Globalisation (Iris Foo, 7 Omega)

What is globalisation?

Globalisation is the process by which the world is becoming increasingly interconnected as a result of massively increased trade and cultural exchange. Globalisation has increased the production of goods and services. The biggest companies are no longer national firms but multinational corporations with subsidiaries in many countries.

Globalisation has been taking place for hundreds of years, but has speeded up enormously over the last half-century.

Globalisation has resulted in:

• increased international trade
• a company operating in more than one country
• greater dependence on the global economy
• freer movement of capital, goods, and services
• recognition of companies such as McDonalds and Starbucks in LEDCs

Although globalisation is probably helping to create more wealth in developing countries – it is not helping to close the gap between the world’s poorest countries and the world’s richest.

Reasons for globalisation

There are several key factors which have influenced the process of globalisation:

• Improvements in transportation – larger cargo ships mean that the cost of transporting goods between countries has decreased. Economies of scale mean the cost per item can reduce when operating on a larger scale. Transport improvements also mean that goods and people can travel more quickly.
• Freedom of trade – organisations like the World Trade Organisation (WTO) promote free trade between countries, which help to remove barriers between countries.
• Improvements of communications – the internet and mobile technology has allowed greater communication between people in different countries.
• Labour availability and skills – countries such as India have lower labour costs (about a third of that of the UK) and also high skill levels. Labour intensive industries such as clothing can take advantage of cheaper labour costs and reduced legal restrictions in LEDCs.

Transnational corporations

Globalisation has resulted in many businesses setting up or buying operations in other countries. When a foreign company invests in a country, perhaps by building a factory or a shop, this is called inward investment. Companies that operate in several countries are called multinational corporations (MNCs) or transnational corporations (TNCs). The US fast-food chain McDonald’s is a large MNC – it has nearly 30,000 restaurants in 119 countries.

The majority of TNCs come from MEDCs such as the US and UK. Many multinational corporations invest in other MEDCs. The US car company Ford, for example, makes large numbers of cars in the UK. However, TNCs also invest in LEDCs – for example, the British DIY store B&Q now has stores in China.

Factors attracting TNCs to a country may include:

• cheap raw materials
• cheap labour supply
• good transport
• access to markets where the goods are sold
• friendly government policies

Some of the positive impacts are:

• Inward investment by TNCs helps countries by providing new jobs and skills for local people.
• TNCs bring wealth and foreign currency to local economies when they buy local resources, products and services. The extra money created by this investment can be spent on education, health and infrastructure.
• The sharing of ideas, experiences and lifestyles of people and cultures. People can experience foods and other products not previously available in their countries.
• Globalisation increases awareness of events in far-away parts of the world. For example, the UK was quickly made aware of the 2004 tsunami tidal wave and sent help rapidly in response.
• Globalisation may help to make people more aware of global issues such asdeforestation and global warming – and alert them to the need forsustainable development.

Negative impacts of globalisation

Critics include groups such as environmentalists, anti-poverty campaigners andtrade unionists.

Some of the negative impacts include:

• Globalisation operates mostly in the interests of the richest countries, which continue to dominate world trade at the expense of developing countries. The role of LEDCs in the world market is mostly to provide the North and West with cheap labour and raw materials.
• There are no guarantees that the wealth from inward investment will benefit the local community. Often, profits are sent back to the MEDC where the TNC is based. Transnational companies, with their massive economies of scale, may drive local companies out of business. If it becomes cheaper to operate in another country, the TNC might close down the factory and make local people redundant.
• An absence of strictly enforced international laws means that TNCs may operate in LEDCs in a way that would not be allowed in an MEDC. They may pollute the environment, run risks with safety or impose poor working conditions and low wages on local workers.
• Globalisation is viewed by many as a threat to the world’s cultural diversity. It is feared it might drown out local economies, traditions and languages and simply re-cast the whole world in the mould of the capitalist North and West. An example of this is that a Hollywood film is far more likely to be successful worldwide than one made in India or China, which also have thriving film industries.
• Industry may begin to thrive in LEDCs at the expense of jobs in manufacturing in the UK and other MEDCs, especially in textiles.

Case study: conservation and management in the Lake District (Iris Foo, 7 Omega)

Case study: conservation and management in the Lake District

Many of the impacts of tourism are positive, but others present challenges which need to be overcome if tourism in the Lake District is to be sustainable.

Advantages of tourism 

• Tourism provides employment and income for local people.
• People choose to stay in the area, which maintains other essential services such as schools and hospitals.
• Services provided for the use of tourists, eg leisure facilities, also benefit local people.

Problems

• Employment can be seasonal and wages low.
• House prices in the area can rise due to a demand for second homes.
• School leavers often look for work in larger settlements due to low wages and high house prices. This causes ruraldepopulation.
• Local shops on the margins of profitability often close to make way for more profitable gift shops and tea rooms. This leaves local people without essentialservices, eg butchers and greengrocers.
• Traffic causes pollution and narrow roads can become congested in high season.
• Large numbers of hikers cause footpath erosion, which is expensive to repair.
• Watersports cause erosion of lake shores and there can be conflicts of interests between different lake users.

Towards sustainable tourism

If tourism is to be sustainable then the impacts on local people, the economy and the environment need to be balanced. To achieve this there needs to be cooperation between different interest groups. In The Lake District, this includes:

• the National Park Authority
• the National Trust (who own a proportion of the land)
• other land owners
• the hotel and leisure industry
• conservation groups, eg RSPB
• local people and businesses
• tourists

Possible strategies to achieve sustainable tourism could be:

• Restricting the number of cars and visitors – although this would have an impact on income from tourism.
• Fundraising to repair damage done to the natural environment and footpaths. But who should pay?
• Education of local people and tourists about sustainable tourism. But who will pay for this?

Grand Canyon, United States (Iris Foo, 7 Omega)

The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,000 feet or 1,800 meters). Nearly two billion years of the Earth‘s geological history has been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While the specific geologic processes and timing that formed the Grand Canyon are the subject of debate by geologists, recent evidence suggests the Colorado River established its course through the canyon at least 17 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River continued to erode and form the canyon to its present-day configuration.

The South Rim, the most accessible part of the park, is open all year, averaging 7000 feet/ 2134 m above sea level.

A much smaller number of people see the Canyon from the North Rim, which lies just 10 miles / 16 km (as the California condor flies) directly across the Canyon from the South Rim.

Averaging 8000 feet/ 2438 m above sea level, the North Rim rises 1000 feet/ 305 m higher than the South Rim, and is much less accessible. The North Rim has a short season. Lodging and restaurants are open from mid-May through mid-October each year.

Even in good weather the North Rim is harder to get to. It is 220 miles / 354 km by car from the South Rim, or 21 miles / 34 km by foot across the canyon by way of the North and South Kaibab Trails.

The Inner Canyon includes everything below the rim and is seen mainly by hikers, mule riders, or river runners.

 

Earthquakes (Iris Foo, 7 Omega)

Someone living in an area that is prone to one or other of these natural disasters will be well aware of the fact, so the most important factor is to be prepared. If you live in an area that is prone to earthquakes, you might not experience one for a number of years, but they can occur with very little warning.

The first indication of an earthquake might be a roaring or rumbling sound that gradually grows louder. There might be a rolling sensation that starts out gently but within a second or two becomes very violent. Alternatively there might be a violent jerk followed by severe shaking that makes it very difficult to stand up or move from room to room.

The strength of an earthquake is usually measured using the moment magnitude scale. An earthquake measuring between 6.1 and 6.9 on this scale could cause a lot of damage in a very populated area. Around 100 of these occur each year. One measuring 7.0 to 7.9 would be considered a major earthquake and would cause significant damage. About 20 of these occur each year. The earthquake that occurred in Japan on 11 March 2011 was measured at magnitude 9.0 by the US Geological Survey and was one of the most powerful ever recorded.

If an earthquake occurs under the sea it can cause a tsunami. The most destructive of these are generated from large shallow earthquakes with an epicentre or fault line near or on the ocean floor. The sudden vertical displacement generates waves that can travel great distances at high speed. While out in the ocean these waves can be no more than a few centimetres high, but as they approach the shore the waves are compressed and become very much higher.

 

Cyclones (Iris Foo, 7 Omega)

Tropical cyclones have been the cause of a number of natural disasters. They are storms with large low-pressure centres and numerous thunderstorms that produce high winds and heavy rain. Generally they are known as hurricanes, but in the northwest pacific region they are known as typhoons. A hurricane is defined as having a wind speed in excess of 73 mph (117 kph), but maximum sustained winds in the strongest tropical cyclones have been estimated to reach 195 mph.

Cyclones form out in the ocean and there are distinct hurricane seasons in different parts of the world, lasting for between five and eight months. Special weather watches are kept during these times and in populated areas there are generally well-rehearsed plans that are put in place when a tropical cyclone approaches.

They often hit the coast with tremendous force causing significant damage, but having hit land, friction slows them down. While the winds will abate somewhat, heavy rains will continue and can cause serious flooding. Coastal storm surges can produce extensive flooding up to 25 miles (40 km) inland.

Hurricane Katrina struck the states of Louisiana and Mississippi in August 2008. 1,836 people died as a result and overall damage was estimated as exceeding $100 billion. Although this was America’s costliest natural disaster, the deadliest natural disaster in US history was the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 that killed between 6,000 and 12,000 people in Galveston.

Tornadoes can also be a lethal weather event. A tornado is a violent, dangerous rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud. Because of their appearance they are often call twisters.

Most tornadoes are about 250 feet across, have wind speeds of up to 110 mph and blow themselves out after a few miles, but in extreme cases they can be 2 miles across, attain speeds of more than 300 mph and stay on the ground for considerable distances.

Although they can occur almost anywhere, the vast majority occur in the US, where the average is about 1,200 a year. They are most common in the spring, but they can occur at any time of the year. Worldwide the peak time for them is 5 pm, but one of deadliest in history, the Gainesville Tornado, occurred at 8.30 am local time.

EYE OF THE SAHARA

Great Blue Hole,Belize-Tan Shang Jien

Great Blue Hole

Nestled in the Lighthouse Reef Atoll of Belize is the Great Blue Hole, a large submarine vertical cave that measures 984 feet in diameter and 407 feet deep.

With its beautiful, clear water and the variety of wild marine life residing in its depths, the enormous blue hole is a popular scuba diving destination.

 

Today’s blue holes, which are found all across the world, were formed from erosion during previous ice ages when the Earth’s sea level was significantly lower than it is now.

 

Although the Great Blue Hole is most definitely great, it is not the deepest. That title is held by Dean’s Blue Hole, located in the Bahamas, with a depth of 663 feet.