global east Asia response paper (max. 400 words)
Manfred Steger, Globalization, chap. 6
Chap 6 readings Nov. 20 Tues. lecture: Hydropower and the politics of managing water resources
Reading: Kenneth Pommeranz, “The Great Himalayan Watershed: Water shortages, mega-projects, and environmental politics in China, India, and Southeast Asia,” japanfocus.org (2009)
Steger chap. 6: The ecological dimension of globalization
Chap. 6 Response paper due: Tues. Nov. 27 10:00 PM
Wed. Nov. 28 Chap. 6 Recitation
Electronic devices OFF
Chap. 6 Ecological dimension
Chap. 3 Economic dimensions
Chap. 4 Political dimensions
Chap. 5 Cultural dimensions
All impact each other
All impact the environment
Smog-clouded street in Hebei Province, China, 2016
Q: How did we reach this state? How does Steger explain it?
Steger’s analysis: cultural
East: “delicate balance”
• Holistic engagement with nature
West: “dominates & exploits”
• Dualistic engagement with nature
Alternative analysis
Judaeo-Christian humanism is not as simple as Steger describes.
Originally, based on a balance between:
Dominion (humankind is in control of nature)
Stewardship (humankind is responsible for taking care of the natural world)
Alternative analysis: historical
Pre-modern
• Existed in ‘delicate balance’ with nature
Modern
• Abandoned ‘stewardship’ of nature in favor of ‘dominion’
Alternative analysis: Modernity is what changed human relationship to the natural world
Since the 18th century Age of Enlightenment and 19th century Industrial Revolution, nature is seen as a resource to be exploited in fulfillment of human desires.
Anthropocentrism
Humans are at the center of the value system.
If something benefits mankind, it is right/good/justified
Consumerism
Humanity’s needs/desires can be satisfied by accumulation of material possessions.
Consumerism is the most extreme form of the anthropocentric (human-centered) paradigm.
“Great Pacific Garbage Patch”
Plastic: “symbol of America’s consumerism and moral emptiness” (The Economist, 2018)
4.9 billion tons of discarded plastic since 1950 = landfill the size of Manhattan 70 meters deep
Population Growth
7.6 billion humans translates to vastly increased pressure on the planet’s ecosystems:
Food
Water
Air
Other resources
Q: When does it start?
Overpopulation + Consumerism
Environmental degradation is not just a product of total population.
It is as much a function of per capita consumption.
Example: U.S. is 6% of world’s population, but consumes 30-40% of world’s resources.
Steger’s conclusion: “It remains to be seen whether the growing recognition of the ecological limits of our planet will translate into …. counteracting powerful ideologies that are rooted in the worship of unfettered markets and the desire for the unlimited accumulation and consumption of material things.” (p. 102) Q: What’s missing? focus on consumerism, not population
Population Control
China: Restrictions (loosening) on the number of children people can have
“One child policy” “Two” More?
United States: No restrictions on the number of children people can have
Japan & Koreas: No restrictions; encourage couples to have more children
CO2 Air Pollution: Consequences of global warming
Nations will shrink or disappear:
Tuvalu, Kiribati, Maldives, Bangladesh
Coastal cities and states too:
Florida, New York, London, Sydney, Shanghai, Nagoya, Jakarta, Mumbai
Hurricane Sandy Oct. 2012
Hurricane Michael Oct. 2018
Sea level rise and storm surges
October 8, 2018 New study: 1.5C vs. 2C
Crisis as early as 2040
50 million displaced
$54 trillion in damages
Q: Solutions?
Tax/Price on CO2
Q: Obstacles to addressing climate change?
Most international environmental treaties lack effective enforcement mechanisms.
Developing versus developed countries disagree on who should bear the burden of carbon reduction.
Globalization and the Environment (2013)
Peter Christoff & Robyn Eckersley analyze why there is no effective global environmental treaty system.
1. No national-international policy integration
2. Resistance from social forces
3. Neoliberalism undermines sustainable approaches to economic growth
4. Global enforcement is non-existent
Threshold to…?
“…the contemporary phase of globalization has been the most environmentally destructive period of human history.” (p. 108)
Blue Planet II Captivated Audiences Abroad Why Didn’t America Care? (slate.com)