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

California wild fires

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)

Q: Can humanity adapt to climate change?