Impact of Globalization on Commerce - Essay Example

?Global commerce has facilitated the production and movement of goods from one corner of the globe to the other, from developed countries to less developed countries and vice versa and this has been facilitated by globalization, however this process has been limited by the effects impacted on the environment due to production of green house gases. Technology has led to environmental hazards which have resulted to environmental problems like global warming and the extinction of previous identified generations. In this case study, we are going to limit our research on the issue of global warming as a consequence of globalization and climate change (Shaw, 2007). The increase of emission of green house-gases to the atmosphere has been the current global environmental challenge since it is a reality that global temperatures are increasing and it is a fact that human activity has been a major cause of this environmental problem since the atmosphere is getting concentrated with green house gases (Kemp, 1994). Climate change is a fundamental issue that will continue to affect the health of the future generations. Most of the natural resources on earth are non-renewable while their demand is overwhelmingly high and as a result of increased human activity to balance this phenomenon; technology has been implemented to overcome the challenges presented by this threat but not without some consequences of green house gas emissions which have eventually resulted to global warming (Kemp, 1994). Recent research has proven that the world temperatures are rising due to the human-induced green house emissions especially carbon dioxide, which is emitted as a result of combustion of fossil fuels, agriculture, and land clearing (Hams, 2004). Even though this effect was discovered in 1824, it has with time increased to intricate levels thus raising an international environmental concern. The sensitivity of climate is commonly rated according to the response of the equilibrium level of the green house gases and it is usually measured according to the response of temperature with reference to the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. A minute increase in temperature can result to several global consequences like an increase in sea level as well as a dramatic change in precipitation patterns hence resulting to extreme weather conditions such as heat waves, draught, floods, tornados among others (Hams, 2004). As a result of environmental degradation, global warming is expected to continue even beyond 2100 and the rise of sea levels is also expected to continue past that time (Houghton, 1997). The effects of global warming negatively affect both the environment and human life through the rising sea levels, agricultural setbacks, ozone layer depletion, increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather conditions, as well as the spread of diseases. It has been observed that the intensity, frequency, and power of hurricanes have increased annually from the 1970s and there has been a strong direct correlation between the tropical sea-surface temperature and the strength of the hurricanes. However, the relationship between global warming and hurricanes is still under controversy. A report released by the IPCC Working Group II confirmed that the consequences of global warming as a result of globalization has caused several deaths through extreme weather events like heat waves and flooding (Houghton, 1997). Primary and secondary consequences of global warming have been observed to influence human activities as well as ecological systems since some species have been forced out of their natural habitats as a result of unfavorable conditions presented by climate change (Hams, 2004). The life timing patterns have also changed thus affecting migration dates which create a predator-prey balance. As a result of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the ocean PH is reducing and this eventually leads to severe negative effects on coral reefs. The thawing of the tundra is another global environmental problem which has been on the increase and as a consequence there has been excessive release of methane which is a greenhouse gas that is mostly trapped in permafrost and other ice compounds (Hams, 2004). The melting of the polar ice affects the ecological systems of the polar bears since they have to swim between ice breaks in order to reach a targeted prey and as the ice beams become more separated the bears are incapable of swimming from one ice block to the other and this has been proven by the fact that dead bears have been found in the water; meaning that they drowned and scientists have concluded that the cannibalistic behavior of bears observed recently has been as a result of shortages of food brought about by global warming. Over the last fifty years, glaciers have been diminishing and since these glaciers act as water reservoirs; there has been a lot of problems and a particular case is the Hindu Kush and the Himalayan glaciers which are basic water sources for India and China during the dry season and their failure leads to insufficient water availability to most populated regions of the globe (Kemp, 1994). It has been observed that glacier lakes have been forming on the termini of the Bhutan-Himalaya during the recent few decades. Historic and satellite data has proven that the Himalaya glaciers are degrading at an alarming rate due to the increased growth of lakes on the surfaces of the glaciers and researchers have proven that there is a direct correlation between the rise in temperature and the retreat of the glaciers (Thompson, 1998). Global warming has led to the increased melt-down of glaciers hence increasing the volume of the water at the seas hence an increase in seal level. A slight increase of the sea level can eventually displace thousands of the people on the densely populated coastal regions resulting to a refugee crisis. If the sea would rise with more than three meters, then it means that almost all the cities along the coastline will be affected and this may culminate to a major damage in global economy and trade (Thompson, 1998). Currently, the IPCC predicted that the sea level increase may be less than a meter and maybe between 9 and 88cm by 2100 (Kemp, 1994). however, they further warn that during this period, irreversible changes can take place on the Earths glacial system and eventually melt sufficient ice to raise the sea level several meters in the course of the next millennia and estimates have indicated that over 200 million people can be affected by this seal level rise especially in countries like Vietnam, India, china, Thailand, and Indonesia (Kemp, 1994). The ambiguity of this concept becomes clear when we observe the environmental refugees from the island of Tuvalu which has an elevation of approximately one meter above the sea level. Tuvalu has an ad hoc agreement with New Zealand which permits instant relocation from the islands even though its no clear whether the rising sea levels from global warming is a substantial reason but it has been observed that the sea levels in that region are rising at a rate of 1-2 millimeters per year (Kemp, 1994). Additionally, it has been observed that the outbreaks of Vibrio parahaemolyticus gastroenteritis has been as a result of the rising ocean temperatures which have led to the infection of oysters in Prince William Sound in Alaska and before this discovery in 2005, the last reported case was in British Columbia which is located more than 1000km to the south (Middleton, 2010). The effects of global warming may increase the range of infectious vectors transmitting diseases like malaria since a warmer environment favors the reproduction of mosquitoes as well as the volume of red blood cells they suck in addition to extending their breeding season and further shortening the maturation period for the microbes that they dispense. Global warming has been blamed on the spread of the bluetongue disease to the northern parts of the Mediterranean; a disease that attacks domesticated ruminants and it is believed to be transmitted through mite bites. Between 2004 and 2005, Crimean-Congo fever and rabies were reported to be on the increase in Russia and this was attributed to the proliferation of rodents and their predators even though there were speculations that the government didn’t fully implement vaccination and rodent control strategies (Middleton, 2010). During a study that was conducted in 2002, Swiss Re & Munich Re warned that the current environmental changes and social trends could eventually cost more than $150 billion per year during the next decade (Hams, 2004). This increase would definitely increase the costs associated with health insurance and disaster relief services which eventually will pass the burden to the taxpayer. The Association of British Insurers advocated that the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions could reduce the annual costs of controlling cyclones by 80% by the 2080s. The United Nations’ Environmental Program reported that extreme weather conditions around the world in 2005 was the most ever recorded expensive year but there is no sufficient proof that a specific hurricane was as a result of global warming but global warming is known to increase the frequency of hurricane occurrence (Hams, 2004). Most production plants use combustion engines which burn fossil fuels to emit green house gases especially carbon dioxide. Excess presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere also leads to acidification of oceans as the surface water mixes with CO2 to form a weak carbonic acid. As a result of globalization foreign direct investment has increased and multinationals have constructed international companies and production plants which are violating the environmental conservations standards. The leakage of radioactive nuclear materials is also on the increased and this is very destructive to the environment. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the recent leakages in Japan are good examples (Shaw, 2007). The increase in world’s temperatures themselves contributes to further increase in the temperature itself, a phenomenon that is hard to predict in advance. The melting of ice can consequently lead to a vicious circle as the meltdown results to increased absorption of heat since ice reflects more radiation from the sun than water or land (Middleton, 2010). Since sea ice and the seasonal cover of snow are reflective than the sea, any further melt back may lead to an increase in temperature. Higher temperatures in the oceans affect the productivity of phytoplankton’s as the amount of CO2 absorbed by the ocean reduces and thus affects the photosynthetic processes which would additionally increase the anthropogenic CO2 releases hence an increase green house gases concentration in the atmosphere hence and further rise in temperatures (Middleton, 2010). However there are various efforts which are been implemented to control green house gas emissions and most of them have been ratified by the Kyoto Protocol. Bibliography Ballet, J. (2010). Oceans: Environmental Issues, Global Perspectives. M.E Sharpe. David, K. (2003). The Environmental Dictionary. McGraw-Hill. Hams, F. (2004). Global Environmental Issues. Wiley Press. Houghton, J. (1997). Global Warming: A Complete Briefing. Cambridge University Press. Kemp, D. (1994). Global Environmental Issues: A Climatological Approach. Routledge Publishers. Middleton, N. (2003). The Global Casino: An Introduction to Environmental Issues. Hodder Arnold Books. Shaw, J. (2007). Critical thinking about Environmental Issues- Global Warming. Greenhaven Press. Thompson, R. (1998). Atmospheric Processes and Systems. Routledge Publishers. Read More