The Global Environment

Transcription

1 The Global Environment A Global Perspective The Environment & Security International Organizations & The Environment Global Population

2 The Global Environment Environmental issues have increasingly become a global concern. The environment is a collective good or public good for the earth's inhabitants. Environmental problems in one country have effects in other countries. Pollution and environmental degradation can affect the atmosphere. Dangers include holes in the ozone layer and global warming.

3 The Global Environment Environmental concerns over land include the pressure to produce enough food for an increasing population. Human practices can lead to a loss of land for agricultural use. Loss of forests can create problems. There is also the danger that valuable species of plant and animal life will become extinct. Global warming can increase the process by which species might disappear.

4 The Global Environment Global threats to the natural environment are a growing source of interdependence. Environmental effects tend to be diffuse and long-term. They can easily spread from one location to another. This makes for a difficult collective goods problem, particularly in areas such as the environment, natural resources, and population.

5 The Global Environment Freshwater and coastal areas have suffered due to environmental problems. Water shortages have become apparent in some areas of the world. Managing the environment is the most global of problems. Involves collective goods for all states and people of the world. Global Loss of Seafood Species

6 The Atmosphere: Global Warming Global warming Slow, long-term rise in the average world temperature Greenhouse gases Costs of reduction are high. Triple dilemma Short-term and predictable costs to gain longterm and less predictable benefits. Specific constituencies such as oil companies and industrial workers pay the costs, whereas the benefits are distributed more generally across domestic society and internationally.

7 The Atmosphere There is the collective goods dilemma among states: benefits are shared globally but costs must be extracted from each state individually. North-South divide and global warming Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992 Earth Summit) Kyoto Protocol (1997) China European Union Carbon emission credits United States UN Environment Program (UNEP) Main function is to monitor environmental conditions

8 The Atmosphere UN Environment Program (UNEP) Main function is to monitor environmental conditions The Atmosphere: Ozone Depletion Ozone high in the atmosphere screens out harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. Certain chemicals expelled by industrial economies float to the top of the atmosphere and interact with ozone in a way that breaks it down. CFS modest costs to replace

9 The Atmosphere: Ozone Depletion Ozone produced by fossil fuels does not replace the high-level ozone but only pollutes the lower atmosphere. Increased radiation is the result of ozone depletion. Montreal Protocol 1987 Most important success yet achieved in international negotiations to preserve the global environment Projected U.S. & Chinese Carbon Dioxide Emissions,

10 Land The two are especially important to biodiversity and the atmosphere. Main pressure on land resources is increased food production. Inefficient irrigation Salinization and alkalization of soil Land degradation through poor soil management Deforestation Removal of natural vegetation Use of heavy machinery Overgrazing and Improper crop rotation

11 Forests Subject to human and natural factors: Poverty, population growth, markets, trade in forest products Insect pests, disease, and fire Rain forests As many as half the world s total species live in rain forests, which replenish oxygen and reduce carbon monoxide. Most are in poor states; debtor nations Until recently, rich states have encouraged maximum economic growth in these states so foreign debts might be paid with little regard for environmental damage. Now, greater interest in protecting rain forests

12 Biodiversity Refers to the tremendous diversity of plant and animal species making up the Earth s ecosystems. Extinction Costs of preserving biodiversity Limited success on endangered species United States participation in treaties on biodiversity International Whaling Commission Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act Difficulty with unilateral approaches

13 Freshwater, Coastal & Marine areas Water shortages & water management needs 1/3 of the world s population lives in countries where water consumption is more than 10% of renewable freshwater resources. About 1.1 billion people worldwide, the great majority of them in rural areas, lack access to safe drinking water. Hundreds of millions of water-related diseases each year and over 5 million deaths. Oceans Cover 70% of the Earth s surface Key to regulating climate and preserving biodiversity

14 Freshwater, Coastal & Marine areas Oceans Attractive targets for short-term economic uses that cause long-term environmental preservation Belong to no state but are a global commons Free riders High seas non-territorial waters UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (negotiated ) Role of private environmental groups Overfishing and similar problems of managing the commons of world oceans have been addressed by enclosing the most important ocean areas under the exclusive control of states.

15 Coastal & Marine areas State Controlled Waters Shaded areas are within the 200- mile economic zones controlled by states under terms of the UNCLOS treaty. Antarctica Belongs to no state Strategic and commercial value is limited Antarctica Treaty of 1959 World park

16 Pollution More often a regional or bilateral issue The effects of pollution are generally limited to the state where it occurs and its close neighbors In several regions (notably Western and Eastern Europe and the Middle East), states are closely packed in the same air, river, or sea basins. Acid rain Often crosses borders Water pollution Toxic and nuclear waste Chernobyl

17 The Environment and Security Conflict over natural resources could increase in the future. Because the extraction of resources brings states wealth, these resources regularly become a source of international conflicts. Not collective goods problems because they are mostly located within individual states, but states do bargain as to these vital resources. Scarcity of non-renewable resources, such as oil, has led to conflicts in the past. Three aspects of natural resources shape their role in international conflict. Required for the operation of an industrial economy

18 The Environment and Security Sources are associated with particular territories over which states may fight for control. Natural resources tend to be unevenly distributed, with plentiful supplies in some states and absence in others. Energy resources (fuels) are central to states. Oil (40% of world energy consumption) Cheapest to transport over long distances Coal (30%) Natural gas (25%) Hydroelectric and nuclear power (5%) Renewable resources have been less likely to lead to conflicts.

19 The Environment and Security It is possible that conflicts over water could be possible in the near future. World water use is 35 times that of just a few centuries ago and grew twice as fast as population in the 20 th century. One-fifth of the world s population lacks safe drinking water. 80 countries suffer from water shortages. Water supplies often cross international borders. Source of conflict Problem in the Middle East

20 The Environment and Security The U.N. has taken a more active role in dealing with global environmental concerns, but international agreements have been difficult to achieve. Even when agreements are reached, many nations have maintained reservations or exceptions that limit their application. Transnational private groups have become more active in seeking to preserve and renew the environment, i.e. Greenpeace & World Wildlife fund. Network One World Net Global Forest Watch People & Ecosystems Horizon Solutions Site UN Environment Programme Website

21 The Environment and Security Military activities are important contributors to environmental degradation. Gulf War Scorched earth policy Military industries pollute. Military forces use energy less efficiently than civilians do. Ozone depletion Toxic waste dumps

22 Global Population World population, 6.6 billion in 2007 Growing by 75 million each year 200,000 additional people per day 96% of projected population growth will be in the global South. Half the world s population growth occurs in six countries: India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Indonesia Projections beyond a few decades are uncertain.

23 Population Projections & The Demographic Transition As income rises, first death rates and then birthrates fall. The gap between the two is the population growth rate. Early in the transition, the population contains a large proportion of children; later it contains a larger proportion of elderly people.

24 The Demographic Transition The process of economic development brings about a change in birth rates and death rates that follows a fairly universal pattern called demographic transition. First death rates fall as food supplies increase and access to health care expands. Later, birth rates fall as people become educated, more secure, and more urbanized, and as the status of women in society rises. At the end of the transition, birth rates and death rates are fairly close to each other, and population growth is limited. But during the transition, when death rates have fallen more than birth rates, population grows rapidly.

25 Population Policies One of the most important policies that influence the birth rate are those involving birth control (contraception). State policies vary widely. China at one extreme One child policy India Strongly committed to birth control but less control over society

26 Population Policies Mexico Strong but not as coercive policy; has been effective Higher incomes than India or China Pronatalist Pro-birth policy; encourage or force childbearing and outlaw or limit access to contraception Only a few governments have strongly pronatalist policies. Often, poor women have little access to effective contraception.

27 Population & International Conflict The idea that overpopulation is the cause of hunger in today s world is not really accurate. Poverty and politics, more than population, are the causes of malnutrition and hunger today. Enough food, water, petroleum, land, etc., but these are unequally distributed. Strains and conflicts on resources Migration Demographics can exacerbate ethnic conflicts.

28 Glossary List: collective good human security biodiversity renewable resources deforestation ozone layer This chapter looks at the role of international organizations in the international politics of the global environment the possible consequences of global warming the possibilities that wars over resources may break out the importance of the concept of national self-determination the role of nongovernmental environmental groups in international environmental issues.

29 Review How much do you understand? 1. The Montreal Protocol contains agreements A. to protect the ozone layer. B. to stop global warming. C. to prevent the extinction of species. D. all of the above

30 Review How much do you understand? 2. Rain forests are important for the global environment because they A. recycle and clear air. B. increase carbon dioxide in the air. C. reverse global warming. D. answers B and C

31 Review How much do you understand? 3. China has faced environmental degradation due to A. deaths due to air pollution. B. loss of sources of freshwater. C. lower crop yields. D. all of these answers

32 Review How much do you understand? 4. The Law of the Sea Convention deals with A. pollution by tankers. B. Piracy. C. economic uses of offshore water. D. all of these answers

33 Review How much do you understand? 5. The following are transnational environmental groups A. World Wildlife fund B. Greenpeace C. Earth Council D. all of these answers

34 Review How much do you understand? 6. Acid rain is caused by A. carbonic acids. B. hydrochloric acids. C. sulfuric acids. D. all of these answers

35 Review How much do you understand? 7. A ozone hole was discovered in 1985 over A. Europe B. North America C. South America D. none of these answers

36 Review How much do you understand? 8. Greenhouse gases A. raise global temperatures. B. easily catch fire. C. can be extremely poisonous. D. create more oxygen.

37 Review How much do you understand? 9. Burning fossil fuels over many decades increases the overall volume of A. water in the ocean. B. carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. C. CFCs in the oceans. D. lead in the atmosphere and oceans.

38 Review How much do you understand? 10. Which of the following is the least likely to be a major cause of deforestation? A. over harvesting of industrial and fuel wood B. infestation of birds C. overgrazing D. expansion of agricultural land