Impact and Perspectives on the Environment

1. Impact and Perspectives on the Environment Sara Hsu

3. Approximately 80% of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons released by vegetation, so let's not go overboard in setting and enforcing tough emission standards from man-made sources. --Ronald Reagan Global warming is real. It is happening today. It is being charted by our satellites. It is being charted by our scientists. It is being charted by those of us in this body, and I think the real key is if we are ready to admit that fact and take the action to make the necessary conversion. --Diane Feinstein

4. Globalization &the Environment On the whole, globalization has been a force more in favor of industrialization and production, rather than environmental improvement. However, the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, and later world conferences in Kyoto and Johannesburg, helped focus countries on improving the environment and fighting climate change. Developing countries continue to address improving production while trying to enforce very basic environmental regulations.

5. 1992 Earth Summit • At the 1992 Earth Summit, 172 governments participated. The issues addressed included: • systematic scrutiny of patterns of production — particularly the production of toxic components • alternative sources of energy to replace the use of fossil fuels which are linked to global climate change; • new reliance on public transportation systems in order to reduce vehicle emissions • the growing scarcity of water. • An important achievement was an agreement on the Climate Change Convention which in turn led to the Kyoto Protocol.

6. 1997 Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC), aimed at fighting global warming. As of September 2011, 191 states have signed and ratified the protocol. The only remaining signatory not to have ratified the protocol is the United States. Under the Protocol, 37 countries commit themselves to a reduction of four greenhouse gases (GHG) (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride) and two groups of gases (hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons)

7. Economics & Environment

8. Economics Jargon & Environment Pollution Haven Hypothesis: refers to the possibility that polluting industries concentrate in developing countries with low environmental standards. Environmental “Race to the Bottom”: The process by which developing countries lower their environmental standards to attract international business. Environmental Kuznets Curve: a hypothesized relationship between various indicators of environmental degradation and income per capita. In the early stages of economic growth degradation and pollution increase, but beyond some level of income per capita the trend reverses, so that at high-income levels economic growth leads to environmental improvement.

9. Globalization & Environ. Econ. Central to environmental economics is the concept of market failure. Market failure: states that markets fail to allocate resources efficiently. Externality: the basic idea is that an externality exists when a person makes a choice that affects other people that are not accounted for in the market price. Public goods and non-rivalry: Public goods are a type of market failure, in which the market price does not capture social benefits of its provision.

10. Case Studies, Taiwan and China

11. Taiwan and China Taiwan is an example of a industrialized nation that has implemented appropriate environmental policies. China is an example of an industrializing nation that is struggling to implement appropriate environmental policies. Both countries represent other Asian industrialized (Japan, Singapore) and industrializing (India, Thailand) nations.

12. Taiwan’s Industrialization and Environment Taiwan industrialized in the sixties and seventies. Taiwan's produces for exports, thus it depends on an open world trade regime. The total value of trade increased over fivefold in the 1960s, nearly tenfold in the 1970s, and doubled again in the 1980s. It since stopped acting as factory of the world—China now has that title. Taiwan's information technology industry has played an important role in the worldwide IT market over the last 20 years Taiwan has been able to clean up its environment substantially.

13. Taiwan and Pollution Air pollution: Good air quality days have increased while bad air days have decreased, particularly over the late nineties, as the EPA implemented air pollution fees, emission permits, and environmental impact assessments. Water pollution: The major sources of water pollution include domestic sewerage, industrial waste water, and stock and farming waste water.

14. Taiwan: Energy, Land and Biodiversity Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction: Taiwan struggles with energy conservation. Almost all energy sources come from fossil fuels. Since Taiwan is an island nation with limited natural resources, 98.7% of the energy required is imported. National Land Resource: Taiwan is a country with abundant natural land resources, which are increasingly threatened by climate change as well as effects of pollution and population. Biodiversity: Taiwan’s wide range of climate zones has resulted in rich biodiversity, but industrialization threatened many of the species.

15. China and Pollution • Air Pollution: Air pollution is so severe that total suspended particulates in the majority of Chinese cities amount to twice the standard set by the WHO, while sulfur dioxide emissions also remain exceedingly high. • Water Pollution: The central government has closed down thousands of factories that contribute pollutants to the river. Yet water pollution remains a looming problem. Sixty percent of all rivers in China are Class IV or worse according to China’s surface water quality standard, which means that humans must avoid direct contact with the water in these areas • National Land Resource: Industrial agglomeration in coastal areas has resulted in environmental degradation in these regions.

16. China’s Pollution Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t77bLtIck2g

17. Global Warming

18. Globalization & Global Warming Globalization is a factor in global warming and climate change. Global warming is the cumulative effect of human activity on the environment, leading to a rise in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans. Pollution controls are increasingly important at a time when countries are continuing to industrialize.

19. Global Warming

20. Global Warming: Impact in Asia 1. Llasa, Tibet -- Warmest June on record, 1998. 59. Garhwal Himalayas, India -- Glacial retreat at record pace. 62. Tien Shan Mountains, China -- Glacial ice reduced by one quarter in the past 40 years. 90. Southern India - Heat wave, May 2002.

21. Global Warming: Impact in Asia 91. Nepal - High rate of temperature rise. 93. Taiwan - Average temperature increase. 94. Afghanistan - 2001 - Warmest winter on record.

22. Global Warming: Impact in Asia 18. Indonesia -- Malaria spreads to high elevations 50. Philippines -- Coral reef bleaching. 51. Indian Ocean -- Coral reef bleaching 52. Persian Gulf -- Coral reef bleaching. 77. Korea -- Heavy rains and flooding 87. Indonesia -- Burning rainforest, 1998.

23. What can we do about it? Questions?