Environmental Impacts of Globalisation

China— Environmental problems due to globalisation

Pollution and health problems

• Beijing has frequent pollution alerts.

• 70% of lakes are polluted, exaggerating water shortages.

• Industrial towns where rates of cancer are so high are becoming known as ‘cancer villages’.

• ¼ of water is so dangerously polluted it cannot even be used for industrial purposes.

Land degradation

• 40% of land is degraded.

Over-exploitation of resources

• China is abundant in oil and coal but cannot keep up with demand.

• China seeks additional resources worldwide.

Loss of biodiversity

• Terrestrial vertebrates have declined by 50%

Leicester— Impacts of deindustrialisation

• In the 1920’s, 30,000 were employed in textile mills.

o These mills attracted Indian and Pakistani families for extra workers.

• In the 1970’s, the UK saw massive deindustrialisation due to overseas competition.

Dereliction

• Most of the land is contaminated from dyes, gas or coal.

• A lot of pre-industrial land has been abandoned.

Deprivation

• Areas of deprivation often coincide with previous industrial areas, containing large ethnic populations.

• These areas have a reputation for crime and are hard to turn around.