Globalization: Technologies, Diseases, and Environmental Effects

Globalization Definition

  • Globalization is the increasing interconnection of the world through trade and technology, leading to political, economic, and social integration.
  • While globalization trends have occurred throughout history (e.g., trade routes, imperialism), the pace has accelerated in the last two centuries due to technological advancements.

Communication Technologies

  • Problem Solved: Geographical distance.
  • Early Technologies: Maritime innovation, railroads, and the telegram.
  • Radio:
    • Mass communication medium rose in popularity.
    • Allowed individuals to hear voices directly, eliminating the filter of news reporters.
    • Franklin Roosevelt used radio to communicate with Americans during the Great Depression and WWII, updating them on New Deal policies.
  • Television:
    • Replaced radio as the dominant form of mass communication by the 1960s.
    • Enabled connectivity through the air.
  • Cell Phones:
    • Allowed for global communication, regardless of location.
  • Internet:
    • Developed in the 1960s in the United States for military and scientific data sharing.
    • Became more affordable in the 1990s leading to the rise of personal computers and the World Wide Web.
    • By the millennium, it connected the world population through email and accelerated global communication and commerce.

Transportation Technologies

  • Automobiles:
    • Widespread use led to the creation of suburbs and fundamentally changed urban landscapes.
  • Air Travel:
    • Replaced railroads as the chief transportation technology in the mid-20th century, particularly in Western countries.
    • Economic growth after WWII made air travel more affordable, shrinking geographical distance.
  • Shipping Containers:
    • Standardized metal boxes for shipping non-bulk cargo (food, clothing, materials, ect.).
    • Facilitated the relocation of manufacturing to developing countries with lower labor costs, reducing the costs of final goods.

New Energy Technologies

  • Petroleum:
    • Refined into gasoline, diesel, and plastics.
  • Nuclear Power:
    • Harnessed nuclear power for energy production.
    • Championed as a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels because it is pollution free.
    • Nuclear disasters negatively affect nearby populations.

Medical Technologies

  • Birth Control:
    • The birth control pill was developed in the 1950s, using synthetic hormones to prevent pregnancy.
    • Led to a decline in fertility rates worldwide.

Agricultural Technologies

  • Commercial Farming:
    • Shift from subsistence farming to commercial farming, focused on selling agricultural products for profit.
    • Requires expensive technologies like motorized tractors and combines, mainly occurring in wealthier countries.
  • Green Revolution:
    • Genetic modification of food crops in the 1950s and 1960s led to new strains of high-yielding grains.
    • Introduced to developing countries like Mexico, India, and Indonesia, increasing crop yields significantly.
    • However, agricultural runoff could lead to significant pollution of freshwater sources.

Diseases in a Globalized World

  • Unequal Access to Medical Technology:
    • Wealthy nations have greater access to medical interventions than less developed nations.
    • Diseases persist in impoverished populations despite available cures.
  • Malaria:
    • Spread by infected mosquitoes in tropical regions.
    • Causes flu-like symptoms and can be fatal.
    • Effective medical interventions exist, but hundreds of thousands die yearly in impoverished regions (Sub-Saharan Africa).
  • Tuberculosis:
    • Airborne disease affecting the lungs and can be fatal.
    • A cure was developed at the end of the 19th century, but access to treatment is disproportionately in wealthy countries.
    • Disproportionately affects poor populations.
  • Pandemics
    • Spanish Flu:
      • Spread rapidly along trade routes that crisscrossed the world.
      • Killed around 50 million people, especially those orking age.
      • Medical science could not stop the spread of the virus.
    • HIV/AIDS:
      • Began in the 1980s, leading to millions of deaths worldwide.
      • HIV causes AIDS, which weakens the immune system.
      • Funding for research was difficult early because it was associated with gay men and drug addicts.
    • COVID-19:
      • Emerged in 2020, transmitted through the air.
      • Spread globally, leading to the closure of schools and businesses and affecting global economics.
      • A vaccine was rapidly developed and distributed globally.
  • Diseases of Affluence:
    • Alzheimer's Disease:
      • Associated with old age and a product of generally living longer.
      • Undermines basic bodily functions.
    • Heart Disease:
      • Longer lifespans and poor life choices or genetics increasing the number of cases.

Environmental Effects of Globalization

  • Environment Definition:
    • The physical world and human interaction with it.
  • Industrialization and Urbanization
    • Have led to significant negative human impacts on the land.
  • Deforestation:
    • Large-scale clearing of trees.
    • Driven by urbanization/urban sprawl and the need for more farmland.
    • Urban sprawl:
      • Increasing size of urban footprint.
      • People moving outside crowded cities.
    • Leads to: loss of animal habitats and species extinction, increased pollution due to erosion and pesticide runoff.
  • Desertification:
    • Transformation of fertile land into infertile land.
    • Occurs when land is not well-suited or managed for agriculture, causing the ground to be emptied of nutrients.
    • Often caused by large-scale commercial farming.
  • Air and Water Problems:
    • Air Pollution:
      • Global spread of industry and reliance on fossil fuels has caused significant air pollution in major cities.
      • Example: The Great Smog in London in 1952.
      • Example: Mexico City air pollution caused approximately 35,000 deaths per year (2002).
    • Fresh Water Supply:
      • Increased competition due to rising global population and industrial-scale farming.
      • Only about 3% of water is usable by humans.
      • Many developing nations lack access to clean water.
      • WHO Estimate: Half of the world's population lacks clean drinking water.
  • Climate Change:
    • Warming of the planet due to the release of greenhouse gases.
    • Debate over the causes of warming (human vs. natural cycle).
    • Debate influenced by: Economic implications of reducing industrial growth to lower emissions.
    • Developed nations became wealthy by using industrial technologies, contributing to climate change.
    • Restricting greenhouse gases would limit developing nations access to tools for economic well-being.