Environmental change: degradation through raw material production

Identify the effects of agro-industrialization and changes in international production and consumption on the physical environment.

Agro-industrialisation is defined as the industrialisation of a developing country's agricultural yields (for example: their crops). Interestingly, agro-industrialisation is seen as a negative thing, because of the exploitation of a country's raw materials and resources. 

A case study which conceptualises the negative effects of agro-industrialisation is how the consumption of flowers in the UK is industrialising Kenya's agricultural yields and emptying its rivers. This article from The Guardian perfectly encapsulates what is happening in Kenya.

Some disadvantages are:

• River Ngiro in Kenya is a river that provides water for sustenance farmers as well as industrial farmers who eventually export to the UK. The water in Ngiro river has decreased so much that it is merely ankle deep; obviously not enough to sustain even a village for a decent amount of time. 
• The head of water authority in Kenya is accusing the 12 largest flower firms of "stealing" up to 25% of the river's waters -- that 25% would normally cater to around 100,000 sustenance farmers.
• He also claims that "they steal [water] between 10pm and 2am" when they think that the people are sleeping.
• The river is now 60 miles short of what it used to be. 
• There is a 100km stretch of the river which is now dry, due to the large firms blocking the water flow from the mountains.
• An interesting point that was made in the article is that Kenya is one of the driest countries in the world, yet they are exporting to one of the wettest.
• Also, that a flower in 90% water, so the amount of water needed is extremely high.
• Not only has the water been decreasing, what remains of the river is now riddled with pesticides.

What has been the response?

• Authorities are currently calculating how much water is being taken by these flower firms.
• They are also locking up water outlets to prevent future theft by the flower firms.

Well, not everything can be bad right?

In this other article from The Guardian, it talks about the ethical and environmental impacts of buying flowers from Kenya, specifically on Valentine's day. There are some good things about buying flowers from Kenya:

• Increased exports of flowers in Kenya have provided jobs for 500,000 people and more than 1 million people are employed through auxiliary jobs.
• Carbon emissions in Kenya and waaaay less that England. Kenya's carbon footprint is 0.2 tonnes per year, whilst England's is 9.3 tonnes per year. That is only 0.1% of England's carbon footprint.

Information Flows: Outsourcing

Upon reading about offshore outsourcing in the IT department, I found it interesting that The Philippines is emerging as one of the "hotspots" for call centres. This is the article that talks about the reasons behind Philippines becoming a desirable place for call centres.

In the article, it is said that Filipinos make good call centre agents because they can appeal to the American customers because of their ability to emulate the American accent.

It is also said in the article that Filipinos enjoy working for call centre despite the "unsociable" hours, because they can get paid more than their alternative jobs - namely, nursing and OFW jobs. The average wage is Php1000 per session, which is twice the minimum wage.

Furthermore, this Greenfield Geography website made a chart about the reasons why TNC's outsource. One of the reasons is to cut costs, as seen in the chart below. A way in which these corporations cut costs is by paying the workers in developing countries a lower wage.

Along with the benefits of call centres, there has been some criticism as to the exploitation of labour in developing countries. This raised a question in my mind, which is:

If the workers are earning more than what they normally would (a.k.a minimum wage), do the call centres deserve the criticism that they receive about exploiting workers? Has the "happy medium" been achieved with regards to what the workers should receive and what they actually receive?

On multi-governmental organisations: "20 years on, does NAFTA need an overhaul?"

Summary of the Article:

As the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) turns 20 years old, there has been some evaluation regarding its success and downfall. The three economies have benefitted from NAFTA in terms of employment, however Mexico has since received between $15 billion to $20 billion in foreign direct investments from a previous $3 billion, and now exports $1 billion per annum. However, behind its success, NAFTA has experienced some criticism about opening up markets and competition.

My thoughts:

Although NAFTA seems to be greatly benefitting Mexico the most, the free trade agreements may be causing a loss of sovereignty. This could be a result of the United State's influence in NAFTA, because they have the greatest economic output, therefore they have the strongest foothold in the flow of goods and services. What this could mean is that if at any point the US does not benefit as much as they would like, they have an economic advantage over Mexico, so Mexico essentially has to "trade" in favour of the US. This way, Mexico looses sovereignty because despite being able to trade freely in order to maximise their economic gain, they much also be aware of the implications that their actions have on the US (or even Canada). In my opinion, they are not gaining as much as they potentially could, merely because they have a smaller economic output compared to the US. 

Furthermore, despite the criticisms about NAFTA, opening up markets and allowing competition is always more advantageous than setting up trading blocks that limit the flow of goods and services amongst willing and able nations.

Link for the article:

http://www.dw.de/20-years-on-does-nafta-need-an-overhaul/a-17453191

How has KitKat intentionally and unintentionally spread consumerism through cultural diffusion?

Consumerism is colloquially used as a word that describes the encouragement of purchasing goods and services at a larger amount and with more frequency.  On the other hand, cultural diffusion can be classified as the voluntary change in aspects of a certain culture.


Let's take a look at the transnational corporation, KitKat.  Originally, it was a brand that could only be found in England, however, globalisation has caused its global popularity to increase. Now kitkat can be found internationally.

So how has KitKat spread consumerism through cultural diffusion?

Since it was originally a western company, its products did not appeal to the typical customer in eastern (Asian) countries. So to increase its range of customers, KitKat created a number of new flavours that would appeal to its global customers. 24 of these flavours can be seen below. The flavours include: Green Tea (Japan), Bubble Gum (Japan), Royal Milk Tea (UK), Tiramisu (UK), Banana (Canada), and Honeycomb (Australia).

Through these new flavours, KitKat is encouraging consumerism through cultural diffusion. They are appealing to the culture of the customers, and are therefore encouraging consumption. And since the customers are interested in these flavours, they are inclined to purchase them. So this becomes a voluntary change in purchasing and consumption.


KitKat is not alone in their pursuit of encouraging consumerism. Many transnational corporations intend to increase their scope of consumers, often to ultimately increase profit. Cultural diffusion is an effective method in doing so, because both the consumers and the corporations are benefitting. The consumers enjoy the satisfaction of familiarity, whilst the corporations enjoy the satisfaction of more consumers and more revenue. And lastly, more revenue encourages innovation, therefore new ideas will continue to flourish, so these new ideas will continue to encourage consumerism through cultural diffusion again and again.

Pros and Cons of Globalisation

Pros

Space-Time Convergence.

• Space and time is seemingly shrunk with increased communication amongst family members, friends, and business people.
• Skype & other social networking sites.
• Increased availability and accessibility of information in online databases.
• Google, Wikipedia, etc.

Increased international awareness.

• Leads to more awareness of ongoing global issues and charities.
• Unicef.
• Opens up the platform for global collaboration with rescue and relief.
• Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) person finder.
•  

Increased trade amongst countries.

• Aids in overall economic growth and development, as well as the increased demand for foreign products.
• Creates diversity within countries and people.
• Ultimately increases productivity and efficiency because of comparative advantage between countries.

Cons

Makes illicit trade more ominous and widespread.

• This type of trade is growing 7 times faster that "normal" trade, and is predicted to account for 10% of world trade.

Increased gap between rich and poor (MEDC and LEDC).

• Leads to the exploitation of the LEDC's
• Nike has been criticised for outsourcing employment in LEDC's and exposing workers to extremely dangerous environments.
• MEDC's ultimately have more power, they have a larger foothold in the global market.
• Strain on resources have caused the LEDC's to gain control of an LEDC's natural resources.
• Oil.

Increased global communication --> abusing the benefits of the internet.

• Increased illegal activity online.
• Child pornography & more communication about human trafficking.
• Online black markets.
• Purchasing of illegal drugs & increased accessibility of illegal downloads.
• The anonymity of the internet has allowed for more online bullying.

Loss of cultural identity.

• Certain ideas are becoming more dominant than others, and are causing a loss in cultural identity and decreased cultural sensitivity.
• Plastic surgery in order to look like a certain race, tanning lotion, whitening cream, etc.

Group Blog #2 - Group A

Distinguish between two chosen hazards in terms of their spatial extent, predictability, frequency, magnitude, duration, speed of onset and effects. [10 marks]

In a world constantly changing, natural hazards are common and sometimes inevitable. There are numerous kinds of hazards. Namely, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, hurricanes, typhoons, and drought. The chief focus of this essay is to distinguish between earthquakes and typhoons/hurricanes. 

Spatial Extent:

Earthquakes and typhoons are very different in that they are two kinds of extremes. Earthquakes occur within the earth, whilst typhoons are occur in the sky. Earthquakes are caused by the movement of tectonic plates, therefore they happen mostly along tectonic plate boundaries. 

Figure 1: map of tectonic plates

Figure 1 above shows the tectonic plates. A recurring location for earthquakes is Japan, which lies directly on the boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Plate.

Typhoons on the other hand, these occur in low pressure systems above tropical waters. Eastern and Southeast Asian countries, such as Philippines, India, and China experience numerous typhoons annually. 

Figure 2: spatial distribution of hurricanes/typhoons

As evident in figure 2, typhoons are abundant along the tropics, as well as in northern Australia.

Predictability

Earthquakes and Typhoons are distinct in that earthquakes are difficult to predict, because the only definite way of predicting a quake is moments before it strikes, through foreshocks. On the other hand, typhoons can be more easily tracked and predicted. This is because typhoons form a large mass of wind, rain, and clouds that can easily be seen by a satellite.

Frequency & Magnitude

Earthquakes happen frequently, but the magnitude differs. Generally speaking, the greater the magnitude, the less frequent the quake. A magnitude of less than 2 on the Richter scale happen several million times in one year, while a magnitude of 9 or greater will occur once in 10-50 years. For example, during the 2010 Christchurch earthquake, there were 12,911 quakes within 24 hours. 

Typhoons as a whole do not occur as often as earthquakes, stronger typhoons are much more common than stronger earthquakes. Most typhoons typically occur in the months of June and July, and become less frequent in the months of January and February. The reason for the large occurrence in June/July is because of the warmer waters. Stats show that between 1959 and 2011, there was an average of 5.6 typhoons in the month of August.

Figure 3:Satellite image of typhoon Yolanda approaching the Philippines

Speed of Onset

An earthquake typically lasts only a few seconds, however, the aftershocks can continue for months after the initial quake. For example, in Japan, the earthquake that happened in April of 2011, had aftershocks as far as December 2012. Typhoons, typically last longer than an earthquake. They can last from a few hours and a couple of days, depending on the speed and velocity. 

Effects 

Both earthquakes and typhoons can potentially cause a range of damages, from minimal damage to catastrophic. 

This can be seen through earthquakes. There are thousands of quakes a day and very little are felt on the surface. Conversely, earthquakes have the potential to cause massive destruction. An example is the 9.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan. It caused a tsunami with 13,355 fatalities. 

Figure 4: Damage caused by Christchurch earthquake

Typhoons bring a lot of rain and wind to a particular area. Hurricane Frances in 2004 only caused 6 casualties, wherein Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, which was recorded as the strongest typhoon to ever hit landfall, caused 5,260 casualties. Asides from lives being taken, the livelihood of people can be destroyed. In areas such as the Philippines, during the strongest typhoons, farmers lose their crops and fishermen suffer from a decline in fish yields. The extent of these damages can be seen globally, and do not only occur in LEDC's.

Figure 5: Damage caused by typhoon Yolanda

In conclusion, earthquakes and typhoons differ greatly in characteristics, predictability, and spatial distribution, however, they are similar in that they can cause catastrophic damages to the infrastructure of an area as well as destroying the livelihoods of numerous people, especially in LEDC's. Natural hazards are, as they are called, natural. These are often inevitable and the best way to approach these hazards is to be prepared. 

Group Blog #1 - Individual

Explain the characteristics and spatial distribution of the following hazards using at least two specific examples. [10 marks]

It is important to be aware of hazards, especially the characteristics and spatial distribution. Knowing about hazards can help prevent future repetition, by educating the people. Characteristics are essentially the facts, whilst the spatial distribution is the location of the hazard and the area it affects. The characteristics and spatial distributions will be discussed in light of two disastrous earthquakes: the 2010 Christchurch Earthquake and the 2011 Japan Earthquake.
The Christchurch Earthquake happened on September 4, 2010 in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. Christchurch is New Zealand’s second largest city, with approximately 386,000 people (BBC). Fortunately, there were no direct casualties, and only a few injured people (BBC). It is arguable that the reason behind the minimal casualties is because the quake took place at 4am, where there were little to no people on the streets.

Figure 1: Before and after image of a building in Christchurch.

The quake scored a 7.1 on the Richter scale, and lasted around 40 seconds (TVNZ). On the same day, there were 12,911 after shocks, not all of which were felt on the surface (Nicholls). The quake was surprisingly not predictable, because though New Zealand lies in the boundary of the Australian the Pacific plates, the fault line runs along the southern alps, which is a considerable distance from Christchurch. Experts only discovered and declared a fault line under the Canterbury plains – the area of relatively flat land between Christchurch and the Southern Alps – upon the event of the earthquake (BBC & Nicholls). Moreover, the epicenter is in the Canterbury plains, some 35kilometres away from the city centre, and is only about 12kilometres deep.

Figure 2: 7.1 magnitude earthquake's epicentre and area of influence. Christchurch is to the east, and the Southern Alps is to the west.

On the other hand, the 2011 Earthquake that hit eastern Japan, near the city of Sendai, was notably more disastrous. The quake affected 2,100km of coastline, including the city of Tokyo. This quake was particularly damaging because it caused a 7metre tsunami, which hit Hawaii within 24 hours. The tsunami was so large in scale that there were warnings along the west coast of the United States, Canada, and South America. Additionally, a few nuclear power plants were affected, which consequently affected some surrounding residential areas, hundreds of kilometres away from the epicenter (Huffington Post).

Figure 3: Map showing the epicentre, neighbouring city of Sendai,and the eastern coast that was affected.

The quake was reported to have a magnitude of 8.9 on the Richter scale, with over 50 after shocks, some of which had a magnitude of over 6.0 on the Richter scale. Unlike the Christchurch Earthquakes, this quake was somewhat predictable, because Japan is a country that has experienced its share of destructive earthquakes, such as the 1996 earthquake in Kobe that caused over 100,000 casualties (Huffington Post).There is no denial that earthquakes, as well as other natural disasters, are inevitable. However, being aware of the causes and vulnerability of a certain place to certain disasters can aid in future planning, in order to avoid repetition and to perhaps fix the catastrophic damage that is still visible from these quakes. It is far more beneficial for people to learn about these hazards, so that they can invest in proper infrastructure and safety methods for the future.

Citations:

"Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake Hits Chch." TVNZ. N.p., 4 Sept. 2010. Web. 18 Jan. 2014. <http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/magnitude-7-1-earthquake-hits-chch-3759865>.

Nicholls, Paul. "Christchurch Quake Map." Christchurch Quake Map. University of Canterbury's Digital Group, n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2014. <http://www.christchurchquakemap.co.nz/>.

Snyder, Whitney. "Japan Earthquake 2011: 8.9 Magnitude Earthquake Hits, 30-Foot Tsunami Triggered." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 18 Jan. 2014. 

<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/11/japan-earthquake-tsunami_n_834380.html>.

"Strong Earthquake Rocks New Zealand's South Island." BBC News. BBC, 3 Sept. 2010. Web. 18 Jan. 2014. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11183685>.

Figure 1: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj978UNoZqnAEHh328pTVA24bEH-Wqa0bEClEDZK4yxSSDb_VulqiGAxcQqoxMB6c3Tv_iztiIc3cTukQ12hohPpiEey_HzdZm2mvuu1TdsrWEJMS-Ll5Hhsa_lhRdKiL9SCfFBRQfYvEi4/s1600/11PyneGould.jpg

Figure 2: http://www.christchurchquakemap.co.nz/largest

Figure 3: http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/mp/stTwmvCmbXJl.jpg