Global Issues

by Hite, Kristen A.; Seitz, John L.

• ISBN13: 9781118968857
• ISBN10: 1118968859
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2016-01-26
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Now reorganized and updated throughout, the fifth edition of this well-regarded introductory global issues text continues to reflect the most important aspects of an increasingly globalized world.

• Reorganized into more accessible chapters better suited to semester-long courses, with new sections covering development, climate change, pollution, and governance
• The only survey-level text in the field to unite the perspectives of geography, political science, sociology, ecology, international relations, economics, and development studies
• Moves beyond the international to be truly global in focus, with coverage of topics such as wealth and poverty, population, food, energy, natural resources, and technology
• Incorporates new case studies and examples, including the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the effects of changing water supply on migration, natural gas fracking, and smart grid technology
• Offers a dynamic and accessible narrative with many student-friendly features, such as chapter boxes, a glossary of terms, guides to further reading, media and Internet resources

Discover up-to-date related news articles for inspiring discussion and research at https://www.facebook.com/GlobalIssuesHiteSeitz.

Author Biography

Kristen A. Hite teaches international environmental law and global administrative law classes at the Francis King Carey School of Law at the University of Maryland, USA and serves as senior advisor to Victori Tauli-Corpuz, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. She also leads a consulting practice for clients supporting public interest work on climate change, forests, and community rights. Her research focuses on international institutions and the role of social and environmental policies, tenure and human rights in pursuit of sustainable development. She has taught at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies as well as American University’s School of International Service, and has lectured extensively around the world in locations ranging from Pekanbaru, Indonesia, to World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC.

John L. Seitz is Professor Emeritus of Government at Wofford College, USA. He earned a BA and MPA from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, and a PhD in political science from the University of Wisconsin. He is a Member of Phi Beta Kappa and has extensive first-hand experience of South Korea, Iran, Brazil, Liberia, and Pakistan. Previous editions of this book, for which he was sole author, have been used around the world and have been translated into a number of languages, including Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese.

Table of Contents

List of Plates xii

List of Figures, Maps, and Tables xiv

Acknowledgments xvi

Foreword xvii

Introduction 1

The Creation of Global Issues 1

Developing toward What? 2

Notes 5

1 Population 7

The Changing Population of the World 8

Causes of the Population Explosion 17

How Population Growth Affects Development 20

Rapid growth 21

Slow growth 22

An aging population and low birth rates 22

International conferences on population 24

How Development Affects Population Growth 26

Demographic transition 26

Factors lowering birth rates 28

Governmental Population Policies 31

Controlling growth 31

Promoting growth 36

The Future 38

The growth of the world’s population 38

The carrying capacity of the Earth 39

Optimum size of the Earth’s population 42

Population-related problems in our future 43

Conclusions 44

Notes 46

Further Reading 49

2 Wealt hand Poverty 51

Wave of Hope: The Millennium Development Goals 55

A Pessimistic View: The Persistence of Poverty 57

Development Assistance and Foreign Aid 59

A Market Approach 63

The State as Economic Actor 67

A Blended Approach 70

Geography and Wealth, Geography and Poverty 72

Globalization 73

Positive aspects 75

Negative aspects 76

An evaluation 77

Conclusions 78

Notes 80

Further Reading 83

3 Food 85

World Food Production 86

How Many Are Hungry? 87

Causes of World Hunger 89

How Food Affects Development 91

How Development Affects Food 93

The production of food 93

The loss of food 97

The type of food 100

The “Green” Revolution 105

Fertilizers 106

Pesticides 106

Irrigation 107

The future 107

Governmental Food Policies 108

Future Food Supplies 111

Climate 111

Arable land 112

Energy costs 114

Traditional/sustainable/organic agriculture 114

Biotechnology 115

Fishing and aquaculture 117

Future food production 119

Conclusions 120

Notes 121

Further Reading 127

4 Energy 129

The Energy-Climate Crisis 130

Energy and security 132

Government Responses to the Energy-Climate Crisis 133

The United States 134

Western Europe 136

Japan 136

China 138

The Effect of the Energy-Climate Crisis on Countries’ Development Plans 140

The Relationship between Energy Use and Development 141

A shift in types of energy 141

Increased use 142

The decoupling of energy consumption and economic growth 142

The Energy Transition 147

Nonrenewable energy sources 147

Renewable energy sources 148

Conservation/energy efficiency 155

Nuclear Power: A Case Study 157

The potential and the peril 158

The choice 161

Conclusions 164

Notes 165

Further Reading 169

5 Climate Change 170

The Evidence and Impacts 172

Warmer temperatures 172

Food and water 174

Extreme weather 174

Sea level rise 175

Coral reefs 176

Air pollution 178

Infectious diseases 178

Agriculture 178

Disruption of natural ecosystems 179

Regional impacts 179

Uncertainties 180

What Is Being Done at Present? 181

What More Can Be Done? 182

Conclusion 185

Notes 185

Further Reading 187

6 The Environment: Part I 189

The Awakening 190

The Air 192

Smog 192

Airborne lead 196

Ozone depletion 198

Acid rain 200

Climate change (global warming) 202

TheWater 203

Water quantity 203

Water quality 203

The Land 206

Minerals 206

Deforestation 207

The Extinction of Species 211

The Extinction of Cultures 215

The Yanomami 216

Notes 218

7 The Environment: Part II 224

TheWorkplace and the Home 224

Cancer 224

Chemicals 225

Pesticides 226

ManagingWaste 228

Solid wastes 228

Toxic wastes 230

Governmental and industrial responses to the waste problem 232

Responsible Use 233

Resource efficiency 233

Recycling 234

Substitution 235

Reducing needs 236

Environmental Politics 236

Overdevelopment 238

Conclusions 238

Notes 239

Further Reading 242

8 Technology 244

Benefits of Technology 245

Unanticipated Consequences of the Use of Technology 245

DDT 247

Factory farms 248

Inappropriate Uses of Technology 250

Limits to the “Technological Fix” 253

War 255

The Threat of NuclearWeapons: A Case Study 257

The threat 258

New dangers 260

Conclusions 264

Notes 264

Further Reading 266

9 Alternative Futures 268

Development Pathways: Evaluating Our Current Situation 269

Current Outlook: Business as Usual 270

Collapse and Sustainable Development 272

Choices 274

Improve production 275

Reduce demand 275

Governance: Deciding How to Act on the ChoicesWe Make 276

Governing the commons 276

Inclusive governance and the role of civil society 278

Conclusion 282

Notes 284

Further Reading 287

Appendix 1: Studying and Teaching Global Issues 289

Appendix 2: Relevant Videos 297

Appendix 3: Relevant InternetWebsites 308

Appendix 4: The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 314

Glossary 317

Index 323