Environment, Crimes, and Diseases in Spain and Their Importance in the Context of Globalization - Essay Example

Environment, Crimes, and Diseases in Spain and their importance in the context of Globalization Abstract Globalization has revolutionised the world in many ways. It is difficult for a country to stay away from the globalized world and still attain growth. The social and economical developments happening in country can affect other countries as well. This paper analyses the country, Spain, with respect to the environmental problems, crimes and diseases and their importance in the international context. Introduction Globalization has forced the world to think in terms of collective growth and most of the countries have realized that their economic growth may be severely affected if they stay away from international co-operation. A country’s economy is thus related to global economy and any fluctuations in the global economy can affect each country also. Same way, the environmental problems, crimes and diseases in one country can affect the whole world because of the global connectivity between countries at present because of Globalization. This paper analyses the country, Spain, with respect to the environmental problems, crimes and diseases and their importance in the international context. Environment, Crimes, and Diseases in Spain “In a world with rising levels of greenhouse gases, poor road safety, and the too-frequent spread of communicable diseases along international routes, transport must be looked at anew. (World Bank Broadens Transport Agenda) When the sun’s radiations reaches our atmosphere, some of them reflected back to space and some passes through and absorbed by the earth which causes the atmospheric temperature to rise. The heat from the earth radiated outward and absorbed by the greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, in the atmosphere. This process prevents heat from disappearing into space and keeps earth warm enough to sustain life. (The Greenhouse effect) The balancing of the atmospheric temperature was depending on the radiations reached on atmosphere from sun and the earth. The ozone layer over the earth’s atmosphere protects our atmosphere from overheating from the sun’s radiations. But sun’s this ozone layer protection has been damaged by the toxic gases liberated because of heavy industrialization and over use of automobiles which resulted in more radiations reaching on the earth’s atmosphere and the temperature of the atmosphere gradually increases. “The atmospheric temperatures may increase by 2 to 10 degree Fahrenheit by the end of the century because of the global warming” (National geographic video) According to the Spanish Ministry of the Environment, since 1996 at least 1,000 animals have died a year from illegal poisoning. 44% of these are protected species. The baits are often (59.6%) put out by the owners of private game reserves to kill foxes and wolves, and so increase their rabbit and partridge populations. Between 1990 and 2003, a least 4 bears, 80 imperial eagles, 20 lammergeyers, 495 black vultures have been poisoned. The government believes that these figure are in reality much, much higher: BirdLife International claims that the Spanish population of the red kite has fallen by 50% in 10 years because of poisoning. (Environment and Conservation in Spain) “The inevitable has finally happened. Spain has come the 8th country in the EU to be infected with bird flu” (Spain and bird flu: News archive on bird flu in Spain) Though Spain don’t have major health issues compared to other countries, the wide spread diseases affect Spain also. Another severe disease affected Spain in the recent past was Legionnaires' disease occurred in Murcia, Spain, in July 2001. More than 800 suspected cases were reported; 449 of these cases were confirmed, which made this the world's largest outbreak of the disease reported to date” (Fulgueiras, et at) Crime rates in Spain are low compared to of its European counterparts like Germany or England. “Spain has an incidence of nearly 50 crimes per 1,000 inhabitants, the lowest in the EU apart from Portugal and Ireland. In the UK, figures are 105 crimes per 1,000 inhabitants and in Germany, 80. The Spanish generally have a lot of respect for law and order (Crime in Spain) The usual simple crimes like pick pocketing, cheating, and abuses are common in Spain also. But most of such crimes are not serious in nature and less in n umber. The normal crime rates are decreasing in Spain. Violent crimes and sexual harassment are also low in Spain compared to other countries. Women can walk freely through the streets even in the midnight without facing any problems. But the biggest dangers are not from the Spanish people, but from the foreigners as far as crimes in Spain are concerned. Expatriate business people, who piled up huge debts because of illegal business activities, will run away with thousands of Euros of their customers. Domestic violence and drug related crimes are the only crimes which show increase in number. Human right issues in Spain and Globalization “The Spanish Government has launched a wide array of legislative norms which are aimed at guaranteeing the rights of people with disabilities, among which must be highlighted the Law for the Promotion of Personal Autonomy and Assistance to Persons on a Dependant Situation” As stated above Spanish people are giving more respect to law and order and human right issues are less in Spain. Most of the social policies in Spain are aimed at improving the quality of life by giving equal opportunities to all its citizens. The rights of persons with physical and mental disabilities are also conserved in Spain. Unfortunately, globalization has also generated fresh opportunities for the development of universal scourges such as terrorism and trans-national organized crime. At the same time it provides us with new instruments for combating them, provided that we agree on how to use them. Spain supports the drafting of a general convention against international terrorism, and is grateful to India for its initiative in this respect. (PIQUE) Globalization has increased the interdependence of the countries. For example, terrorism is a common problem facing by the international community. It is not possible for a country to counter the terrorism individually because of the wide spread roots of terrorists. Environment problems also cannot be addressed by a single country alone as the atmosphere has no boundaries. It is not possible for a single country to protect their environment completely. Global co-operation and collective efforts are required to tackle the environment problems. At present apart from bird flu, pig flu is also spreading all over the world. Because of the spreading nature, all the countries must take necessary steps to counter such diseases. In an increasingly interdependent world, there is no alternative to multilateral co-operation. The United Nations must rise to the occasion in order to fulfil the expectations of the peoples who founded it. (PIQUE) Conclusions Spain is a country which respects law and order and hence the crime rates and diseases are less in Spain compared to other EU countries. Globalization has increased the interdependence of countries. It is not possible for a country to tackle issue like environmental problems, crimes, and wide spread diseases individually. References 1. National Geographic, 2009, The Greenhouse Effect, Retrieved on 21 July 2009 from http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-overview-interactive.html?fs=video.nationalgeographic.com 2. National Geographic Video, Retrieved on 21 July 2009 from http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/environment/global-warming-environment/global-warming-101.html 3. Fulgueiras, Ana Garcia, Navarro, Carmen Daniel Fenoll, Garcia Jose, Diego Paulino Gonzalez, Bunuales Teresa Jimenez, Rodriguez Miguel, Lopez Rosa, Pacheco Francisco, Ruiz Joaquin, Segovia Manuel, Baladron Beatriz & Pelaz Carmen, Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Murcia, Spain – Research, Retrieved on 21 July 2009 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0GVK/is_8_9/ai_106647668/ 4. Environment and Conservation in Spain, Retrieved on 21 July 2009 from http://www.iberianature.com/material/ConservationSpain.html 5. Spain and bird flu: News archive on bird flu in Spain, 2006, Retrieved on 21 July 2009 from http://www.iberianature.com/material/spain_bird_flu.htm 6. World Bank Broadens Transport Agenda, 2008, Retrieved on 21 July 2009 from http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/WBEUROPEEXTN/SPAINEXTN/0,,contentMDK:21772037~menuPK:292400~pagePK:2865066~piPK:2865079~theSitePK:292395,00.html 7. Crime in Spain, 2009, Retrieved on 21 July 2009 from http://www.justlanded.com/english/Spain/Articles/Culture/Crime-in-Spain 8. Spain, Statement by Mr. Juan Carlos Ramiro Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities, United Nations enable, Retrieved on 21 July 2009 from http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=486 9. PIQUE JOSEP, (THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF SPAIN), SPAIN, Retrieved on 21 July 2009 from http://www.un.org/ga/webcast/statements/spainE.htm Read More