Beijing's Pollution Struggle

Describe one major pollution event affecting more than one country and examine the consequences of and responses to this event:

Beijing, the world's largest, and most densely populated city in the world faces issues regarding air pollution several times a year. During the first month of 2013, Beijing had one of the worst pollution events in history which was magnified with the lack of air circulation and freezing temperatures. IT has been dubbed the worst pollution event created by man made emissions. The US embassy in Beijing has recorded an air quality index of 755 which is about 50% more then the maximum limit.

The pollution events faced by the people of Beijing can cause many consequences. The majority of the population of Beijing will be faced with impaired lung functions as most of them don't have access to homes with air circulation filtration systems. The pollution also affects the agriculture of the area, the agriculture is likely to be toxic as it is exposed to such harsh conditions. Ecosystems are severely affected as pollution is constantly dumped into rivers and oceans, as well as land animals suffering from impaired lungs due to air pollution.

Are call centres the factories of the 21st Century?

This article expressed that perhaps call centers are becoming the factories from the industrial revolution of the 21st century.Call center pioneer 'Direct Line' opened its lines in Croydon, south London, with 63 employees on 2 April 1985, no-one could have imagined the impact it would have on the UK's service industry. The sprouting of the new 'contact industry' in countries all over the world can help generate a greater source in developing countries. This is due to call centers becoming more common among countries especially in developing countries such as India and the Philippines.

How do you think call centers will affect the economy of developing countries in the next 20-30 years?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12691704

Nafta Trade Value Rises 2.6% in 2013

• The growth in trade has increased between the USA and Mexico/Canada increased by 2.6% compared to 2012.
• $66.1 Billion dollars worth of exports and imports were distributed by trucks alone.
• Exports rose by 3.6% and imports by 1.8%

I found it interesting how goods are exported and imported to neighboring countries from a country with numerous transnational corporations such as the USA. The increase in exports by 3.6% and imports by 1.8% most likely indicate that globalization increases as well. It is also easily to relate to this article as i see trucks pass through the South Luzon Expressway everyday as i go to school everyday. It makes me realize how much products are being imported and exported in central Luzon.

http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=34467

Socio-Cultural Exchange

The concepts of cultural diffusion (voluntary/consented change in culture) can be seen in several trans-national corporations which have intentionally or unintentionally spread consumerism. Consumerism can be defined as the social/economic influence that encourages an increase of the purchase of goods and services in greater amounts. This is used by corporations to encourage people to feel like they need to purchase certain products. Nike is an example of a well known transnational corporation that has utilized the concepts of consumerism through cultural diffusion. Nike has pushed consumerism through marketing strategies such as fashion trends, advertisement, and gimmicks.

In commercialized countries, people tend to follow latest fashion trends in order to conform with society's expectations. A trans-national corporation like Nike has adapted to appealing to the vast majority of the public by studying latest fashion trends and incorporating them into their products. This incorporation of fashion in their products evolve as latest fashion trends change. This will appeal more to the public as people will be more attracted to Nike's products that fit in nicely with latest fashion trends thus increasing purchases of goods.

Trans-national corporations such as Nike utilize advertisement techniques to spread awareness to potential consumers. Nike uses advertisements to grab the attention of a population through the means of media outlets such as television, internet, billboards, and magazines. Popular human figures are also used to advertise the company by holding their brand name or logo. Through advertisement, trans-national corporations such as Nike gain popularity as people become more aware of the company. As popularity rises, more people are likely to purchase goods and/or services from the company.

Gimmickry is used by trans-national corporations such as Nike in order to trick a population into purchasing their products. Encouraging consumers to purchase goods and/or products by making them believe that they need their products by displaying true or false advantages the product may provide for the consumers i.e. gel soles on shoes for "extra comfort".

Certain strategies are used by trans-national corporations such as Nike in order to increase consumers and consumer consumption of their products. A company like Nike uses marketing strategies such as advertisements, gimmicks, and fashion trends to increase their revenues.

Geography Group Project Response 1 (Swim Group: Andrew, Vendela, Patrick, Gabo)

Human-induced hazards are in essence, risks brought upon by human creations. These hazards can result in disasters when there are failures in the man-made system. Human-induced disasters often result in mass death, harm to the environment, as well as extreme damages to infrastructure, overall affecting the wellbeing of a population. Two examples of human-induced hazards that resulted into infamous disasters are the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill and the Cherynobyl Nuclear Power Plant Disaster.

 The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill took place on March 24, 1989 on the tanker Exxon Valdez making its way from Valdez, Alaska to Los Angeles, California spilled approximately 10.9 million gallons of Prudhoe Bay crude oil into Bligh Reef, Prince William Sound, Alaska. The oil dispersed after a storm a few days after the spill, overall spreading out to over 9,000 miles of shoreline. Shoreline clean up carried out for around a year and half and the area is still being monitored for long term effects of such a large oil spill. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill of 1989 is considered an example of a human-induced hazard that triggered a human-induced disaster because the spill occurred as a result of human error. The Exxon Mobile company is one of the top 5 public companies in the world and the richest company for oil, the Exxon Valdez being one of their tankers. Prior to the oil spill, the Exxon Valdez ran into icebergs along the shipping lanes and as a result navigated away from the lanes. Despite instructions to move back into the shipping lanes after a certain point, the pilots on the Exxon Valdez did not and as a result ran the ship aground on Bligh Reef. Although there is no definite explanation as to why instructions were not met, there have been speculations as to whether Exxon Mobile provided adequate, well-rested crew aboard the Exxon Valdez or whether it was a flaw in the traffic system. As a result of this oil spill, there were economic, social, as well as environmental impacts. Some economic impacts include loss of recreational sport fishing, loss of tourism, as well as an overall loss in value of the Prince William Sound region to the public. Costs to relocate the birds and other marine and wild life after the spill also negatively impacted the economy. The herring population significantly decreased and as a result forced many companies who were reliant on herring out of business.  Social impacts include the loss of business and homes and the overall stress of the situation resulted in higher alcoholism and violence incidents. Finally, environmental impacts include loss of biodiversity as well as loss of habitat of the many shore/sea birds and marine/terrestrial mammals.

 The Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Disaster took place on April 26^th 1986 and is another example of a human-induced disaster. The disaster took place in Chernobyl Ukraine after there were a series of explosions during an emergency power failure drill. This occurred when nuclear reactors overheated as the emergency generators powered up. The explosions released radioactive fuel and material into the atmosphere and surrounding areas making Chernobyl highly radioactive and un-useable for the next 200 years. As a result, approximately 237 people suffered acute radiation sickness, 52 died in the months following the accident, and in total 135,000 people were evacuated from the area and forced to relocate. Some economic impacts include the loss in profits from agriculture as a result of contaminated farm land. This subsequently affected not only Ukraine but also countries such as Russia and Belarus.

There are some similarities that can be seen in the two examples. Both the Exxon Oil Spill and the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster had drastic negative impacts on the surrounding areas economically, socially, as well as environmentally and in general affected the wellbeing of the population (Human and other organisms). As well, both disasters originated as a result of pre-existing hazards; the Exxon Valdez  navigating through obstructed shipping lanes with over 53 million gallons cargo of crude oil and the Chernobyl Nuclear engineers dealing with large amounts of radiation. Furthermore, both disasters resulted out of human error and flaws in man-made systems. The differences that can be seen include the magnitude of the disaster as well as the amount of full restoration time. Overall however, the two examples are relatively the same in that they are both human-induced and have serious ramifications for all those affected. Some potential precautions that can be taken in the future for the Exxon Oil Spill include:

1. Add more staff on board the ships for futher assistance in hazardous situations

2. Decrease work time so staff can get more sleep and less fatigue

 3.Provide alcohol and drug test when going on board the ship

4. Provide alternative routes for the ship in case of climate causes IE iceberg

5.  Provide a better quality of training for the staff in order to deal with uncommon situations.

Some potential precautions that can be taken in the future for the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Incident include:

1.  Place nuclear power plants away from cluster of towns/cities to avoid mass exodus of people when an accident occurs.

2.  Provide better quality of training for the personnel so that they become highly skilled and knowledgeable in the field of nuclear engineering.

3. Place strict, adequate chief engineers within the power plant as the engineers tested an unauthorized test.

 4. Design better nuclear reactors that are more resistant to overheating.

5. Have firefighters, and a crew nearby to slow down the leakage of radiation in an event of emergency.

http://useconomy.about.com/od/worldeconomy/a/Chernobyl-Nuclear-Power-Plant-Disaster.htm

http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Chernobyl/chernobyl.pdf

http://www.greenfacts.org/en/chernobyl/index.htm#5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster#Effects

http://greenfieldgeography.wikispaces.com/Human-induced+Hazard

http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/152720/