Globalization and the Environm

The word globalization itself is often hard to define. This is because of the many love-hate relationships that the term “globalization” carries. To some it could mean a world of inevitable and irreversible good , while others believe that it is indestructible and devote their entire lives to either halting or changing the process. Globalization is a complicated process that involves the integration of every nation and, therefore, controls the dealing that goes on inside that system. This process has been under way for the past several hundred years and today’s new forms of communication and transportation have, in their part, greatly speeded up the process. Borders are slowly becoming eradicated and the world is becoming linked through trade and investments. As many see it, Global Modernity is a Westernized system where First World countries are, in the most part, taking advantage of the less powerful nations and using there people and resources as needed. But what about sustainable growth? Because of globalization, the worlds environment has taken a seriously negative impact. The most important environmental crises is the direc

3. Gupta, A. Ecology and Development in the Third World. New York: Pointing-Green Publishing services. 1998.

10. Spaargaren, G., Mol, A., and Buttel, F. Environment and Global Modernity. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. 2000.

Although globalization does have some advantages when it comes to economic factors, it lacks quality and discipline concerning the area in which the economy is strong and prosperous. Third World nations are the ones at the end of the line and who are suffering the most. The notion of globalization has a vital bearing on our understanding of change within the global environment. There are two variants to global environmental problems that can be distinguished. The first is the notion of the diffusion of sources, where wastes and pollution are relocated globally. For example, there is a spread of pollution from industries going from North to South, meaning the bigger industries of the North are pushing their wastes into other regions who are indirectly involved with the pollution source. The main problem is the disposal of hazardous wastes and the threat posed by radioactive leakages. The second environmental problem is the diffusion impact. What is easily noticeable here are the systematic changes in the natural resources including water, soils, and the air that we breath. Many of the problems that are considered to be ‘global’ fall into this form of environmental problems and are mainly caused by multinational or transnational corporations located throughout the world. The existence of these problems, however, are a consequence of the development of the global economic system. Due to the independent patterns of development of different nations and other capitalist structures, the location of natural resources, where these resources are transformed for further use, and where they are consumed do not coincide. To better understand this concept it would beneficial to realize that large industries build their plants in, generally, smaller and less developed nations in order to take advantage of cheaper labour and other manufacturing costs. Third World nations often openly invite these corporations so that they can produce jobs for their people and to make money from the land that they buy, frequently ignoring the amounts of pollution and environmental exploitation caused by such companies. The capitalists, among many other rich nations, are the ones who gain the profits from such activities. It is a vicious cycle, where the rich become wealthier at the expense of the poor. It is a serious environmental and economic problem that the world, as a global system, must over come together. (Spaargaren, Mol and Buttel. 2000: 125-130) (Pearson ; 1978: 184-189) (Leifso; 2004: 1)

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