GLOBALISATION CASE STUDIES Flashcards
Globalisations impact on the environment
- The TNC, McDonald’s has an large environmental impact through their felling of the Amazon to produce methane intensive methane farms.
- TNC’s such as Nike rely on sweatshops worldwide to produce their goods due to their lack of workers rights and lack of environmental restrictions in manufacturing
- Increased global connections between countries has led to more collaboration on the amending of the climate emergency e.g. the Paris Agreement, COP meetings
Impacts of Deindustrialisation - Redcar
Steel works closure lead to:
- 2,000 direct job losses and 4,000 more indirect
- Investors vary of investment in the area after due to economic instability
- Loss of cultural identity
- Mental health issues amongst former workers
- Brain drain
- Derelict land
Why is Bangalore, India an emerging economy
- It is home to 10 million people.
- The global shift in IT services and business product output to Bangalore employs 1 million.
- There are 1,200 IT companies in Bangalore, and this number is increasing due to the multiplier effect.
- English is also the main professional language.
- It has some of India’s best schools and universities, meaning that TNCs have access to graduates.
- There are tax incentives, however this leads to pressure on infrastructure due to a shortfall in tax revenue.
Socio-economic impacts on Bangalore, India
- There is an emerging middle class, and an increasing number of ‘gated villages’ for millionaires.
- House prices are increasing, putting pressure on local people.
- Shops and shopping malls are opening to allow people to buy consumer goods. Western influences are growing, which could lead to cultural erosion.
Environmental impacts in Bangalore, India
- Bangalore was once known for its lakes, but these have not been upkept and 100 lakes has fallen to jut 17.
- Water supplies, electricity and sewage services struggle to keep up with demand, which is a problem for
the IT industry. - Demand for resources is 50% higher than supply.
- Roads are heavily congested.
Management of transport in Bangalore India
- Public-private investment into transport and a brand new airport.
- Toll roads are being built towards ‘electronic city’ (Where many major IT companies are located).
- A metro is being put in place (government funded).
China’s environmental problems due to globalisation
Pollution and health problems
* Beijing has frequent pollution alerts.
* 70% of lakes are polluted, exaggerating water shortages.
* Industrial towns where rates of cancer are so high are becoming known as ‘cancer villages’.
* ¼ of water is so dangerously polluted it cannot even be used for industrial purposes.
Land degradation
* 40% of land is degraded.
Over-exploitation of resources
* China is abundant in oil and coal but cannot keep up with demand.
* China seeks additional resources worldwide.
Loss of biodiversity
* Terrestrial vertebrates have declined by 50%
Is fairtrade always good - Starbucks
- 2009 – Introduced Fairtrade coffee. Fairtrade helps farmers to have a better quality of life by giving
them a fair price for the beans. - 2014 – Only 8.5% of the coffee beans were Fairtrade certified.
- 2015 – Starbucks scored low by a review company called ‘ethical consumer’
Recycling - Sweden
- Sweden recycles 99% of its waste and burns it.
o 32 power plants produce heat for 810,000 homes.
o However, burning rubbish does produce harmful gases. - Citizens are encouraged to sort their waste at home.
- Recycling stations are no longer than 300 metres from any residential area.
- Pharmacists accept left-over medicine.
Recycling - Taiwan
- Sometimes there is contamination in recycling.
o In Taiwan, recycled steel buildings sometimes give off gamma radiation due to
contamination from another metal. This causes serious health issues. - Pollution of the air
o Associated with burning rubbish and the trucks (Petrol/Diesel) that come to collect it. - Chemicals used in paper recycling sometimes get into drinking water, causing health problems
and damaging ecology.
London Oligarchs
London is a Hub city, with a large knowledge economy.
* In 2014, 82% of house buyers in central London were foreign. Many were from Qatar and Russia.
* High demand for housing is causing property price inflation, making central London too expensive
for most Londoners.
* However, elite migration is bringing investments to London. For example, investments in the
Shard, Canary Wharf and Harrods.
Low Wage Migration - Qatar and UAE
- Both countries have labour shortages due to their small populations.
o 90% of the UAE workforce is migrant, mostly Indian and Pakistani.
o Many of these workers risk deportation after the end of their contract. - Both these countries underwent rapid building of infrastructure.
o International tourism helps to drive this.
o There is speculation on safety as there is a high level of work place accidents among
migrants.
Internal Migration - Dehli, India
- The population has grown 40% between 2010 and 2014. This due to:
o Natural increase.
o Rural – Urban migration. - FDI is allowing new jobs to be created, which is attracting Rural-Urban migrants. Companies
present include Coca-Cola and Microsoft. - However, rural migrants often end up in slums and/or on the city edge.
- Large-scale migration puts lots of pressure on city infrastructure.
Benefits of local sourcing
- Economic: 80% of money that is lost through supermarket spending is kept in the local economy, jobs are created, creates a more self sufficient economy by reducing dependence on global trade.
- Social: Fosters good community spirit - Local investors are encouraged, sharing skills in community makes community more self sufficient and sustainable.
- Environmental: Food miles are reduced which positively impacts on the environment, more ‘clean’ sources of energy are used, locally produced energy in locally owned power station in Brixton, waste is minimal and/or used for energy creation
Costs of local sourcing
- Economic: Consumers will pay more for local products, some products may be more expensive to produce, local currencies – excludes ‘outsiders’ deters businesses from making wider connections (Lake District)
- Social: Producers in LICs can lose out if local producers are preferred, can be seen as excluding the wider community, could become ‘switched off’ to wider connections of trade, knowledge, ideas - Environmental: Some products are better suited to being produced in certain locations e.g. Kenyan flowers. If produced in European greenhouses they would require huge amounts of energy to be able to be produced which does not outweigh the money saved on transport costs.
Some seasonal products would not be able to be produced.
What are transition towns?
The first transition town was Totnes in the South West of the England, and the movement has now grown into a network of towns across the country.
- Promote local sourcing of products
- ‘Bottom-up’ initiatives
- Raise awareness of sustainable living and build ecological resilience
- Maximize the local benefits of local spending
- Reduce dependence on fossil fuels
- Less reliant on global trade
- Respond to the issues of peak oil, climate change and economic instability
