Exam 3 study materials Flashcards
Environmental degradation topic -international political/geographic issue
Environmental degradation becomes an international, political and geographic issue when:
»>It undermines a states resource base and compromises it’s national security
»>Disputes over national resources negatively influence diplomatic relations and lead to wars
»>Future increase in resource wars
»>Because of attempts to reduce internal and external threats to environmental security
»>Because of increased competition over natural resources due to growing population and depletion of some natural resources
What is Techno-centrism?
Explained:
»Judaeo-Christian roots
»Nature is a means to an end (growth)
»Domination of nature is achieved through technology
»Resources are never ending
»Leads to ruthless exploitation and environmental degradation
QUOTE: There are different ideological approaches to the environment and the most prevalent one is the techno-centrism ideology. It is based on Judaeo-Christian theology that the earth was given to humans to exploit. Generally this view understands nature as a source for economic growth/development and so it is believed that people should dominate nature, develop tech and scientific discoveries that will allow us to exploit nature more efficiently. More importantly, and this is a KEY POINT is that it generally believes that there are huge natural resources that tech/science progress will allow people to tap into in the future so there will be an unending supply of natural resources.
What it means is that we are not going to face resource scarcity in the future and that we don’t need to regulate or limit consumption. It has led to major and rapid environmental degradation.
It also believes growing pop is not a problem for the same reason, more tech more production, no problem.
What is Eco-centrism?
Explained:
»Closed system
»Finite resources
»Advocates regulation/preservation/conservation
»Underlying principle behind sustainable development
»Economic growth and Environmental protection are related
QUOTE:Eco-centrism is much more recent. The starting point is that the earth is a closed system with a finite supply of resources. If resources will end we need to somehow not use them all up. Eco-centrism advocates conservation and sustainable development. They believe we should not compromise future generations by over exploiting resources today… in other words ECONOMIC GROWTH and ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION are inseparable.
This theory is not as prevalent as techno-centrism
Three aspects of environmental problems
QUOTE:
All of you know environmental problems have become major issues in the 20th century and this has been the result of ever increase abuse of the environment based on the increasing economic capacity and increasing population.
1. People have overused renewable and nonrenewable natural resources, (2) producing more and more pollution and it’s (nature’s) natural capacity to clean up the pollution has been overwhelmed.
Also, (3) the increase in population and economic growth have led to the destruction of increasing numbers of ecosystems so these are THREE BASIC ASPECTS of environmental damage.
- overuse/depletion
- pollution/overwhelmed natural processes
- destruction of entire ecosystems
Hazards of global environmental change
Decreased food production (soil degradation) Health crisis (pollution) Ozone depletion Loss of biodiversity Global climate change Scarcity of potable water
Globally systemic change
TYPE:
Globally systemic change:
»Changes that can affect the whole world because of the fluidity of the medium (like air or oceans) EXAMPLES: Climate change & ozone depletion
Globally cumulative change
TYPE:
Globally Cumulative Change:
»Accumulation of regional and localized impacts distributed widely throughout the world EXAMPLES:Groundwater depletion and loss of biodiversity
»Impact through magnitude - Deforestation, soil depletion and industrial pollution
Explain “tragedy of the commons”
This model was developed in the late 60s by Garrett Hardin and is an attempt to explain how seemingly rational behavior can have catastrophic consequences.
Involves shared resources (example: fisheries) and the vulnerability of these resources to over exploitation.
Solutions for the “tragedy of the commons”
Three ways to deal with tragedy of the commons:
- Exploit and move on
- Assign ownership (privatization) with the assumption that an owner will be a good steward of the resource.
- Governance mechanisms/regulations to prevent over exploitation.
What is Eco-political hierarchy?
It is a model of environmental politics that attempts to explain why environmental politics are so difficult. It is in an upside down pyramid shape and has four layers.
………………….Top: Global…………………
…Top-middle: Multi-lateral…
Bottom middle: National
Bottom: Local
QUOTE: As the problem moves up through the scale the variables become more numerous and the interactions more complex, where perceived impacts and solutions at one level may contradict those at the next level and so as the problem moves up the hierarchy the resistance to political action tends to grow. The jump from national level to international (multilateral) and multi-lateral/international to global level seem to be the most difficult. At the global level, for each global agreement, you need 197 countries to agree on something and that’s hard to do.
What is local Eco-political hierarchy?
At the bottom (the point) of the pyramid is local Eco-politics. These are the politics, concerns, regulations etc surrounding local environmental issues. They are the least complex.
What is national Eco-political hierarchy?
The concerns, politics, regulations etc surrounding environmental issues from a national perspective. National level Eco-politics may contradict local concerns.
What is multi-lateral or international Eco-political hierarchy?
Environmental issues from an international perspective. These may contradict National AND/OR local Eco-politics. The jump from national to international is the biggest.
What is global Eco-political hierarchy?
Environmental issues from a global perspective. Action at this level requires the participation and agreement of 197 countries. Decisions made at this level could contradict international, national and local level laws/concerns. This is the most difficult level at which to reach an agreement.
Talk about the 1972 UN Conference on the human environment in Stockholm
QUOTES:
The first international environmental agreement that had global ramifications was the first UN conf about the environment in 1972 and was attended by 130 countries. It was important for the development of the concept /emergence of sustainable development.
It led to the creation of the UN environmental program (IMPORTANT).
The conference was dominated by the debate between the developed (global North) and developing (global South) countries.
What was important for the future development of global environmental agenda was the creation of the UN environmental program (IMPORTANT).
…after the conference it prepared the World Conservation Strategy report. In 1987 the Brundtland Report was written and titled OUR COMMON FUTURE.
(IMPORTANT!) It defined the concept of sustainable development and tries to harmonize the need for economic growth/development with the need for sound environmental exploitation of natural resources that doesn’t compromise the needs of future generations.
That we should be trying to achieve a way of eco dev that doesn’t completely deplete resources and leaves some for future generations.
Generally, the idea that nature and economic development are not always in opposition.
Talk about 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit)
QUOTES:
In 1992 there was a second major global environmental conference organized by the UN in Brazil. It was known as the Earth Summit.
It was dominated by debate between global North and global South.
It was difficult for them to agree on anything but still it was successful because they signed the RIO DECLARATION and the AGENDA 21.. the agenda for the 21st century.
The Rio Declaration contains 27 principles.
The AGENDA 21 is much much larger and contains plans for what needs to be done to achieve sustainable development in the 21st century.
The US was the only industrialized country that refused to sign the biodiversity convention and this has been argued that this was because of internal politics
What is the “North South debate” in relation to the environment?
Quotes: The North/South debate was mostly about the North telling the South how to limit exploitation of resources.
The South saw that as a threat to their plans for economic development. They believed that the North would take over their natural resources so they came to the view that the North should pay to have them limit their exploitation of resources.
More developed countries (NORTH) were worried about environment and pollution the less developed countries(SOUTH) worry aobut poverty and economic development. They have different priorities.
Talk about the Montreal protocol
QUOTE:
Montreal protocol is considered to be the most successful piece of international cooperation on environmental issues to date.
(It ended up being a global scale ban on CFCs in order to reverse ozone layer depletion)
There was not sufficient support to sign the treaty originally but 31 countries decided to go ahead and sign anyway in 1987. This was an important example of countries acting as leaders. Over time other countries joined and by 1995 155 countries had signed. In 2012 it was 197 (all members of the UN) even south sudan joined after they became independent country.
Talk about the Kyoto Protocol
QUOTES:
In the 1990s the world started trying to create an international regime that would limit the release of CO2. This resulted in the global conference organized by the UN in japan in 1997 that produced the Kyoto protocol.
159 countries attended and they agreed to cut the emissions of 6 greenhouse gases by an aggregate 5.2% to be achieved by 2008 - 2012 based on the 1990 levels.
The US senate never ratified the treaty and of course the constitution mandates that treaties must be ratified.
There were two major reasons the senate gave for not ratifying them.
- The most important one was that there were no requirements for 136 developing countries and the senate argued that for the treaty to be meaningful large polluters from less dev countries had to participate, especially china and India. Originally, they were supposed to participate but their part was negotiated out.
- US lawmakers argued that the treaty would harm the US economy.
So, this was a big problem for the treaty because without US participation the treaty was meaningless because there was no real leadership since the largest polluter didn’t participate. The treaty went active in 2005 (refer to slides) it didn’t slow down the overall release of CO2 because countries like china and India just kept increasing production of it because of their rapidly growing economy. Canada withdrew in 2012 to avoid noncompliance penalties so they participated but did nothing and in fact increased their emissions with the discovery of the oil sands.
Talk about the Copenhagen Accord
> > > Endorsed the continuation of the Kyoto protocol
Developed countries required to commit to economy wide emissions targets for 2020
Parties to the Kyoto Protocol required to strengthen their existing targets
Not legally binding and did not contain any legally binding commitments for reducing CO2
Throughout 2010 138 countries had either formally signed on to agreement or signaled they would
There are continuing disagreements between developed and developing countries
Talk about the Earth Summit 2002
> > World Summit on Sustainable Development
> > It was boycotted by the US-no delegate was sent (Colin Powell did address the conference while his plane was taxing at the Johannesburg airport. )
> > Agreement to restore the world’s depleted fisheries for 2015
> > The Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development (Committing the nations of the world to sustainable development)
What were the Millennium development goals?
All 193 UN members agreed to achieve these goals by 2015:
»Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger
»Achieving universal primary education
»Promoting gender equality and empowering women
»Reducing child mortality rates
»Improving maternal health
»Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
»Ensuring environmental sustainability
»Developing a global partnership for development
(Uneven progress on these goals)
Talk about Rio+20
> > 192 Countries (Obama, Merkel and Cameron didn’t attend)
2 main themes (Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication AND a institutional framework for sustainable development.
Outcome: “The Future We Want” The nonbinding document renewing their political commitment to sustainable development.
Talk about the “population problem”
QUOTE: Many of these environmental problems are directly related to rapidly growing populations.
Population problems aren’t just about population growth.
Declining populations in some countries are a problem too. Population growth and declines are extremely uneven.
Migration is also an issue.
Who was Malthus?
He was an English cleric and scholar, influential in the fields of political economy and demography.
What is the Malthusian view of population problem?
He argued that population multiplies exponentially and food arithmetically; therefore, whenever the food supply increases, population will rapidly grow to eliminate the abundance and at some point the pop will out pace food production capacity. He theorized this would lead to natural corrective measures like war, famine, disease.
Critics say that technology advances will allow food production to keep up with population growth.
What is the Neo-Malthusian view of the population problem?
Neo-Malthusians argue that technology just postpones the eventual consequences but that the consequences are unavoidable.
Talk about global population growth
> > Current global population: 7.42 billion
Average natural increase: 1.2%
Projected pop in 2050: 9.9 billion
Population growth is not evenly distributed worldwide
Greatest areas of growth are the poorest and least developed
Talk about global population policies
Population aid in the form of family planning support by developed state to developing countries since the early 1960s (500 million /year in 1981)
The Mexico City Conference on population (1984)
The Cairo population conference (1994)
Talk about geography of population increases
fastest growing population:
»sub-Saharan Africa
> > nearly all future population growth will be in less developed countries
Talk about geography of population decreases
Slowest growing population:
Europe
Russia
What is a demographic transition model?
The Demographic Transition Model (DTM) is based on historical population trends of two demographic characteristics – birth rate and death rate – to suggest that a country’s total population growth rate cycles through stages as that country develops economically.
Talk about uneven consumption of natural resources
Core countries have historically consumed the most energy but peripheral countries are consuming more and more (India and China especially). Some say that the future conflicts will be over resources because of increasing demand and decreasing supply.
Talk about uneven distribution of natural resources
Resources are not evenly distributed throughout the world. This creates access problems for countries that do not have natural resources availabe inside their own country.
Talk about types of resources according to access/ownership: NATIONAL, transnational, global
Owned by a sovereign state
Talk about types of resources according to access/ownership: TRANSNATIONAL
Shared by several states
Often require cooperative agreements between neighboring countries
Talk about types of resources according to access/ownership: GLOBAL
> > Shared globally
Are extraterritorial
Have been exploited by private individuals, corporations, or governments for their own profit
Common property dilemmas are often solved by institutional arrangements
Talk about exploitation of natural resources
The complete or maximum use of a resource
talk about conservation of natural resources
Attempt to balance current resource use with longer term availability through efficient, prudent and ecologically sound management
talk about preservation of natural resources
The total non-use of a resource
talk about conflicts over natural resources
many in the past:
Spanish conquest of LA
Formal imperialism
Minerals were targets of campaigns during WWs
Examples of territorial conflicts and civil wars: German and Japanese expansion during WWII, Falklands-Malvina War, Gulf War, Arab Israeli conflict etc…
resource conflicts after the end of the cold war
Conflict over resources remains a significant feature of the world security environment Angola Chechnya Chiapas Congo Indonesia Liberia Sierra Leone Somalia Sudan
Resource conflicts in the 21st century
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explain green war hypothesis
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talk about greed war argument
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