NATS 1840 – Lecture 18 - The Environmental Impacts of Globalization: Technology
Enables Industry
Globalization and the Environment
- globalization, economic, social and technological connections
- impact of globalization on environment, anthropogenic climate change
- mitigation or magnification of impacts
- transportation technologies, "... billions of tons of fuel, ores, cement, fertilizers, and feed- and
foodstuffs and an enormous variety of industrial goods.."
- high levels of consumption, extraction technologies, removal and processing of natural resources
- prime movers, sources of power for transportation technologies (engines) , technologies (planes, ships)
- cost, reliability and speed of transportation of goods in globalized market
- Scope and speed of transportation technology, actions, pace
- low power density sources, low efficiencies
What is Globalization?
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atmospheric circulation, plate tectonics
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Processes that occur on all continents or on all oceans or in all societies, not “spatially
continuous”
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Invasive species or soil erosion, not spatially connected
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Economic globalization: globalization in second sense
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Globalization of trade, prime movers, previously unused and environmentally “pristine” areas,
heavy traffic corridors and waste repositories
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1492 Europeans “discovery” of new world, migration, capitalism
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prehistoric long distance trade and communication
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Pre-modern globalization (large number of regional centres with small exchange) early modern
globalization (16th century. colonialism), expansion and connections of 19th century imperialism
Early History of Globalization
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Around the world voyage of Ferdinand Magellan in 1519, one ship from 5, 3 years, 18 of 234
men
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Trade in spices, cocoa, coffee, tea, porcelain, silk and precious metals, Europe, the Americas,
Africa, Asia and Southeast Asia
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gold and silver currency, luxury items, necessity and excess
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18th wealthy display of exotic items, knowledge of exotic materials socially significant
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19th century “all major islands and all great sailing passages” except for the arctic open for
exploration
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1500 to 1820 world trade grew three times faster than the global economy
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Prime mover of early globalization the sail, wind energy and motion
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Sails and wind, changing course
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Early 20th century. 9.3 m/s, steam powered ship
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Early steam engines extremely inefficient , improvements, middle of the 19th century Atlantic
crossing, sail still dominant
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End of the 19th century to WWI steam became dominant:
o
Screw propellers replaced paddle wheels, steel hulls increased size and speed, steam
engines increased in efficiency
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Large numbers of goods and people, majority of European immigrants and steam ships
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Late 19th century, food grown in temperate climates, cheap labor bulky commodities and
refrigerated meat
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Share of exports in total economic productivity of ten of industrialized countries 12%, 20-25%
by 1913
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Steam powered ships slow, retained dominant position in international shipping until WWII
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Post 1945 wave of globalization: two-stroke internal combustion Diesel engines (for ships) and
gas turbines (for planes)
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Technical commentators and historians ignored slow but significant development of diesel
engine
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Diesel engines and gas turbines more important to globalization of economy than corporate
structures or trade agreements, technologies have no immediate substitutes
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Not cause of globalization, enablers
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Globalization linked to environmental problems (increased production levels, pollution,
displacement of natural resources), technology makes this possible, increased impact on
environment
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technology or human attitude to environment
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