Aim: Has globalization changed the world environment for the better? Do Now: How concerned about the global environment should we be?

The Green Revolution 1930s – 1960s Scientists created new, high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice. Synthetic fertilizers and pesticides replaced dung. Tractors replaced bulls. The goal was to increase crops. The Green Revolution mostly affected agriculture in the Philippines, Pakistan, Mexico, India, and other developing nations. Poor infrastructure, high transport costs, and limited investment in irrigation reduced the impact of the Green Revolution in Africa.

Green Revolution in India

Green Revolution in Africa Left: KENYAN VEGETABLE FARMER HARVESTING SPINACH WITH HER WHEELBARROW Right: Nigeria

The Green Revolution Continued… Rachel Carson, a scientist, wrote Silent Spring (1962) warning against the use of pesticides such as DDT, arguing they harmed birds and contaminated the world food supply. The book's famous chapter, "A Fable for Tomorrow," depicted a nameless American town where all life -- from fish to birds to human children -- had been "silenced" by the effects of DDT. http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/hcarson.asp

DDT Spraying

Rachel Carson Criticism CRITICISM: “…DDT kills mosquitoes, which carry malaria, which was all but eradicated before DDT was banned… According to these CDC figures, malaria kills more than 800,000 children under age five every year… a disease once nearly eradicated. Ponder that.” http://www.forbes.com/sites/henrymiller/2012/09/05/rachel-carsons-deadly-fantasies/

The World Wildlife Fund “The world’s leading conservation organization, WWF works in 100 countries... WWF’s unique way of working combines global reach with a foundation in science, involves action at every level from local to global, and ensures the delivery of innovative solutions that meet the needs of both people and nature.” www.worldwildlife.org “WWF International, the world's largest conservation group, has been accused of "selling its soul" by forging alliances with powerful businesses which destroy nature and use the WWF brand to "greenwash" their operations… "WWF is a willing service provider to the giants of the food and energy sectors, supplying industry with a green, progressive image … On the one hand it protects the forest; on the other it helps corporations lay claim to land not previously in their grasp. WWF helps sell the idea of voluntary resettlement to indigenous peoples," says Huismann…” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/04/wwf-international-selling-its-soul-corporations "If I were reincarnated I would wish to be returned to earth as a killer virus to lower human population levels" - Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, leader of the World Wildlife Fund, Dec 1995.

The Global Environment The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the UN’s Convention on Climate Change, which aims to set internationally binding emission reduction targets. Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities." The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan in 1997 and entered into force in 2005. https://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php On why the US did not participate in the Kyoto Protocol: “U.S. President George W. Bush said in a Danish TV interview aired Thursday that adhering to the Kyoto treaty on climate change would have "wrecked" the U.S. economy…” nbcnews.com June 30, 2005

The Global Environment Continued… “Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals1 show that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree: Climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities.” http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/ The question of HOW to deal with climate change is highly political. Cap and Trade sets an overall cap, or maximum amount of emissions per time period. The cap is chosen in order to achieve a desired environmental effect. Unused “credits” can then be traded on the global market. Cap and Trade Debate: Is it fair that China and India, today’s largest producers of carbon emissions, have to cap their emissions when the US has already undergone its industrial revolution? The WWF (World Wildlife Fund) purchased a large portion of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest to save it from deforestation, allowing it to sell carbon credits worth approximately 60 Billion Dollars. Is this a good idea? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherbooker/7488629/WWF-hopes-to-find-60-billion-growing-on-trees.html

Summary Questions What was the Green Revolution? What was its impact? What was Rachel Carson’s argument in Silent Spring? How is this a global issue? What are some criticisms? What is the WWF? What are its goals? What are some criticisms? What was the Kyoto Protocol? Why did the US not participate? What is cap and trade? Is the world dealing with climate change effectively?

Key Vocabulary Cap and Trade Global Warming Green Revolution Kyoto Protocol Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring World Wildlife Fund (WWF)