essay final version

Globalisation has many implications in the daily life of today’s society, including both developing and developed countries. Recently, much of the attention has been paid to the environmental problems caused by globalisation since it affects the entire global community, as the name suggests. Rapid industrialisation and international trade have caused aggravated usage of raw material and natural resources, which worsens the problem of deforestation and depletes finite resourses. Moreover, global warming is also a serious consequence that stems from the need to meet to demand of the global consumers who now have more spending power. On the other hand, globalisation itself has raised awareness of the situation worldwide via online platforms such as social networking sites and electronic journal articles, urging organisations and authorities to assuage the problems together. Concerted efforts were made, such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Montreal Protocol. Unfortunately, not all were successful in achieving their goals.

One major environmental issue is rapid deforestation. Logging activities have increased rapidly globally, especially in the tropical areas where forests are abundant. The problem arose due to the fact that globalisation has sped up commercialization and industrialisation, spurring the logging firms to engage in illegal logging. In East Kalimantan, extensive deforestation is carried out, ranking it the third largest carbon emitter in the world (Manttangkilang, 2012). The authorities have attempted to impose penalties and regulations on the logging activity but it has not been very successful. Corruption and bribery still proliferate in Indonesia and the ‘legal system is very easily manipulated’ (Control Risks, 2013), thus it is deemed difficult to effectively control the logging activity. Instead, the inhabitants of the area should co-operate with the authority and contribute to minimise the destructive effect of deforestation. For example, monetary incentives should be given for replanting trees in place of the cut down trees. If the authority is not efficient in controlling the situation alone, other countries could intervene so as to assist the Indonesian authority to manage the problem, via providing suitable manpower to maintain regular checks on the logging firms.

Another major issue is global warming. It is widely known that the ‘greenhouse gas effect’ is the cause of global warming and has been causing climate change and the rise in the sea level. Due to the increasing deforestation, the greenhouse gases are not being regulated naturally, thus remaining in the atmosphere, retaining the heat inside the Earth. The Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997, targetting the reduction of greenhouse gases emission (United Nations Framework Convention For Climate Change, 2013). The protocol essentially places more responsibilities on the developed countries that generally produce more greenhouse gases compared to the less developed countries but this treaty has not proven to be effective, especially due to the fact that the United States did not ratify the protocol. The negative impact on its economy could be a factor that deterred the United States from signing the protocol. Reducing the emission of greenhouse gases implies that the United States will have to curb its productivity substantially, which will impact its economy adversely. Therefore, a more realistic solution to reduce global warming has to be proposed that would cushion the economic downturn. For example, many environmentally friendly products are produced nowadays, which can become alternatives to the less environment-friendly ones. Such a method favours the environment and concurrently encourages consumption. An example of a green product is the solar-energy water heater. Intead of depleting fuel and producing carbon, solar energy is utilised to heat up water. Although solar panels are still rather costly, it is predicted that advancement of technology and environmentally favourable policies would progressively subsidise the cost.

To conclude, environmental problems affect individuals, and ultimately, the entire community. Now that globalisation has also improved the technology tremendously, such problems are shared and discussed widely online among people from every part of the world. Individual awareness is the first step in solving the problems effectively. It is also important that the national authority of each country advocates measures that are suited to its own social context because international approaches may not be befitting the frame of the local community. For a developed nation like the United States, it is also crucial for it to maintain the stability of its economy since it affects the global economy. Thus, it has to implement a more economically conducive environmental measure. In the case of the South East Asian countries, they could model their policies on Singapore, which conducts strict maintenance of its carbon emission and the amount of greenery in the country. A maximum of $50,000 penalty is imposed on one who cuts or damages a single tree (National Parks, 2006). For the future generations and their welfare, countries need to be stringent in their actions for effective management of globalisation and its side effects.

Reference list:

1.     Mattangkilang, T. (2012). East Kalimantan Is Third Largest Carbon Emitter. Retrieved from http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/archive/east-kalimantan-is-third-largest-carbon-emitter/

2.     United Nations Framework Convention For Climate Change (2013). Kyoto Protocol. Retrieved from http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php

3.     Crossin, C, Brown, M., & Norris, S. (2013). Anti-corruption in Indonesia: Part 1: Domestic context. Retrieved from http://www.controlrisks.com/Oversized%20assets/indonesia_whitepaper_2013.pdf

4.     National Parks Board, Singapore (2006). PARKS AND TREES ACT (CHAPTER 216) revised in 2006. Retrieved from http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/docs/ParksandTreesAct.pdf