How Does Globalization Affect the Environment Negatively?

MOHAMMED ALSHARKH 11/26/2013 Mercer University- ELI

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Introduction Who can believe that all damages in the environment from humans action. At the same time, human try hard to fix the damage that they have done, so some human activities affect environment positively but most of them not. Expanding the amount of transportation, technology, economic activity, and global free trade have resulted in many consequences on our environment because Human have increased these activities from local markets to worldwide markets.
Rifkin(2003) define that globalization means to the recent periods unique flow of capital

and trade across national broads, leading to the control gained by international economic markets and multinational companies, assisted by transnational agencies and organizations such as, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, and the International Monetary Fund. They are also a major channels through which globalization impacts the natural environment. Globalization plays a negative part in our environment such as, climate change, threat biodiversity, and water pollution. There are three negative effects of globalization on the environment. climate change Climate change is one of the main environmental issues, maybe the more worrying because it is impossible to expect correctly how it is going to develop and what the consequences will be. Climate change stems usually from greenhouse effect that means extreme energy in the atmosphere and very much of certain gases particularly carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gasses. Industrial production, transportation, and deforestation are three global human activities that cause climate change. Globalization encourages CO2 emissions from transportations because transport systems have increased as international trade increased. Emissions from road transport mainly form cars

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globalization affect environment

and trucks are very high because some regional areas opened borders in order to increase trade between counties. In other word, global shipping by using ships, trans, and aircrafts contributed significantly to increase CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Industrial revolution is a main factor of globalization. Although industrial countries have produced a lot of goods to help human to live comfortably, they have released extreme CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gasses which include burning coal, oil and derivatives. The growth of globalization brought greenhouse and global warming effect. Huwart, Jean-Yves and Loc Verdier (2013) explain that many years ago developed countries were the biggest polluters in the world, and the United States were responsible for more than 20 % of global CO2 emissions. These countries have fostered industrial activities to develop their economy, but they are responsible for rising greenhouse gasses, and they do not know what they have done for the environment. Also, deforestation is one of the contributing to climate change because plants help the environment by absorbing carbon dioxide and produce oxygen into the atmosphere which we as human need to breath. Deforestations has increased as global commercial agriculture expands, so there are hundreds of farmer to produce thousands of tons of agricultural products around the world such as, fruit, coffee, cotton, seed, vegetables, sugar, etc. Furthermore, livestock holdings are very important cause deforestation for production of dairy products and meat globally.as result, deforestation promotes releasing massive quantities of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Moreover, with increasing globalization activities on forests by cutting down and removing trees that is related to money. Huwart , Jean-Yves and Loc Verdier (2013) write that deforestation is responsible around 20% of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, and the earth lost 3% of forest land between 1990- 2005 and 200km2 disappears each day. Globalization has

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globalization affect environment

worked to damage the ecosystem every day; it is working as a chainsaw on forests and can cause biodiversity to decline. biodiversity Globalization promotes fishing and mining companies to destroy the environment because there are massive global needs and demands for products around the world. Human activities have increased dangerously such as open global markets in the world that threaten the biodiversity. The Millemmium Ecosystem Assessment6 states that biodiversity is the variability among living from all sources, including terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are par ; this includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems. Expanding global trade animals threatens biodiversity in oceans and wild because there is a high global demand for fish around the world. Because global commercial fishing and hunting, there are many kind of species in oceans and wild have become endangered. In addition, mining has destroyed biodiversity because the global exchange of metals such as, gold, silver, iron, coal, diamond, and uranium. Mining requires large area of forest to extract metals and minerals from the earth. As result, Overhunting in wild, mining, and overfishing in oceans have destroyed the environment and threatened biodiversity. Hundreds of species became extinct, and endanger. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 22 % of the worlds mammals are threatened with extinction today as well as 24 % of the worlds snake species, 31 % of the worlds amphibians, and 35% of the worlds birds. Also, Ehrenfeld (2003) writs that cereals, vegetables, fruits, nuts and other crops constitute an important resource for genes affecting disease resistance, pest resistance, yield, environmental adaptations, vitamins, cytoplasmic male sterility, and harvest and transport adaptations. Many of

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globalization affect environment

these wild relatives are highly endemic, and their ranges are decreasing sharply because of development, overgrazing, increased herbicide use, logging and conversion of marginal lands to production and export all of them related at least in part to globalization. Water pollution Water is not only using for drinking, cooking, and washing, but for economic purposes such as, food production and industrial processing. Water is also important to preserve ecosystems in oceans, seas, and rivers which are very significant part of our environment. Water pollution has increased as global trade has increased especially a higher production to factories in the global. Factories have used massive amounts chemicals in order to produce their products, so the easy way to throw their chemical waste is into oceans and rivers. As result, thousands of factories have dumped their wastes into water ways and poisoned water. Furthermore, shipping goods by ocean, seas, and rivers is one of the main way to ship a huge quantities of goods among countries because the global markets have opened widely into the world. , Shipping by ocean, seas, and rivers has affected the water negatively and caused leaking oil and heavy wastes. As result, Water has been polluted by chemical waste, oil, and, fossil fuel. Carol, (2008) emphasize that another negative externality from ocean transport is the risk of oil spills. In the 1970s total oil spilled averaged at 314,200 tons per year; in the 1980s and 1990s the average annual spill rate was 117,600 and 113,800 respectively; for the first 7 years of the 2000s, the average spill rate is only 25,143 tons. The number of spills similarly declined: 25.2, 9.3, 7.8 and 3.6 spills per year for the periods 1970-79, 1980-89, 1990-99, and 2000-2006 respectively. Free trading among countries by shipping through oceans and dumping by chemical waste into the water have destroyed and put the environment at risk that cause water intoxication, threat ecosystem, and many diseases especially cancers.

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globalization affect environment

In conclusion As we have seen, globalization is responsible for environmental damage. Globalization contributes to increase harmful emissions such as Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4) , Nitrous oxide (N2O) , and Fluorinated gases into the atmosphere through Industrial production, transportation, and deforestation. Also these emissions have caused climate change and threaten the environment. Globalization has destroyed biodiversity that result in many kind of species becoming extinct. Globalization has promoted shipping and factories to dump their waste into water that causes poisoning the water and damaging the ecosystems in the water. Global trade grows quickly in the world such as economic, trading, opening markets among countries especially the limited resources of the earth ,so the environment is at risk.

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globalization affect environment

References

Rifkin I. (2003). Spiritual Perspectives on Globalization. Skylight Paths PublishersDollahite, N. E., & Haun, J. (2012). Source work: Academic writing sources. (2 ed.). Bosten: Heinle/ cengage learning.

Huwart , Jean-Yves and Loc Verdier (2013), What is the impact of globalisation on the environment?, in Economic Globalization: Origins

and consequences, OECD Publishing. The Millemmium Ecosystem Assessment6 (p.16). Globalization: Effects on Biodiversity, Environment and Society David Ehrenfeld (2003) the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) In (Globalizations Direct and Indirect Effects on the Environment) Carol, University of Maryland, the United States (2008)

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