Critics often debate the controversial benefits and drawbacks of globalization with no conclusive outcome regarding which is more dominant. The impacts, whether negative or positive, are definitely far reaching and are manifested in many forms. While the magnitude of its influence varies amongst the different nations, it is undisputable that globalization indeed affects each country in one way or another. To narrow the broad implications of globalization, the essay seeks to focus on global warming as the key problematic area and its influence on society. In addition, two measures namely the development of green technology and the Montreal Protocol will be examined to evaluate their effectiveness in improving the current environmental situation.
Globalization promotes the growth of open economies and international trade. Hence, the rapid growth of industrialisation in developing countries and heavy reliance on fossil fuels (Francesob, 2010) are the underlying contributors to global warming. Furthermore, greater interconnectivity among countries due to globalization fuel the surge of transportation networks, resulting in the rise of carbon emission. Hence, extreme weather changes have been observed and the detrimental effects of climate change has occurred on a wide spectrum. On one end, the natural ecosystem is destroyed and melting ice in the Artic has led to increased sea levels. NCSE (2012) observed that ‘the ocean has risen 10-20cm globally over the last hundred years.’ On the other end of the spectrum, humans are also directly affected by climate change. It causes natural disasters such as droughts, floods and hurricanes in different parts of the world today. As a result, homes are destroyed leading to the relocation of people and lives are lost. For example, a flood in Thailand in 2011 led to 730 deaths and 766 267 homes destroyed (Wikipedia, 2013).
The devastating environmental consequences caused by globalization are increasingly seen and felt by the global community. It is a pressing issue that warrants attention and timely intervention to prevent the exacerbation of the situation. Multinational companies have been developing green technology in an effort to minimize human impacts on the environment. For example, hybrid cars utilize solar energy thus greater fuel economy is achieved and carbon emissions are significantly reduced. Apple also launched a ‘green’ MacBook which is built from ‘using materials that are highly recyclable and free of many of the harmful substances present in other computers.’ (Francesob, 2010) While such developments are definitely commendable, the market for such products are relatively small. This could be caused by the lack of public awareness for such environmental products or the lack of understanding of the significant contributions on their part as consumers of such products. Hence, educating the public and promoting awareness in such areas may encourage a larger consumer base for these ‘green’ products.
Secondly, the Montreal Protocol was established in 1987 and enforced in 1989 (United Nations, n.d.). It is an international treaty which aims to protect the depleting ozone layer by the concerted efforts of nations to gradually ease the production of various substances believed to be the cause of its thinning. Since its enactment, the Montreal Protocol has proven its effectiveness in combating global warming. This is supported by concrete statistics for example, the countries participating in the Protocol had phased out 98% of all the chemicals controlled by the Protocol and scientists predict that there is a possibility of the ozone layer returning to pre-1980 levels by the middle of the century (United Nations, n.d.). However, the continued success of this protocol depend very much on the joint commitment and active participation of global governments.
In conclusion, globalization contributes largely to global warming which has detrimental effects on the world today. While the implementation of the Montreal Protocol and the development of green technology are useful interventions to curb environmental degradation, success could not be sustained in the long run without the support and effort of the public. If more is not done to address and mitigate the pressing issue of climate change, countries could suffer far more severe consequences in the future. Hence, the responsibilities rest on every single member of the global community to unite and combat the common threat.
References
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