Global Issues: An Introduction

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.

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

About the Author :
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.