Negative Effects Of Globalization

1011 Words5 Pages
Globalization has led to an economic growth and a massive increase in international trade and finance. Most people are now able to buy products that are produced half way around the world. Developing countries try to attract more foreign investment to increase their economic activity, resulting in lower standards of environmental regulation (citation). In order to satisfy the global market, the production of goods and services increases which puts stress on the environment and impacts the ecological cycle. Pollution, resource depletion, and species extinction are three negative effects on the environment caused by globalization. Globalization has contributed to environmental pollution by increasing production and transportation of goods and…show more content…
A lot of these resources are used to produce everyday goods, such as oil, zinc, iron ore and bauxite (aluminum). Resources that are easy and cheap to extract are being used up rapidly; the extraction process of natural resources also contributes to environmental pollution. Phosphorous deposits, which are mostly used in agricultural fertilizers, are predicted to run out by the end of the century (D. Vaccari, 2009). Technological advances have made it possible to mine and collect resources from once unreachable locations. Seafloor mining, robotic drills and high strength pipe alloys allow mining companies to extract resources once surface deposits are depleted. Recently, the Papau New Guinea government signed a twenty-year contract allowing a Canadian company to mine copper and gold fifty kilometers off their coast (F. Magdoff, 2013). This will have devastating effects on the ecosystems in the ocean around the extraction site, as well as disrupt the local fishing communities. Non-renewable natural resources are quickly being used up to meet the growing demands of the global community. If the use of these resources are not monitored, they may be used up and disappear…show more content…
In the 1960s, a cheaper alternative to butter was discovered by the Americans and Japanese, when they extracted oil from vegetables (Hastings, Thiel, Thomas, 2003). This vegetable oil – palm oil – has become so popular and excessively used because of its cheapness. Palm oil trees can only grow in tropical regions, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, which has led to rapid deforestation of their tropical rainforests to clear land for palm oil plantations. According to the World Wildlife Fund, 85% of the world’s palm oil is produced in Indonesia and Malaysia, which are the only remaining home to orangutans (World Wildlife Fund, 2016). If no action is taken to protect the forests in Indonesia and Malaysia, orangutans will be extinct from the planet within 10 years (I. Johnston, 2016). Indonesia’s largest national parks are on the island of Sumatra, however, deforestation is still happening illegally to make way for palm oil plantations, threatening the species that live there. Indonesia’s tiger population is now less than 400, and face extinction because of rapid deforestation (World Wildlife Fund, 2016). All the living creatures that once called the rainforest home are negatively impacted by their loss of habitats, especially the endangered species that face extinction. Consumers must find a more sustainable source of oil, or else the growing palm oil industry will cause the
Open Document