Global
warming threats can be avoided only when nations commit to act on them
together. A collaborative success of the Montreal protocol has reduced the
depletion of the ozone layer. However, many countries throughout the world still continue to
have broad support for economic growth featured by globalization. In
particular, superpowers like USA may highly influences other nations in their
dedication and strive towards tackling environmental issues. USA’s refusal to sign the Kyoto
Protocol, being the world's
top emitter of greenhouse gases may have caused a backlash to other countries
that have signed. It has been observed that these nations have been
inconsistent with its implementation, making only obligatory attempts to tackle
the challenges of global warming (Nayan Chanda, 2007).
Globalization might
have led to economic growth, which has not created a unanimous advantage to
everyone with regards to the widespread concern of huge income gap between the
wealthy and poor. While there is a great concern in the wide income gap and
majorities agreeing that the government has a great role to support the poorest
in society, there is a greater worry about the alarming damage globalization
has done to the environment. In this interconnected world, no one-country should
stand alone to grapple with environmental and social issues. Nations should support and depend
on each other to deal with major challenges. The international governance of
the United Nations inefficiency at solving some of the major catastrophes may
be due to the lack of support from the superpowers. Some superpowers may
express reluctance in providing support and facilitation to combat certain
challenges faced in the world, as it might not be in the best of their economic
interest. Although, several independent institutions have dealt with the interconnected
problems of the world, the leadership of governments is still the cornerstone
to effectively combat international problems. The political powers have an
influence in globalization in its growth and the direction it takes.
