Download Impact and Perspectives on the Environment

Sara Hsu


Approximately 80% of our air pollution stems from
hydrocarbons released by vegetation, so let's not
go overboard in setting and enforcing tough
emission standards from man-made sources. -Ronald Reagan
Global warming is real. It is happening today. It is
being charted by our satellites. It is being charted
by our scientists. It is being charted by those of us
in this body, and I think the real key is if we are
ready to admit that fact and take the action to
make the necessary conversion. --Diane Feinstein
On the whole, globalization has been a force
more in favor of industrialization and production,
rather than environmental improvement.
 However, the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio
in 1992, and later world conferences in Kyoto and
Johannesburg, helped focus countries on
improving the environment and fighting climate
change.
 Developing countries continue to address
improving production while trying to enforce
very basic environmental regulations.


At the 1992 Earth Summit, 172 governments
participated. The issues addressed included:
• systematic scrutiny of patterns of production —
particularly the production of toxic components
• alternative sources of energy to replace the use of fossil
fuels which are linked to global climate change;
• new reliance on public transportation systems in order to
reduce vehicle emissions
• the growing scarcity of water.

An important achievement was an agreement on
the Climate Change Convention which in turn
led to the Kyoto Protocol.
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC or FCCC), aimed at fighting
global warming.
 As of September 2011, 191 states have signed
and ratified the protocol. The only remaining
signatory not to have ratified the protocol is the
United States.
 Under the Protocol, 37 countries commit
themselves to a reduction of four greenhouse
gases (GHG) (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous
oxide, sulphur hexafluoride) and two groups of
gases (hydrofluorocarbons and
perfluorocarbons)

Pollution Haven Hypothesis: refers to the possibility
that polluting industries concentrate in developing
countries with low environmental standards.
 Environmental “Race to the Bottom”: The process by
which developing countries lower their
environmental standards to attract international
business.
 Environmental Kuznets Curve: a hypothesized
relationship between various indicators of
environmental degradation and income per capita. In
the early stages of economic growth degradation and
pollution increase, but beyond some level of income
per capita the trend reverses, so that at high-income
levels economic growth leads to environmental
improvement.

 Central
to environmental economics is the
concept of market failure.
 Market failure: states that markets fail to
allocate resources efficiently.
 Externality: the basic idea is that an
externality exists when a person makes a
choice that affects other people that are not
accounted for in the market price.
 Public goods and non-rivalry: Public goods
are a type of market failure, in which the
market price does not capture social
benefits of its provision.
 Taiwan
is an example of a industrialized
nation that has implemented appropriate
environmental policies.
 China is an example of an industrializing
nation that is struggling to implement
appropriate environmental policies.
 Both countries represent other Asian
industrialized (Japan, Singapore) and
industrializing (India, Thailand) nations.
 Taiwan
industrialized in the sixties and
seventies. Taiwan's produces for exports,
thus it depends on an open world trade
regime. The total value of trade increased
over fivefold in the 1960s, nearly tenfold in
the 1970s, and doubled again in the 1980s.
 It since stopped acting as factory of the
world—China now has that title. Taiwan's
information technology industry has played
an important role in the worldwide IT
market over the last 20 years
 Taiwan has been able to clean up its
environment substantially.
 Air
pollution: Good air quality days have
increased while bad air days have
decreased, particularly over the late
nineties, as the EPA implemented air
pollution fees, emission permits, and
environmental impact assessments.
 Water pollution: The major sources of
water pollution include domestic
sewerage, industrial waste water, and
stock and farming waste water.
Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction:
Taiwan struggles with energy conservation.
Almost all energy sources come from fossil fuels.
Since Taiwan is an island nation with limited
natural resources, 98.7% of the energy required
is imported.
 National Land Resource: Taiwan is a country
with abundant natural land resources, which are
increasingly threatened by climate change as
well as effects of pollution and population.
 Biodiversity: Taiwan’s wide range of climate
zones has resulted in rich biodiversity, but
industrialization threatened many of the species.

Air Pollution: Air pollution is so severe that total
suspended particulates in the majority of Chinese
cities amount to twice the standard set by the WHO,
while sulfur dioxide emissions also remain
exceedingly high.
 Water Pollution: The central government has closed
down thousands of factories that contribute
pollutants to the river. Yet water pollution remains a
looming problem. Sixty percent of all rivers in China
are Class IV or worse according to China’s surface
water quality standard, which means that humans
must avoid direct contact with the water in these
areas
 National Land Resource: Industrial agglomeration
in coastal areas has resulted in environmental
degradation in these regions.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t77bL
tIck2g
 Globalization
is a factor in global
warming and climate change.
 Global warming is the cumulative effect
of human activity on the environment,
leading to a rise in the average
temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere
and oceans.
 Pollution controls are increasingly
important at a time when countries are
continuing to industrialize.




1. Llasa, Tibet -Warmest June on
record, 1998.
59. Garhwal
Himalayas, India -Glacial retreat at
record pace.
62. Tien Shan
Mountains, China - Glacial ice
reduced by one
quarter in the past
40 years.
90. Southern India Heat wave, May
2002.



91. Nepal - High
rate of
temperature rise.
93. Taiwan Average
temperature
increase.
94. Afghanistan 2001 - Warmest
winter on record.






18. Indonesia -Malaria spreads to
high elevations
50. Philippines -Coral reef bleaching.
51. Indian Ocean -Coral reef bleaching
52. Persian Gulf -Coral reef bleaching.
77. Korea -- Heavy
rains and flooding
87. Indonesia -Burning rainforest,
1998.
 What
can we do about it?
 Questions?