Global Essay, Research Paper
Dr. Mills
Paper #3
5/10/00
Globalization and Ideal Landscapes
Globalization is a broad term that has several meanings to different factions, cultural
Groups and nations. For our purposes globalization refers to the loss of time and space through the rapid development of technologies. It also refers to a world in which all nations and peoples are directly or indirectly connected through the international economy and world politics. This rapid trend toward a globalized world has seen supporters from both the first world financial sectors and the mass producing agricultural sector. Its main detractors have been environmentalists and the indigenous peoples who are adversely affected by the encroaching nature of globalism. Environmentalists have pointed to environmental degradation and the loss of valuable and naturally sustainable landscapes as the main argument against globalization. However, champions for continued globalization insist that growing populations and the desire to live the comfortable first world lifestyle force economies and people to expand into landscapes that have historically remained diverse, safe, and sustainable. The difficult task facing the human race in the next century will be finding the delicate balance that must exist between continued population and economic growth and the protection and preservation of natural and ideal landscapes.
The global era involves the mass production and consumption of consumer goods and commercial services. This New World also has to have elaborate and extensive means of distribution to support the flow of goods and services across great distances. Modern advancements in telecommunications, aerospace, satellite, and computer technologies have all greatly facilitated the movement of goods, services, information and ideas in minute amount of time. The disappearance of time and spatial limitations is the nature of the globalized world we live in today.
World economies are the probably the greatest contributing factor to the destruction of ideal landscapes. Historically, economies have been the main cause of landscape modification. European colonization and the drive to find raw materials and new markets led to massive landscape makeovers on every continent except Antarctica. For example the European expansion into the Americas led to a dramatic change in the landscape. When the Europeans arrived, North America was a thick forest of woodland. In order for the colonists to survive an incentive existed for landscape modification including woodland clearance for agriculture. Over hundreds of years and advances in technology and populations, North American boreal forests have been significantly destroyed severely depleting the number of species and the overall biodiversity.
Another biodiverse and sustainable ideal landscape that has been recently hampered by the negative aspects of globalization are the Brazilian rain forests. The economic pressures of the world?s corporations to find more land to encroach have seen the destruction of millions of acres of valuable rain forest. Another problem facing the rain forests is from its own indigenous people. Their lack of agricultural knowledge including soil preservation, erosion and turnover has led to harmful farming tactics like slash and burn. This has caused the loss of biodiversity and has decreased the long-term sustainability of the rain forests.
Fortunately, the human race has developed enough to realize that the destruction of these ideal landscapes across the world will eventually have an adverse effect upon humans themselves. Advancements in technology, medicine, and communications have created a medium for landscape conservation. The discovery of valuable species of both plant and animal for medicinal uses have been one of the largest factors in the movement to preserve and protect the remaining acres of the rain forests of the world. Information, such as the rain forests importance in oxygen production, has also led to conservation. Agricultural technology has led to increased production and better use of agricultural landscapes. There is no longer the great waste that was accompanied by the earlier agricultural landscapes and systems. Therefore, technology may be the only way we can sustain the remaining ideal landscapes that exist.
I believe that the continued protection of ideal landscapes will only ensue if and when the landscape in question is proved to be of importance to the humans who are threatening it. To return to our rain forest example, the only reason humans have decided to make protecting it a priority is because they have realized its long -term importance to human race as a whole. Eventually landscapes that are protected solely for the purpose of aesthetics will be displaced if the world economy deems it necessary for the continued production of goods. As far as the question, ?Does the globalization of the economy contribute or detract from making the world better??, I say it depends on your point of view. From a first world point of view I would have to say that globalization has certainly made the world a better place. I have troubles with a lot of contemporary environmentalists that cry for preservation but still enjoy all of the first world modern conveniences that are provided to them by the globalized economy. From my point of view globalization has been a great development in human history. Humans enjoy a far easier life than its counterparts who had to slave away doing manual labor a hundred or more years ago. Travel is easy, safe and relatively inexpensive. Information about all topics of life are a fast finger away with the development of computers and the internet (a phenomenon that could not exist without a globalized world I might add!). I truly believe that the overwhelming majority of first world and industrialized peoples would not give up their modern way of life and luxuries for the preservation of the landscapes that are destroyed to ensure it.
Bibliography
1. Wallerstein, I. 1974. The modern World System. New York: Academic Press.
2. Simmons, I.G. 1996. Changing the Face of the Earth: Culture, environment, history. Oxford: Blackwell.
3. Short, J. 1991. Imagined Country: environment, culture and society. Lo
Другие работы по теме:
Globalism Essay Research Paper Joe ShinesFreshman Seminar100199Encounters
Globalism Essay, Research Paper Joe Shines Freshman Seminar 10/01/99 Encounters: The Origins of Globalism The first section of ?The Global Citizen? gives us a basic premise on which to proceed with developing the ideal of what it means to adopt the idea of being a global citizen. How can one citizen be global? How can we be a ?citizen? of the world? A way to begin to recognize the answers these questions we must first realize that global citizenship starts with the individuals need for realizing there should be change in the world.
Mcluhan Essay Research Paper While many McLuhanites
Mcluhan Essay, Research Paper While many McLuhanites consider the concept of the Global Village to be prescient, especially in terms of “predicting” the Internet, it is ludicrous to thus “Nostradamus-ize” McLuhan, leaving us to interpret each phrase in terms of some event or invention, nodding sagely at his brilliance each time we make a connection.
Global Warming Essay Research Paper Like the
Global Warming Essay, Research Paper Like the glass in a greenhouse, certain gases that occur naturally in the atmosphere tend to trap the sun’s heat. This natural "greenhouse
Global Population Essay Research Paper One of
Global Population Essay, Research Paper One of the biggest problems with the world today is our rapidly growing global population. With the current population being at over 6 billion, every second five people are born and two people die
Global Warming Deforestation Nuclear Waste And Pollution
Essay, Research Paper Q. Discuss some issue of personal, local, or international concern and its importance to you. Through out my high school year I have researched on many issues and all of the issues are important to me. All of the issues are important to me because in a way all of the problems are connected to each other and one problem leads to another.
Global Warming Essay Research Paper My position
Global Warming Essay, Research Paper My position on global warming is that despite the media’s claim of a rising climate, in reality there is no cause for concern. Inane reports regarding global warming are yuppie-tree-hugger propaganda. The information defending their case is misleading and inaccurate.
Industrial Revolution Essay Research Paper How Global
Industrial Revolution Essay, Research Paper How Global Warming Relates to the Industrial Revolution Global Warming relates back to the Industrial Revolution in many ways. During the Industrial Revolution many new inventions were made that would make life easier for people back then and also in the future.
Mercantilism Essay Research Paper Mercantilism as a
Mercantilism Essay, Research Paper Mercantilism as a global economic policy tends to subscribe to the following premises: wealth is an essential means to power, power is essential as a means to the acquisition of wealth, wealth and power are each proper ultimate ends of national policy, and there is a long run balance of trade between these ends.
Global Depression Essay Research Paper The crumbling
Global Depression Essay, Research Paper The crumbling of Western culture after World War I mirrored how the global economy would as well. After the War came what ultimately was the global state of depression. This was in no means meant to describe the world emotionally, but most likely it did. People were jobless, and some penniless.
Critical Lens Essay Research Paper In life
Critical Lens Essay, Research Paper In life we come to many conflicts. Some are easy some are hard. The quote, “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph” by
Intellectual Development Essay Research Paper Two years
Intellectual Development Essay, Research Paper Two years ago, after pondering on the effect of a black out in the airport with no back-up supply, I decided to embark on a project that would ensure the safety of the airplanes and their passengers with minimum input from the pilots. Therefore, I assumed that the planes are able to determine the positions of other planes using the Global Positioning Satellite, but have no radio communication with each other.
Hungrey Essay Research Paper Global hunger is
Hungrey? Essay, Research Paper Global hunger is a major concern that effects the whole world. According to Peter Singer ?the whole way we look at moral issues-our moral conceptual scheme
Hunger Essay Research Paper Income Poverty
Hunger Essay, Research Paper Income Poverty The latest global numbers The World Bank just updated its estimates of the number of people living in poverty to 1996 and 1998, using 1993 Purchasing Power
Foreign Bribary Essay Research Paper Since moral
Foreign Bribary Essay, Research Paper Since moral standards vary across cultures, firms that develop in global markets have to face more complex ethical issues than if they just made business in one country and one culture. Laws and customs in one country don’t necessarily agree with the laws and customs from another country and that is what makes the international business system so complex.
Chlorofluorocarbons Essay Research Paper Chlorofluorocarbons CFC is
Chlorofluorocarbons Essay, Research Paper Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) is a molecule made of chlorine, fluorine and carbon atoms. It s a stable but dangerous molecule. It used to be used in refrigerators, freezers and aerosol cans. It had been used as coolant in refrigerator propellants in aerosol sprays.
Religions 2 Essay Research Paper Global History
Religions 2 Essay, Research Paper Global History 9 March 23rd 1999 In the world today there are three major religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Each having the same background but having different views of this religion. These religions all have originated from the same area, the Middle East, and each having branched out from there.
Global Problems Essay Research Paper Global problems
Global Problems Essay, Research Paper Global problems affect the modern world. Today?s rapid changes have made countries more interdependent than ever before, shrinking the world into a global village. As the world grows smaller, events in any one area have a greater impact on other parts of the world. National borders do not limit the effects of pollution or environmental destruction.
England And Global Language Essay Research Paper
This essay will be about the prohibition of English words in France by law. It is quiet a big problem to forbid words only because the government is afraid that it s own language could die. The spread of English all over the world and it s position as global language can t be stopped or disputed and that is why I think that it is irresponsible to outlaw English words.
Global Warming Effects Essay Research Paper How
Global Warming Effects Essay, Research Paper How the World is changing due to the effects caused by Global Warming The reason for this topic is our increasingly changing climate. Every year our climate
Global Crisis Essay Research Paper In times
Global Crisis Essay, Research Paper In times of global crisis, is it reasonable to expect that nation-states will put aside rivalries and join together to deal with the crisis?
Canadian Film Industry Essay Research Paper ConclusionWe
Canadian Film Industry Essay, Research Paper Conclusion: We as Canadians watch movies on a weekly basis. On average, most people rent videos or attend the local movie theatre to attend and view the latest film. However, Canadians are not aware that they have become desensitized to the global Americanization of the U.S. film industry, which has been turned strong by Hollywood.
Education And The Global Economy Essay Research
Paper The idea of “getting rich quick” do to the global economy is very common these days. It is easy to see throughout the articles that many people have built multi-million dollar fortunes because of technology and global based business. It seems that ordinary people who had a vision of a global economy tailored their ideas to fit this new way of life.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Essay Research Paper Ch 1
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Essay, Research Paper Ch. 1 introduction: sustainability, stewardship, sound science A. The global environmental picture – population growth, degradation of soils, global atmospheric changes, loss of biodiversity
Opinion II Essay Research Paper Choose one
Opinion II Essay, Research Paper Choose one of these that you believe to be the most important function of art criticism. Using the function as your guide, write a short critical essay of the work titled Global Groove by Nam June Paik.?Offer insight into the relationships between art and life, and science, economics, politics, religion, ethic, etc? is believed to be the most important function of art criticism.
The Problem Of Global Warming Essay Research
Paper The Problem of Global Warming The problem of global warming, an increase in the average temperature on Earth, is getting worse. The Earth has warmed 0.3 to 0.6 degrees Celsius since
Toward Global Parliment Essay Research Paper Toward
Toward Global Parliment Essay, Research Paper Toward Global Parliament by Richard Falk and Andrew Strauss is a feature article, which speaks about the possible initiation of a popularly elected global body. Recently, representatives of The World Bank, The International Monetary Fund, The United Nations, and former President Clinton have called on citizens of all nations to play a more significant role in the International Order.
George Sorors Essay Research Paper Many economists
George Sorors Essay, Research Paper Many economists agree that there is a significant imbalance between the growth of global economy and the development of a free society. One of these economists who agrees with this point is George Soros. Soros bases his dilemma mainly on the Thai crisis that hastened the currency meltdown in Asia.
Welfare Essay Research Paper In brief first
Welfare Essay, Research Paper In brief, first, the global economy has brought with it high rates of unemployment and economic inactivity in much of Europe. It has also generated strong pressures to de-regulate and create flexible labour markets with sharp rises in wage dispersion, part-time, temporary and casual employment particularly in the UK and USA.
Myths Essay Research Paper Is Information Technology
Myths Essay, Research Paper Is Information Technology a good thing? With the invention of the silicon chip, fiber optic cable and satellite communications the information superhighway is real. This global network of computers makes it possible to move massive amounts of information virtually anyplace.
Global Warming 2 Essay Research Paper Global
Global Warming 2 Essay, Research Paper Global Warming I have chosen to speak about Global warming because it is a major scientific issue in the media. Problems facing the environment today are vast and diverse. Destruction of the world’s rain forests, the depletion of the ozone layer, air pollution, water pollution, chemical pollution and global warming are just some of the problems that will reach dangerous proportions in the coming decades.
Global Warming Essay Research Paper Global WarmingGlobal
Global Warming Essay, Research Paper Global Warming Global warming is a huge environmental and economic challenge that we are facing in the 21st century. Global warming is also commonly referred to as the greenhouse effect. Global warming can affect entire ecosystems and climates, which in turn affect the way in which people live.
World War Two Essay Research Paper World
World War Two Essay, Research Paper World War Two While World War One was considered the war to end all wars, World War Two made men out of countries that were formerly boys. Darwin’s evolutionary theory proved true in the world of global politics, the strong did survive and move on to fight a cold war, while the weak either took a back seat to the stronger countries rise to power or came back to make billions in the personal electronics industry.
Globalization Essay Research Paper In our book
Globalization Essay, Research Paper In our book globalization refers to the shift toward a more integrated and interdependent world economy. Globalization has two main components, first is the globalization of markets, and second is the globalization of production.
Gps Essay Research Paper Describe how GPS
Gps Essay, Research Paper Describe how GPS works and how normal citizens have been able to use it to make their lives easier. GPS is a global positioning satellite that is used to show the exact position on earth that you are. This system is used in many ways. Many people in a new city use rental cars. These people will probably get lost.