Environmental Change

Examine the role of one international civil society organization in fostering improved environmental management.

Global Environment Facility (GEF) unites 183 countries in partnership with international institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs). GEF is the largest public funder of projects to improve the global environment. GEF work focuses on seven main areas, including biodiversity, climate change, chemicals, international waters, land degradation, ozone depletion and sustainable forest management.

Biodiversity:

- Reducing and preventing further biodiversity loss are considered among the most critical challenges to humankind. The GEF supports projects that address the opportunities to achieve sustainable biodiversity conservation. 

Land Degradation:

- Land degradation is a major threat to biodiversity, ecosystem stability and society's ability to function. Loss of biomass through vegetation clearance and increased in soil erosion produces greenhouse gasses that can lead to climate change or global warming. The GEF supports projects in reversing and preventing desertification. The GEF also supports to poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. 

Economic Interactions and Flows

Outsourcing: The process of taking internal company functions and paying an outside firm to handle them. The process of outsourcing part of your business operations to another company is known as subcontracting. (from greenfieldgeography)



















Outsourcing happening in India:
- A new international airport in Bangalore has opened in 2008 and it has quickly become India's fourth busiest airport.
- Bangalore is the city which has an extensive bus network and a high quality system in road network.
- Also, Bangalore has become India's most important center for high technology industries including call centers.
- Now, India has the third highest GDP per capita.

Reasons why Bangalore became home of IT outsourcing:
- Because most Indians speak English either as their first or second language
- Also, they have a strong historical links with UK and other commonwealth countries
- India has improving transport and communication links and has an emerging market.
- Indian workers are prepared to work unsociable hours

Question:
Why would a business or organization decide to outsource?

Ukraine moves closer to unfettered trade access to European Union

Main Summary:

- The European Union leaders and Ukraine's prime minister will sign the contract of the free trade agreement in Brussels. This agreement will allow 98% of all customs duties to be removed for Ukrainian goods entering the European Union. So it basically means that Ukraine's economy will boost up making the government more stabilized. EBcause Ukraine was near-bankrupt economy. 

Cultural Diffusion (Globalization)

K-pop all around the world

- Cultural diffusion is happening everywhere nowadays. For example, Gangnam Style, by a rapper named Psy. Gangnam Style was extremely popular pretty much all around the world but especially in the United States. Most of the reasons or factors that led the popularity was due to its music video on YouTube. Also the attention that celebrities like Katy Perry and Venessa Hudgens had on the song. Gangnam Style was the first K-pop song that has crossed into the mainstream of American music in the fashion and various of radio stations played this song for a long time and even now at some point. 

Gangnam Style's popularity is still continuing to grow and is increasingly entering the consciousness of people who weren't actually into K-pop before to watch the music videos of more and more K-pop and listen to the songs. 

Decision Matrix of Globalization

Pros of Globalization

Cons of Globalization

Communication and transportation have become easier and quick. Internet is one of the benefits of globalization.  Globalization leads to higher employment since developed countries outsource jobs to underdeveloped countries. Free trade between nations has been established, countries can produce and import goods without paying heavy tariffs. A lot of information is shared across the world. Due to blending of cultures, sharing and negotiating on a global scale now. Countries that face the tyranny of their political system are continually supported by the evolved countries since the issue is open to all the other countries around the world.

Pressure on the employed people in developed countries who are always under the threat of their jobs being outsourced. Globalization has made the rich to be richer and left the poor poorer. The increased opportunities have benefited the top investors.  Ruins personal identity of the cultures by westernizing everything. New generation is increasingly becoming unaware of the nuances of their own culture Workers face pay-cut demands from employers, which often threaten to export jobs. Exploitation of labor. Prisoners and child workers are used to work in inhumane facilities. Safety standards are ignored to produce cheap goods.

Globalization Writing Prompt

Why is it that rich get richer and poor stay poor?

- The first main reason why we all think of this catchphrase is because of the growing income inequality and the wealth disparities. For the rich people, they already have the budget so they don't have as much problems as the poor. ALso, Without income there can't be wealth so there is always a pattern in poverty. Second reason can be that the first thought you have before spending money is you double the initial expenses so that mentally, discourage you. Also, There are always limits in actions. Poor people would think that opportunities would come again so they don't take the courage to get new jobs and take the risk. Unlike the rich people, they just take the risk and even though they made a wrong choice, they still have opportunities and things that could be made up. 

GLOBALIZATION~

Widespread Diffusion of Technology

Increasing volume of International Capital Flows

Increasing Volume of Cross Border Transactions

Variety of Cross Border Transactions

Growing Interdependence of Countries