Habs Geographical 2020

HabsGeographical 2020 EDITION Sixth Form Special Edition

Keshni – Niagara Falls

Habs Geographical 2020

Contents

This year’s edition has a special expert focus with all written contributions coming from sixth form students, in particular the HABS Geographical committee. The students from both schools have worked collaboratively throughout the process; choosing the areas of focus for the magazine, working together to research key topics and produce the finished articles. Through peer review they have refined and edited their work to produce the articles published here.

4. Is Hong Kong a rising superpower? Or will it always remain under the shadow of China?

Charlene

33. Does India have what it takes to be a global superpower?

Malika 36. Climate change adaptation vs. mitigation which is better for a 21st century world?

Daniel

The team also publicised this opportunity to their peers to contribute cross curricular articles which produced some thought-provoking contributions from the areas of Economics and Politics.

In addition, we have a contribution from a guest writer from St. Joan of Arc Catholic School, Rickmansworth and we are delighted to be working with other local schools on this venture.

40. Does being more sustainable mean, you must sacrifice your style?

Erin – St Joan of Arc School Rickmansworth - guest writer

The articles and essays contained in this publication are all based on the students’ own research and opinions.

42. PHOTOGRAPHS - entries from students depicting the relationship between physical and human Geography

8.

The battle for the Arctic Daniel 11. Who has contributed more to globalisation: Apple or the WTO? Francesca 14. How does the level of development affect healthcare?

Aadit 16. The Termazoic era Anay 19. The effect of Geography on the efficacy of democracy Tabitha – cross currlcular Politics essay

47. A regional focus – Covid-19: The impact on sporting events, the economy and environment in Europe Charlene and Daanysh

22. Does environmental determinism influence development?

Theo

50. A global perspective: The spread and control of HIV Aadit

25. Money, money, money: How cash proved to be Zimbabwe’s downfall Rishi – cross curricular Economics essay

54. A global perspective: How can governments control pandemics?

Francesca

28. Should TNCs be held responsible for climate change?

57. Journal review: Climate Change

by Robert. D. Blackwill Araliya and Anay

Araliya 30. Is globalisation sustainable in less developed countries?

58. A local focus: The location of the Haberdashers’ Schools Malika and Daniel

Jai - cross curricular Economics essay

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Simon Zhu no longer part of the British empire, which perhaps suggests that Hong Kong is better off not being the “little sister” of China, being used to boost its international relations and fuel its ongoing trade war with the US.

Is Hong Kong a rising superpower?

Or will it always remain under the shadow of China?

B

y the definition that a superpower is a dominant nation or state with the ability to project and impose its influence outside its border, it can be argued that the only country that fits this definition is the USA. Historically, after the British defeat of the First Opium war in 1842, China agreed to cede the island of Hong Kong to the British through the Treaty of Nanjing. In July 1997, the prosperous colony was returned to China as an autonomy after over 150 years of British rule. But can Hong Kong keep up with the costs of maintaining a large military, leading the world as a global financial hub whilst projecting diplomatic and soft power on a global scale in order to rise as a superpower?

Charlene

Whilst the small East Asian island is a Special Administrative Region of China with a soaring population density of 6,500 people per square kilometre, it has the economic capability of a superpower. Since Hong Kong was under the rule of the British empire before returning to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, its

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GDP, as a percentage of China’s GDP, has fallen from 18.4% (1997) to 2.8% (2015) which shows that under Chinese rule, Hong Kong has become much less significant than other Chinese cities, such as Beijing, in relative economic terms.

However, Hong Kong was much more successful as part of the British empire as Asia’s global city than under Chinese rule, considering the current political turmoil over the changing of the Basic Law. Hong Kong’s recent political situation with Mainland China may lead to the island threatening its international reputation as a stable financial hub and its potential to rise as a superpower.

From a relatively unpopulated territory at the beginning of the 19th century, Hong Kong has grown to become one of the most important international financial centres in the world.

Hong Kong underwent a rapid and successful process of industrialization following the global shift, which has led to its major economic growth. According to the World Bank, Hong Kong is the 10th richest country in the world despite the fact that it is not a fully independent nation. However, with its own powerful economy and a GNI per capita of $58,420 per person compared to China’s $18,140, Hong Kong is considered a global financial hub. After being ceded by China to the British under the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, the colony of Hong Kong quickly became a regional centre for financial and commercial services based particularly around the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and merchant companies such as Jardine Matheson. In 1841 there were only 7,500 Chinese inhabitants of Hong Kong and a handful of foreigners, but by 1859 the Chinese community was over

85,000 supplemented by about 1,600 foreigners. The influx of immigrants and Western expatriates, relocating to Hong Kong for economic opportunities in the finance industry has meant that there has been a rise of English-speaking communities and diversity has recently increased by 70.8% in the last decade, allowing Hong Kong more power to trade with other economies with a common language. Banking in Hong Kong contributed to 13.1% of its GDP in 2018 compared to 9.7% in 2008, which shows Hong Kong’s growth in the financial sector, further attracting foreign direct investment from firms such as Santander. In this sense, Hong Kong is economically independent to China because of its large diversity and ability to become world known for its banking sector, such as the rise of HSBC globally. The GDP of Hong Kong as a percentage of Mainland China’s GDP has only declined since the city was

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Following the Open-Door Policy in 1978, a new era began for Hong Kong. With the newly vigorous engagement of China in international trade and investment, Hong Kong’s integration with the mainland accelerated as it regained its traditional role as the country’s provider of commercial and financial services. From 1978 to 1997, visible trade between Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China grew at an average rate of 28% per annum.

At the same time, Hong Kong firms began to offshore manufacturing back to mainland China in order to take advantage of cheaper labour and develop Hong Kong’s own commercial and financial industry in being a main global export of gold ($25.6bn in 2017).

Increased integration between Hong Kong and China allowed both places to complement each other economically whilst remaining under different political laws.

However, after the Handover of Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997, it adopted the Hong Kong Basic Law under the doctrine of “one country, two systems,” in which China allowed the former colony to continue to govern itself

and maintain many independent systems for a period of 50 years.

The Basic Law defines the limited autonomy of Hong Kong which has allowed the SAR to remain as a freemarket economy whereas China has a planned, controlled economy.

The most significant difference between mainland China and Hong Kong politics is that the mainland is communist and controlled by a single party while Hong Kong has a limited democracy. Hong Kong having a democracy sets it apart from China, allowing the region to develop without the full control of China however, both share the President of China, Xi Jinping as their chief of state. Each has its own head of government, Xi Jinping and chief executive, Carrie Lam. Despite the separation in systems and rights guaranteed by the Basic Law, the mainland Chinese government does assert itself in local Hong Kong politics.

Although Hong Kong may have a democratic system unlike China, political differences may arise in the public as shown by the 2014 mass scale protests and demonstrations against China’s proposed reforms for electing the Chief Executive.

Protesters complained that only those candidates who aligned their interests with China would be allowed to run. The “Umbrella Protests,” as they were known, failed to achieve any concessions from Beijing. More recently, Hong Kongers protested an extradition bill

that would have allowed criminal suspects in Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macau to be extradited and trialled under Chinese legislation.

The introduction of the bill caused widespread uproar both domestically and internationally, as citizens feared the erosion of their democracy and its legal system if the government aligned with mainland China even more. There have been many demonstrations in Hong Kong and other cities abroad which in some cases, has led to a radical approach to protesting, such as the use of tear gas and petrol bombs. More than a million protestors marched from June 2019 in order for Chief Executive Carrie Lam to step down and withdraw the bill that would ultimately lead them to being more politically parallel to China. Ongoing protests led to many students looting the city and subsequently, called for a complete withdrawal of the extradition bill. On September 4th, after 13 weeks of protests, Lam officially promised to withdraw the bill upon the resumption of the legislative session from its summer-long civil unrest. The political protests that have been sparked by determination to gain more control over the prodemocracy Hong Kong, show that the region is split between opposing views on their government and suggests that the government is not politically able to thrive as a superpower. To rise as a superpower, the government must be stable and unified in order to maintain its global

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status and relations.

Since Hong Kong is not fully autonomous and a non-sovereign territory, Hong Kong has never had a military force of its own and relies on China for defence. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is the armed forces of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and is under the rule of the Communist Party of China. It is one of the world’s largest military forces and constitutes the second largest defence budget in the world which makes China extremely powerful in terms of its military and protection to Hong Kong. With 2.8 million active duty troops in China, it is not surprising that they have high military power both on land and at sea. China has claimed almost the entire South China Sea and the resources beneath it, such as the vital fossil fuels for its manufacturing industry. Furthermore, China also intends to become a two-ocean power, making claims within the Indian and Pacific oceans for resources such as precious metals, oil, gas and for trade links. China has the power to invest in deepwater ports in South East Asian countries simply because of their abundance of funding and ability to use hard power in influencing developing countries (Bangladesh & Pakistan), to buy good relations and also future military bases for their navy. In contrast, Hong Kong has a stationed garrison of the PLA to manage its defence affairs with around 10,000 personnel. This was

stationed after 1997 when Hong Kong returned to China under the Basic Law and is primarily symbolic of Beijing’s governance of Hong Kong. The Basic Law provides that the People’s Republic of China shall pay the expenditure for the garrison whereas the colonial Hong Kong Government pre 1997, had to pay for their own military. The Hong Kong Garrison, provided for by China, tells us that Hong Kong is not yet able to uphold an independent military of its own and seeks to Mainland China for defence affairs. In this case, it can be evaluated that Hong Kong is under the shadow of China as it is being led by their global hard power.

Hong Kong may not have the hard power of a large military like China, but it does hold a reasonable amount of soft power which increases trade and tourism between states.

The tourism industry of Hong Kong contributed to 4% of Hong Kong’s GDP in 2017 and is thriving due to its commercialisation and attraction from FDI such as global corporation, Disney. Attractions such as Disneyland increases tourist revenue which adds to Hong Kong’s economic success. In addition, Hong Kong hosts the famous annual Sevens rugby game which attracts many tourists and foreign sponsorships, increasing their global status in being a more diverse region than mainland China. Having English as one of Hong Kong’s official languages has also helped to attract TNCs and FDI, enabling greater tourism and easier trade between borders, increasing Hong Kong’s international reputation. The prime location of Hong Kong Island also helps the region benefit from the increasing process of globalisation, proximity to the South China sea and the Pacific Ocean allows for greater trade and the movement of goods and people. 3,606 hectares of ports in Hong Kong are used for cargo handling which has allowed Hong Kong to trade capital goods and commodities to enhance its involvement with other economies and develop its own capital flows, independent to Mainland China.

Overall, Hong Kong has the ability to rise as a superpower due to its thriving economy, its geographical features, which lends itself to effective trade and tourism, and communication with the Western world. Hong Kong is an island with the port of Hong Kong being the largest in the world, allowing a gateway for the crucial trade of commodities such as oil, to fuel its manufacturing industries, across the South China sea. However, China still remains more powerful because of its exponential growth in the manufacturing sector and new innovations with global influences, such as the development of Huawei’s 5G. China wants to maintain a two ocean power, meaning that it will always be ahead of Hong Kong in terms of trade with the world as China’s 11-dash line border results in a larger trade route for China.

Nevertheless, the politics and ethical regulations of China can appear controversial whereas Hong Kong has less of a reputation for issues concerning human rights since it is more democratic than China. It could perhaps be argued however that Hong Kong has been politically influenced by Westernization as opposed to China who has resisted such influence and it is therefore less able to become a global superpower.

Although Hong Kong is rising as a global influence, it is not yet able to become a superpower, simply because of its lack of hard power.

Historically and in international diplomacy, Hong Kong has no separate identity from mainland China. China wants to keep Hong Kong from independence as it seeks a “One-China policy” where Hong Kong remains partly under China’s control to boost its international relations as well as being a crucial port for trade with close links to the growing SEZ, Shenzhen, a manufacturing hub in South China.

For example, Hong Kong has no independent representation in the United Nations Security Council, or the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and it is thought of as an associate member, not a member state in the

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United Nations. Furthermore, the region participates in trade-related events and agreements under the name “Hong Kong, China”, which ultimately suggest that by the Basic Law, Hong Kong is under the power of Mainland China and is only a Special Administrative Region, not fully independent from the influences of Beijing.

References Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

(2019). Available at: https://www. bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-chinasuperpower/ (Accessed: 29 November 2019).

CHRONOLOGY: Timeline of 156 years of British rule in Hong Kong (2019).

Available at: https://www.reuters.com/ article/us-hongkong-anniversaryhistory/chronology-timeline-of-156years-of-british-rule-in-hong-kongidUSSP27479920070627 (Accessed: 29 November 2019).

Hong Kong’s second-quarter GDP growth seen firmer, but trade war, protests to bite (2019). Available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/ us-hongkong-economy-gdp/hongkongs-second-quarter-gdp-growthseen-firmer-but-trade-war-proteststo-bite-idUSKCN1UP0T6 (Accessed: 29 November 2019).

Hong Kong scraps law that sparked protests (2019). Available at: https:// www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asiachina-50150853 (Accessed: 2 December 2019).

Just how much of a melting pot is Hong Kong, Asia’s World City? (2018).

Available at: https://www.scmp. com/news/hong-kong/community/ article/2126710/just-how-muchmelting-pot-hong-kong-asias-worldcity (Accessed: 2 December 2019).

Marshall, T (2015). Prisoner’s of Geography. London: Elliott & Thompson. p47-51.

NPR Choice page (2019).

Available at: https://www.npr. org/2019/06/12/731911209/protestsprevent-hong-kongs-legislature-fromdebating-controversial-extradition?t=1575910646725 (Accessed: 2 December 2019).

Who wants in?

The battle for the Arctic Daniel

A

global battle is underway for the Arctic. Due to global warming, the ice in the Arctic is melting at an alarming rate: just 5% of the original Arctic ice mass remains [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) annual Arctic Report Card 2018] and it is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world [NOAA 2017]. It is generally estimated that the Arctic Ocean will be icefree by 2050 [J. Overland, NOAA,

2013]. In addition to this, scientists are particularly concerned about the ‘ice-albedo’ effect. The white surface of the ice reflects up to 80% of incoming solar radiation); but when it melts, the dark surface of the ocean absorbs more sunlight, leading to further warming and more melting of ice, which leads to a multiplier effect speeding up this process, and in Greenland seeing the rate increase exponentially [J. Hansen, M Sato 2012]

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However, in the Arctic, this seemingly encroaching disaster poses some benefits for five Arctic nations. As the ice melts, the USA, Canada, Norway, Denmark and Russia have seen the potential.

Why the Arctic?

The Arctic is said to contain as much as 90 billion barrels of oil and 47 trillion cubic metres of natural gas, according to the Royal Institute of

International Affairs, while the US Geological Survey estimates that the region holds roughly 30% of the world’s undiscovered natural gas and 13% of its oil. In addition, the US Government Accountability Office estimates that around $1 trillion worth of minerals lies in the Arctic, such as gold, zinc and platinum as well as ‘fisheries galore’ [M. Pompeo, May 2019].

Furthermore, due to the ice sheets melting that were previously impassable (some ice sheets were 4 kilometres thick), a plethora of new shipping routes have opened up, that now cut weeks off previous routes between the Asian and Western markets, which have been labelled as “the 21st century’s Suez or Panama Canals” [M. Pompeo, May 2019]. The routes are set to provide a new, faster route between the North Atlantic and the Pacific. Currently, there are two main routes [fig. 1] that are solely navigable in the summer.

The first is the Northern Sea route which runs through Russian waters

between eastern Siberia and the Atlantic. When passable it allows large container ships to make the journey from China to northern Europe 40% more quickly than via the Suez Canal. The second route is the Northwest Passage, which traverses the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, which may have a future as a major shipping route; in August 2007 it was used for the first time without the need for an icebreaker.

These two routes will come into use once there is sufficient melt of the ice sheets and will potentially transform the shipping industry. It could allow significantly faster transport times, leading to the more streamlined and efficient transfer of goods which could help grow several countries’ economies, who were previously reluctant or unable to ship their goods so far and wide. This will help develop the Eastern world further, placing countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia further up on the global development scale.

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This battle started in the last decade, when the world’s major energy firms BP, ExxonMobil, Shell and Russia’s Gazprom began exploring for gas and oil in areas that have recently been made accessible by the melting and retreating ice sheets.

While some of this exploitation of resources has taken place on land surrounding the Arctic, 84% of those deposits are offshore [USGS, 2008].

These oil deposits have been formed from organic material such as the remains of plankton and algae, buried over aeons in the continental crust under the oceans. The main countries involved are those which have a coastline in the Arctic Circle: The United States (in the form of Alaska), Canada, Russia, Norway and Denmark (which owns Greenland).

However, a coastline in the Arctic Circle is not necessarily a big factor, with China proclaiming itself a ‘nearArctic state’ [The State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China, 2018], which suggests it has the same rights as the other countries in the region.

So, who owns what?

Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), coastal states can claim an exclusive economic zone extending 200 nautical miles from their coastline. Beyond this range, the waters are considered international waters and the

Artic Fox - Jonatan Pie

seafloor is the ‘heritage of mankind’.

However, countries can extend their territorial rights if their continental shelf (an area of land that is submerged underneath relatively shallow water) extends further out than 200 miles out to sea. Every country surrounding the North Pole, apart from the US as they haven’t approved the convention, has submitted claims on their continental shelf. Russia planted a national flag on the seabed under the North Pole as part of an attempt to claim the Lomonosov Ridge is an extension of their territory. Denmark, however, claims that the ridge is an extension of Greenland [M. Lidegaard,2014]

Does Trump want to buy Greenland?

Several important geopolitical commentators have said that areas such as Greenland could be crucial for gaining control of the Arctic. The US does have experience in purchasing land as they bought Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million, which added 570,000 extra square miles and created the largest state in America.

Donald Trump has shown an interest in purchasing Greenland [The Wall Street Journal, 2019] due to the effects

of climate change unveiling many economic benefits, even though he is a major climate change sceptic.

The tactics put in place by Russia include investing in more ice-breaking ships than any other country. In addition they have a population on the northern Siberian coastline four times that of Canada and the US put together. Although Greenland is tiny in comparison with a population of 56,000, Trump has recognised it as a ‘large real estate deal’ and its’ key strategic location could enable the US to become more influential amongst the Arctic littoral countries and vie to gain as many resources as possible. Despite a Republican group selling t-shirts with a map of America with Greenland on and a Trump tweet showing his towers in a coastal village in Greenland promising that this is not how he plans to develop Greenland, many world leaders have declared it as wrong.

‘Greenland is not for sale’ The Danish prime minister, said that ‘Greenland is not for sale’, and Greenland’s foreign minister echoed this with ‘we are open for business but not open for sale’. Despite Trump’s

brash objectives to buy land, it seems the rest of the world has largely met said claims with international ridicule. Through these claims, Trump catalysed a geopolitical issue on the relationship between America and Denmark, leading to the cancellation of a state visit.

There are rising tensions in the Arctic.

The proposal from Trump to purchase Greenland has been brushed aside.

However, the presence of China in the competition will become more pronounced over the coming years, they may battle to take as much as they can get. Regarding the other Arctic nations, they will still have access to much of the oil and resources in this area and the economic zones will not be breached, at least until the continental shelf claims become too ridiculous and invasive. It is likely that the bigger names in this area such as the US, Russia and Canada will have a louder voice in the debate, whilst for example, Norway will have to make itself heard. This area has the potential to lead to a conflict; the best way to solve this dilemma is through careful deliberation and discussion, whereby a resolution can be reached that suits as many countries as possible.

References news.com.au, 2018. New ocean opening up around the North Pole is sparking a global scramble. [Online] Available at: https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/new-ocean-opening-up-around-the-north-pole-is-sparking-a-globalscramble/ news-story/ fd687de7986380988ffefb5e76861888 [Accessed December 2019].

Ninja, G., 2019. Is Greenland for sale?. [Podcast].

The Week, 2019. The Scramble for the Arctic. The Week, 28 September, Issue 1246, p. 13.

Tisdall, S., 2019. Trump’s bid to buy Greenland shows that the ‘scramble for the Arctic’ is truly upon us. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/24/trump-greenland-gambit-sad-sign-arctic-up-for-grabs [Accessed December 2019].

Willow, C., 2018. Russia and China vie to beat the US in the trillion-dollar race to control the Arctic. [Online] Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/06/russia-and-china-battle-us-in-race-to-control-arctic.html [Accessed December 2019].

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Who has contributed more to globalisation: Apple or the WTO? Francesca

G

lobalisation is the process through which the world is becoming increasingly interconnected due to increased trade, flow of people, capital, cultures and knowledge. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Apple are both key players in facilitating the process of globalisation, yet they have had very different roles. The WTO is an International Governmental organisation with aims to liberalise and increase world trade whereas Apple Inc. is a Transnational Corporation (TNC) with aims to make a profit by sharing its products worldwide.

in 24 countries, 1.4 billion people a year use Apple products worldwide, and the company employs 700,000 people outside its “home” country the US, and 43,000 people in the US, indicating its growing global presence as a TNC. In 2018, it became the first company in history to be valued at over $1trillion.

The transformation this company has made from a small start-up business to becoming a global tech giant has influenced and shaped globalisation today, from the company itself to its products, in particular communication devices such as the iPhone.

Apple Inc. was founded in 1976, in Cupertino, California, and has become one of the largest tech companies in the world today, alongside other TNCs like Microsoft, Amazon and Google. This tech giant started off in the garage of Steve Jobs and has since revolutionised the industry and now has 506 stores

As Apple grew, it needed to produce its products faster and cheaper, and manufacturing in USA wasn’t the answer, so it began to look over seas, particularly into Asia. The global shift of manufacturing into Asia was seen as favourable due to the abundance of cheap labour available and the efficiency of recruiting

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employees. In the US, it takes 9 months to employ 200,000 factory workers but in China it takes just 15 days, meaning more products could be made faster and cheaper. While it may be manufactured in China, a single iPhone is really now “made” in many different countries: from the design in the US, to the extraction of raw materials such as yttrium in China needed for the screen, to the assembly of the chips in Korea and then finally the shipping of the product around the world.

As a result of Apple choosing to outsource parts of its manufacturing to China and other parts of Asia, the countries in Apple’s supply chain became more reliant on each other with more integrated economic connections. For example, the US was reliant on China to manufacture the iPhone (85% of all iPhone 5s were assembled in China) and Asian countries were reliant on the foreign direct investment (FDI) and employment opportunities from

trade to become more accessible and fluid, resulting in stronger trade and economic connections between countries. Studies have shown that without the WTO policies and rules, countries could face a 32% increase in tariffs on their exports. Fluid trade is crucial in creating a more globalised world as it connects countries making it easier for them to export their goods internationally.

As a result, this encourages greater imports and exports and has helped TNCs, like Apple, grow outside their home market due to the ease of selling their products globally.

Apple to support their economic growth. In 2016, Apple made a $1 billion funding deal with Chinese tech company Didi Chuxing.

However, money and commodities are not the only thing that Apple is sharing globally. As Apple brings part of its company into a new country it brings new ideas, information and new technology, creating a flow of knowledge around the world, once again deepening connections between countries. Not only has Apple had major influences on the economic aspect of globalisation, its products such as the iPhone and MacBook have helped create a shrinking world effect through their influence socially. With one press of a button, an iPhone user can become connected with someone thousands of miles away within seconds. From making a phone call to watching a foreign movie, this small item is a crucial tool in facilitating globalisation, by connecting people further away faster and introducing

them to new cultures. Furthermore, Apple has additionally influenced cultural globalisation. To some extent Apple has created its own global culture as it is becoming increasingly trendy or fashionable to own an Apple product, as people are willing to spend $1000 on the latest iPhone or wait in line for six hours for the latest product. Therefore, Apple has been a key player in facilitating globalisation since its founding, actively contributing to economic, social and cultural globalisation through the distribution of its products globally, flows of capital and expertise into countries where it invests and by creating devices that connect people anywhere, to anything in a matter of seconds.

international economic organisation in the world with representatives from 164 countries and, like Apple, it has been key player in facilitating globalisation. The WTO aims to liberalise trade by removing taxes and tariffs on products, particularly on manufactured goods. It promotes the idea that protectionist attitudes that governments hold should be abandoned to encourage more untaxed goods to enter the country, fewer quotas and freer, easier trade between nations. In the past 70 years, merchandise exports have grown on average 6% annually, total exports in 2016 were 250 times that in 1948 and overall trade has grown by 1.5 times more than the global economy each year.

The World Trade Organisation, unlike Apple, is an International Governmental Organisation which was founded in 1995, taking over from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which started in 1947. It is the largest

The policies that the WTO have put in place to encourage free trade have helped facilitate and drive globalisation. One of the policies that they have implemented has been the removal of barriers and tariffs on foreign imports, allowing global

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The WTO has particularly brought benefits to many low-income countries (LICs) and developing countries. Due to the expansion and increased accessibility of global trade, the number of developing countries involved in trade has increased from 33% to 48% since 2000, with more developing countries becoming increasingly globally interconnected through trade relations. This is because the WTO has implemented rules that discourage protectionist policies, for example average tariffs have almost halved, from 10.5% to 6.4% for the dozens of economies that joined the WTO and as 2019 drew to a close critically important negotiations aimed at slashing the most harmful fishing subsidies which are depleting our oceans were on the WTO agenda. Developing countries are now able to sell their products to HICs, making crucial economic connections with the countries they trade with. The WTO also launched the Aid for Trade initiative in 2005 which is designed to help developing countries better their infrastructure, such as ports and railways, to improve their ability to benefit from trade. Not only has the WTO strengthened countries economic connections, it has allowed countries to globalise. The WTO also has procedures for resolving trade conflicts under the Dispute Settlement Understanding which is vital for ensuring that trade flows smoothly and fairly. Governments that are in dispute over certain trade

agreements will go to the WTO in hopes that it will be resolved.

The organisation encourages its members to settle their differences through consultations with each other.

However, the WTO has not completely succeeded in stopping the world’s richest countries, such as the USA, from subsidising domestic products.

In the last ten years, $47 billion was paid in subsidies in the world’s richest countries and as a result, the price of West African farmers’ products was driven down meaning it is harder for them to export their goods globally and it is more difficult trade their way out of poverty. This prevented countries in West Africa from making trade connections and therefore globalising as fast as other countries.

Both “players” have had a profound impact on facilitating globalisation, yet their roles have been very different. Apple has created products that have changed the way people connect around the world. Globalisation doesn’t just refer to economic connections or trade, it includes interactions between members of society around the globe and Apple, through the creation of the iPhone and the strength of their brand, has successfully achieved increasing social and cultural connectivity. The WTO may not be creating goods that connect people like Apple, but their role in globalisation is just as crucial as they are connecting countries by encouraging accessible trade and they are helping countries to become globalised.

The consequences of their actions have helped to grease the wheels of the globalisation process. Due to their contrasting roles in contributing to globalisation, it is hard to judge which player has had the greatest impact. In terms of social and cultural connectivity, Apple has had the most significant effect, however, in terms of economic integration between countries, the WTO has played the biggest part in allowing these connections to occur.

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How does the level of development affect healthcare?

Aadit

O

ne of the most widely taught concepts in human Geography is that an increase in level of development will almost always result in improved healthcare and better access to doctors per 1000.

This link has been assumed as there has been lots of evidence from developing countries over the years to support this theory. However, it doesn’t directly apply to every country as there is more than just economic development which is responsible for creating good and effective healthcare systems.

Many countries do support the theory that level of development of a country directly links to the effectiveness of and access to healthcare for the average person within that nation. Sweden is ranked as the 7th most developed country in the world, boasting an HDI of 0.933 on a scale of 0-1 (2019). This suggests that it should, in theory, have a very effective and accessible healthcare system, which it does. It has the highest number of doctors per 1000 citizens of any country in the world at 5.4 doctors per 1000 people (2017). Furthermore, all citizens have access to a universal healthcare system. A universal healthcare system is one where all citizens have access, regardless of financial status, and they are not required to pay for any medical services beyond their taxes. This is due to heavy investment by the government into a state-run

healthcare system, entirely paid for by the taxes of citizens. This is relevant when compared to their level of development as their economic stability allows their government to invest large amounts of taxpayer’s money into their healthcare system. This is further supported by the fact that Sweden has the 11th greatest GDP per capita of the world at 53,873USD (World Bank, 2017), thus contributing to taxes and therefore investment into healthcare. Sweden is ranked in stage 4 of the Demographic Transition Model, slowly shifting into the 5th, and reached that stage in around 1980. This is proof of Sweden’s developed healthcare system due to crude birth rate of 10.1 per 1000, crude death rate of 10.2 per 1000 and a life expectancy of 80.97 (2019). Furthermore, only 0.07% of the population has HIV/ AIDS (2018), thus indicating the effectiveness of their healthcare in its current state. This is also partially due to development and access to education on family planning, healthcare and lifestyle.

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However, this link between development and healthcare is weakened by developing countries such as Argentina. Argentina has 4.0 doctors per 1000 citizens (2018), and 5 beds per 1000 citizens (2018), ranking it higher than higher income countries (HICs) such as the UK, USA and France. This is an unexpected figure considering Argentina is ranked at 47 on the world HDI rank list with a HDI of 0.825 (2018), thus just placing it in the top quarter of all countries with regards to development. However, this is contrasted by its relatively low GDP per capita of 14,407USD (World Bank, 2017). This suggests why only 37.4% of Argentina’s healthcare is government run. This also implies a lack of government investment into the public healthcare system.

Furthermore, 48.8% of Argentina’s population are covered by the Obras Sociales, which is a group of organizations which are run by the workers unions of Argentina.

The country has over 300 of these organizations for workers of the country, hence why it is the largest healthcare sector of the population of 44.27 million (2017). 8.6% of the nation is also privately insured for healthcare. This all adds up to show that Argentina have great access to healthcare regardless of their developing status. Everyone has access to healthcare and those who aren’t covered by unions and cannot afford private plans have direct access to government funded,

free dental and healthcare which is quite effective in terms of treatment and care. Argentina is one of a few developing nations in South America to currently be in the 4th stage of the demographic transition model, with a crude birth rate of 16.5 per 1000, a crude death rate of 7.5 deaths per 1000 and an average life expectancy of 77. These figures place it almost at the level of Sweden, though access to contraception and education on family planning is still low and not as widely accepted, as suggested by the slightly high birth rate. Argentina only have a 0.4% HIV/AIDS (2018) prevalence rate in adults, thus demonstrating how the healthcare system is effective in a developing nation.

The United States of America is one of the most developed countries in the world with the second greatest GDP of 19.4trillion USD (World Bank, 2017), 19th greatest GDP per capita of 59,500USD (World Bank, 2017) and 13th highest HDI of 0.924 (2018).

However, there are only 2.6 doctors per 1000 citizens (2016) within the country. Furthermore, there are only 2.4 hospital beds available per 1000 citizens (2016). The two latter figures are significantly lower than the developing nation of Argentina which lacks similar capital and access to resources as the USA. The United States government used to partially fund almost 63% of healthcare, however, this figure has fallen with the fall of Medicare and Obamacare. The private sector is the largest in the United States, with 60% of healthcare insurance supplied through employers, and 8% being privately purchased. The average private hospital stay within the USA costs the consumer or insurance 10,000USD, and the average private ambulance trip will cost the consumer 366USD (2019). Sweden has a universal healthcare, so none of these services cost a thing for citizens, Argentina also has a wellcovered system, resulting in either none, or very low payments which are typically covered by insurance.

However, like a typical insurance company in an HIC, American health

insurance typically doesn’t cover the whole cost, leaving large bills in the hands of consumers. The average deductible for healthcare in the USA is around 2500USD, meaning general work is often covered by the patients themselves. Premiums for the coverage of individuals comes to roughly 440USD per month while premiums for plans for families of 4 typically amounted to 1,168USD per month (2019). These large figures contribute to reduced access to healthcare for low income groups within the USA as they simply cannot afford the insurance or the healthcare, and many workplaces dodge giving benefits by providing jobs just beneath the required working hours. 16.2 per 1000 people (2016) in the USA are estimated to have HIV, which is a low figure, suggesting that the healthcare is somewhat effective in the USA. The USA has a crude birth rate of 11.8 per 1000 and a crude death rate of 8.5 per 1000 (2017), placing it in the 4th stage of the demographic transition model as crude birth rate is still slightly higher. Argentina has a lower crude death rate than the USA, further highlighting how the Argentinian healthcare system is more effective than the American one.

In conclusion, there are various factors which contribute to the level of healthcare a country offers and the access to healthcare of the citizens. The general trend shows that as development increases, the level of healthcare also increasess.

However, Argentina and the USA are 2 examples which stray from this link and demonstrate that healthcare isn’t always directly linked to level of development, as there are other factors such as government investment and privatised healthcare which affect this.

References - eHealth Insurance (2019) How Much Does Health Insurance Cost Without a Subsidy https://www.ehealthinsurance. com/resources/affordable-care-act/ much-health-insurance-cost-withoutsubsidy 08/12/19 - HDRO (Human Development Report Office) United Nations Development Programme (2018) Human Development Report 2018 – “Human Development Indices and Indicators” http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/ files/2018_human_development_ statistical_update.pdf pp. 22–25.

08/12/19 - Index Mundi (2018) Argentina Demographics Profile 2018 https:// www.indexmundi.com/argentina/ demographics_profile.html 08/12/19 - Kaiser Family Foundation (2007) Health Insurance Premiums Rise 6.1 Percent In 2007, Less Rapidly Than In Recent Years But Still Faster Than Wages And Inflation 08/12/19 - Medical News Today (2019) How To Find Private Health Insurance https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/ articles/323370.php 08/12/19 - Rod Brouhard (2019) The Cost of an Ambulance Ride https:// www.verywellhealth.com/why-anambulance-costs-so-much-4093846 08/12/19 - Sweden Demographics (2017) Statistics, the Demographics of Sweden https://swedendemography.weebly. com/demographic-characteristics. html 08/12/19 - The World Bank (2019) Death rate, crude (per 1000 people) – United States https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ SP.DYN.CDRT.IN?locations=US 08/12/19 - The World Bank (2019) Birth rate, crude (per 1000 people) – United States https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ SP.DYN.CBRT.IN?locations=US 08/12/19 - World Health Organization’s Global Health Workforce Statistics (2018) Physicians Per 1000 People https:// data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MED. PHYS.ZS 08/12/19 - World Health Organization (2018) Argentina https://www.who.int/ countries/arg/en/ 08/12/19

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Alejandro Quintanar

The Termazoic era Anay

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n era is defined by a major shift in the development of life on earth; the Paleozoic Era (old life), Mesozoic Era (middle life) and Cenozoic Era (recent life).

They are separated by catastrophic global mass extinctions, such as the K-T event (Cretaceous– Tertiary extinction) at the end of the Mesozoic era and the beginning of the Cenozoic era, when the dinosaurs were driven to extinction.

This was due to an asteroid which devastated the planet, altering its climate and making it inhospitable for large animals. Soon plant life perished, with herbivores the first to die and carnivores soon after.

The only survivors were the small, scavenging mammals which were able to burrow to escape the freezing conditions on the Earth’s surface.

This then marked the start of the Cenozoic era, also known as the Age of the Mammals.

Within each era there are smaller geological subdivisions known as epochs. These different epochs are decided upon by global geological signals, incorporated into deposits which become the future geological record that can be observed in rock layers. The extinction of the dinosaurs didn’t just represent a change in era but also a change in epoch from the Cretaceous to the Paleocene epoch (the K-Pg boundary). This meant that not only was there a change in the development of life, but also in the geological deposits which make up our geological records.

The geological records of that time period allow us to provide evidence for the reasons why these mass extinctions took place. Alverez et al1 found that globally there were higher concentrations of iridium found in deposits at the same geological time period as the K-Pg boundary. They proposed that the higher levels of iridium can only be explained by an extra-terrestrial event, such as the asteroid impact at Chicxulub, Mexico which resulted in a worldwide thin layer of iridium.

Today’s global geological signals, which will make up the future geological record, are dominated by man-made deposits. The most distinct indicators are radioactive isotopes which are present in the geological record due to nuclear weapons testing during the Atomic Age, which spread radioactive fallout worldwide. The post-war boom, known as The Great Acceleration, resulted in rapid development and increased consumption. In order to keep pace with population growth, the agricultural and industrial systems had to change. The Green Revolution brought about a fundamental change in crop production; higher yielding crops demand greater quantities of pesticides, fertilisers and water, doubling the nitrogen and phosphorus levels in our soils and polluting our waterways2. Then global shift, a consequence of globalisation, has led to manufacturing moving East to rapidly industrialising nations.

Therefore, as the price of goods has fallen, Western consumerism has become a dominant economic and social order, hence promoting a higher quality of life to people universally. Consequently, the environmental impact has been catastrophic as these countries are less likely to enforce environmental regulations which will have a negative impact on their economic3.

These impacts have made humans the most ‘dominant geological influence’4 on Earth. Ergo this all points to a new epoch, popularised

by Paul Crutzen, and termed as the Anthropocene (anθrəpəʊ - human being, καινός - new) These changes, during the Anthropocene, will have huge repercussions on the Earth’s systems, causing irreversible damage to the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and cryosphere. This will induce the Earth’s next mass extinction and its next era, the Termazoic Era (adj. τέρμα/termaend, ζωη/zoi- life, ic) (Sharma, 2019).

Carbon is responsible for life on earth and its equilibrium is being threatened by feedback loops, accelerating the earth’s climate towards its tipping point. In 2018, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels hit a record high in human history at 415.79ppm (parts per million)5. This is significant because carbon dioxide is a driver of global temperatures (Figure 2).

Figure 2. (NOAA Climate.gov 2019)

Figure 1. (Troll 1990-2010)

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In 2015, worldwide temperatures were 1°C warmer than pre-industrial temperatures.

1°C may not strike you with panic however it will disrupt the delicate balance of global ecosystems. For example, it is already exerting a huge pressure on Arctic ecosystems.

Permafrost contains over 1,500 billion tons of trapped carbon dioxide; this is nearly double the quantity of carbon dioxide (CO2) found in our atmosphere today6. Therefore, as permafrost thaws, it continues to release even more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases such as methane (CH4 [methane is 20 times more potent than CO2]) into the atmosphere, contributing to the enhanced greenhouse effect, leading to further global warming which cyclically amplifies the rate at which permafrost is melting.

Melting permafrost is not the only positive feedback loop; there are other examples across every ecosystem and subsystem on earth (Figure 3).

Once we have reached the tipping point, positive feedback loops will be out of our control and warming will accelerate to unprecedented levels.

Evolution occurs over millions of years, so life on earth will be unable to adapt at the pace required.

Image - element5-digital The current spate of extinction of species is the worst since the extinction of the dinosaurs, 65 million years ago, as animals are dying ‘at up to 1,000 times the background (extinction) rate’7.

The K-T event was a result of an asteroid impact; however humans will be entirely responsible for this impending mass extinction event.

The geological foundations for the Termazoic Era have now been laid.

References Alvarez, L. W., Alvarez, W., Asaro, F. & Michel, H. M., 1980. Extraterrestrial Cause for the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction. Science AAAS, 208(4448), pp. 1095-1108.

Ashley, S., 2019. What is the Anthropocene?. National Trust.

BBC, 2017. China pollution: Survey finds 70% of firms break regulations.

[Online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/ news/world-asia-china-40239693 [Accessed 2020].

Carrington, D., 2016. The Anthropocene epoch: scientists declare dawn of human-influenced age. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian. com/environment/2016/aug/29/ declare-anthropocene-epoch-expertsurge-geological-congress-humanimpact-earth [Accessed November 2019].

Centre for Biological Diversity, 2010.

The Extinction Crisis. [Online] Available at: https://www. biologicaldiversity.org/programs/ biodiversity/elements_of_biodiversity/ extinction_crisis/ [Accessed December 2019].

Cho, R., 2018. Why Thawing Permafrost Matters. [Online] Available at: https://blogs.ei.columbia. edu/2018/01/11/thawing-permafrostmatters/ [Accessed December 2019].

Connor, S., 2015. ‘The Anthropocene’: The human epoch started with first atomic bomb test, scientists decide.

[Online]

Available at: https://www. independent.co.uk/news/science/ the-anthropocene-the-human-epochstarted-with-first-atomic-bomb-testscientists-decide-9981119.html [Accessed November 2019].

History.com editors, 2010; 2019. Why Did the Dinosaurs Die Out?. [Online] Available at: https://www.history. com/topics/pre-history/why-didthe-dinosaurs-die-out-1 [Accessed December 2019].

NOAA Climate.gov, 2019. Climate Change: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide.

[Online] Available at: https://www.climate.gov/ news-features/understanding-climate/ climate-change-atmospheric-carbondioxide [Accessed December 2019].

Sharma, A., 2019. An example of a Positive Feedback Loop. [Art].

Sharma, A., 2019. Term for the next Era. London: s.n.

Jones, N., 2017. How the World Passed a Carbon Threshold and Why It Matters. [Online]

Strickland, J., 2016. Earth Is in a New Epoch Because of Humans, Scientists Say. [Online]

Available at: https://e360.yale.edu/ features/how-the-world-passed-acarbon-threshold-400ppm-and-whyit-matters [Accessed November 2019].

Available at: https://science. howstuffworks.com/environmental/ earth/geology/earth-new-epochhumans-scientists-say.htm [Accessed December 2019].

Kolbert, E., 2014. The Sixth Extinction [Interview] 2014.

Troll, R., 1990-2010. The Age of Rock.

[Online]

Lüthi, D., Le Floch, M., Bereiter, B. & Blunier, T., 2008. High-resolution carbon dioxide concentration record 650,000–800,000 years before present, s.l.: Nature 435.

Available at: https://www.trollart.com/ art/1990-2010/

Nace, T., 2019. Carbon Dioxide Reaches Highest Recorded Levels In Human History. [Online] Available at: https://www.forbes. com/sites/trevornace/2019/11/30/ carbon-dioxide-reaches-highestrecorded-levels-in-humanhistory/#72521d347299 [Accessed December 2019].

NASA, n.d. NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS).. [Online] Available at: https://climate.nasa.gov/ vital-signs/global-temperature/ [Accessed December 2019].

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The effect of Geography on the efficacy of democracy Tabitha Cross currlcular Politics essay

[Accessed 8 December 2019].

Vaughan, A., 2016. Human impact has pushed Earth into the Anthropocene, scientists say. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian. com/environment/2016/jan/07/humanimpact-has-pushed-earth-into-theanthropocene-scientists-say [Accessed November 2019].

World Wide Fund for Nature, n.d.

Deforestation and Forest Degredation.

[Online] Available at: https://www.worldwildlife. org/threats/deforestation-and-forestdegradation [Accessed December 2019].

D

emocracy has long been a topic of debate, whether about its minute discrepancies or over its fundamentals; but ultimately, democracy has provided the foundations for the Western world for decades. In recent history, however, this system of government has come under threat from the very thing that it invented, politicians.

Politicians have become increasingly calculating

and it has become more common across the world for politicians to use Geography to manipulate democracy. For democracy to be deemed successful there has to be ‘equality of voting’, but often we see this concept interrupted by geographic representation.

In a Western democratic society, one of the best examples of Geography being used to impact

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democracy is in the United States.

In the USA, the democratic system has becoming increasingly based around ‘gerrymandering’. This is the process of manipulating the geographic boundaries of electoral constituencies to favour one party over another. For example, in Pennsylvania in the 2014 Congressional district vote, 44% of the vote went to the Democratic Party but 13 out of 18 of the districts

ended up being represented by Republicans. Every decade, the electoral districts are re-drawn after the census. These boundaries are drawn not only by politicians, but in 37 States the drawing of these boundaries is controlled by the legislators themselves. This means is that the elected representatives who control who votes, rather than the other way around. This situation is the opposite of the intended purpose of a system of democracy whereby the voters chose their elected representative.

Due to new advances in technology, gerrymandering has become an almost exact science. A potent example of this being Hakeem Jeffries, where Jeffries was running for state assembly in Brooklyn when the map was altered in order to exclude his house from the district he was running in, excluding him from the race. Former President Barak Obama also used the process of gerrymandering during his time as a state senator. He altered his district to increase his chances in the Senate race by increasing the power of the white, liberal, middle class in his state.

There are several ways in which electoral districts are re-drawn to change the likely result of an election. The voters are either ‘packed’, whereby opposition voters are pushed into as few districts as possible, giving them a majority only in those areas, or ‘cracked’, whereby they are spread thinly across several districts so that they won’t get a majority in any of them.

It is this system that brings such disproportionate results. While it is illegal to gerrymander on the basis of racial minority groups, it is not illegal to gerrymander on the basis of partisan groups. This legality therefore allows parties in the USA to change the geographical districts of voters to increase their electoral power. Ultimately, lawful gerrymandering brings the democratic system comes into a significant degree of disrepute.

Geography has also affected democracy in the UK. The UK uses a system of ‘first past the post’ whereby in each constituency the elected MP is whoever gets the majority in that area. This system produces extremely disproportionate results, as if the party only wins by a very small majority in a seat, the voters that voted for the losing party may feel as though they have no representation (although the successful MP is supposed to represent all of his or her constituents, and not merely those who voted for him/her). If this occurs in several seats at the same election, the losing party may win a large proportion of the vote but only very few seats in the House of Commons. For example, in the 2015 election, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) won 12.7% of the vote but only won 1 seat in the House of Commons because their vote was spread thinly across many constituencies. This meant that it was hard to win a majority in any of the seats, even though they did get a lot of votes overall. This is another scenario where the use of geographical district majorities causes problems in the electoral system of a democratic society making them less effective and less democratic. On the other hand, this can also be seen as a strength of the British system, because historically it has meant that parties with extreme views, such as the National Front or the British National Party, have failed to win any seats in Parliament.

The geographical makeup of the UK also creates disproportionate results, most notably in Scotland.

In the general election held in December 2019, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won 48 seats in the House of Commons but with only 3.9% of the vote share. Compare this to the Liberal Democrats, who won 11.5% of the vote share but only won 11 seats, and it becomes clear how disproportionate this result is due to the geographical aspects of the electoral system. The proportion of people living in each geographical

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area can affect the outcome of the result in the UK’s system. The SNP only run in 59 seats in Scotland but win a majority in most of these seats. This means their vote is very concentrated in these areas, rather than dispersed over the whole of the UK, as with the Liberal Democrats.

This system of representation makes the UK relatively undemocratic, as the number of votes is not proportionate to the representatives present in the Commons. The drawing of these constituencies in the UK is considerably more democratic than the USA’s system, with no one party being given an advantage, but overall the system still creates disproportionate results based on the spread of votes and the geographical location of constituencies.

On a global level, the divide between urban and rural communities creates a significant democratic deficit in politics.

In systems like the USA, where each state votes for at least 3 elected representatives, being two members of Congress and one of the Senate, an issue has arisen whereby rural voters have more representation than urban voters because the number of elected representatives does not depend on population size. For example, in Wyoming, where there are 259,000 registered voters, they will have 3 and a half times a much representation as the 18 million voters registered in California. This means that the more dispersed a population, the more representation it will have.

This same system is used across the world in 20 different countries.

The most detrimental effect is felt in Argentina. In Argentina, in the lower house, each province is represented by 5 representatives, regardless of population size. Due to the extremely dense population in Buenos Aires, they have as much as 180 times

References Alex Tausanovitch (2019). The Impact of Partisan Gerrymandering. [online].

(Last updated: 1/10/19). Available at: https://www.americanprogress. org/issues/democracy/ news/2019/10/01/475166/impactpartisan-gerrymandering/ [accessed date: 16/12/2019] Jon Emont (2017). The Growing Urban-Rural Divide Around the World. [online]. (Last updated: 04/01/2017).

Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/ international/archive/2017/01/ electoral-college-trump-argentinamalaysia-japan-clinton/512153/ [accessed date: 16/12/2019] Gwen Ruellle (2011). How Hakeem Jeffries was Gerrymandered out of his own district and other true tales. [online]. (Last updated: 24/02/2011).

Available at: https://patch.com/new-york/ prospectheights/how-hakeemjeffries-was-gerrymandered-out-ofhis-own-ba3d8fa0b0 [accessed date: 16/12/2019]

less representation than the voters of more sparsely populated areas, such as Tierra El Fuego. This means that the Argentina’s central government serves those in rural areas better than those in urban areas, which has led to a multitude of problems in these urban areas, such as a disproportionately high unemployment rate and a lack of housing and infrastructure.

A similar issue has arisen in Japan, who have a similar system, after the large increase in rural-to-urban migration in Japan after World War II. This meant the rural voters progressively gained more and more representation as people moved out of the rural areas. For example, the influence that these voters have is shown through the failure to reduce tariffs on food imports and decrease the massive agricultural subsidies present in Japan. This shows the deficit in reform for certain groups (i.e. the urban population) due to their decreased political power and emphasises the discrepancy in the

democracy of these countries. This lack of representation damages democracy as it fundamentally means that people’s votes do not hold the same weight. The ‘weight’ or ‘value’ of a vote will depend on where the voter lives and how densely populated the area is where they are registered to vote. In the end, the result of these systems sees the rural minority benefiting from disproportionate political power and influence.

The Geography of a country has a huge impact on its’ political system and the democratic nature of its’ electoral system. Whether this is through manipulating the geographical boundary lines of districts, or the use of a ‘winner takes all’, ‘first-past-the-post’ system it creates a disproportionate result due to the distribution of voters and the differences in urban and rural representation regardless of population size. Thus, the Geography of a country can be detrimental to the representative quality of its democratic system.

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Jessica Garland (2019). ‘Democracy denied’ as report reveals how voters are left voiceless across England. [online]. (Last updated: 22/08/2019).

Available at: https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/ democracy-denied-as-report-revealshow-voters-are-left-voiceless-acrossengland/ [accessed date: 16/12/2019] BBC (2019). Election 2019. [online].

Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ election/2019/results [accessed date: 16/12/2019] Wikipedia (2017). 2017 United Kingdom general election. [online]. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_ United_Kingdom_general_election [accessed date: 16/12/2019] LastWeekTonight. (2017).

Gerrymandering: last week tonight with John Oliver (HBO) . [Youtube video]. Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/ url?sa= t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd =1&ved=2ahUKEwiei8KhvbvmAh WLbsAKHcIVDfEQtwIwAHoECAYQAg &url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube. com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DA-4dIImaod Q&usg=AOvVaw0YJ0Kd-0FFCAjX EpG8ouo5 [accessed date: 16/12/2019]

obsessed style of living is superior to the more ‘primitive’, ‘simple’ lifestyles of poorer countries. One lifestyle has not been proved to be any happier, better or more fulfilling than the other; they are merely different. In fact, there is evidence suggesting that there is no significant correlation between the growing wealth of a country and the growing happiness of a country. The Easterlin Paradox cites surveys from Chile, China and South Korea. In these countries, income per capita has doubled in less than 20 years but overall happiness has fluctuated marginally with no real trends (Frank, 2012).

Does environmental determinism influence development?

Theo

S

ome countries are rich, some countries are poor. Why? Do the disparities in the worldwide spread of wealth and power have distinct causes? Or is it no more than a lucky coincidence?

Firstly, before we delve into answering this complex question, I must outline some oppositions to even discussing it at all.

If we do in fact manage to explain global inequality, some think that this may then justify the domination of the West, allowing it to continue.

Wealthy countries may take the view that they were destined to be rich and powerful and therefore the exploitation, colonisation and dismissal of other countries may seem morally acceptable. However, this opposition conflates how one

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makes use of an explanation with the explanation itself.

Another opposition to answering this question is that it may lead to a Eurocentric view of the world, a glorification of Western Europe and Europeanised America in the modern world. In answering this question, it may be falsely assumed that the Western ‘modern’, wealth-

To begin the discussion, we will start with the historical response to the question proposed, a response which is nowadays commonly rejected. This response would be to postulate genetic variation as an explanation for the difference in development across the world.

One may suggest intraspecific genetic variation causing varying levels of intelligence, diligence and creativity which result in a spectrum of economic successes and development. Not only is this racist but it has also been heavily disproved by countless scientific studies. We, as a species, have been estimated to share 99.9% of our DNA (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2018) and it has become exceedingly clear that race is a social construct, not a biological attribute.

and the variable features such as climate, soils and natural landforms (e.g. rivers).

Early economists assumed that climate was one of the main determinants of national differences in development Earlier civilizations, such as those investigated in Landes’ ‘The Wealth and Poverty of Nations’ or Diamond’s ‘Guns Germs and Steel’, were dependent on local climate and soils for making the switch from hunter gatherers to stationary subsistence agricultural farmers. If a country had the necessary conditions for productive agricultural production (sufficient hours of sunlight, temperatures around 25 degrees Celsius, sufficient precipitation, fertile soils) (National Geographic, no date) then they could successfully make this switch, causing civilisations to become commercialised - trading crops and specialising in trade to produce specific crops for the

With the failure of this response, where else shall we search? If the difference does not lie within the inhabitants of the various locations, perhaps it lies within the locations themselves. Perhaps geographical factors are what divided countries into rich and poor, developed and undeveloped, powerful and powerless.

It will be useful for us to state what it is we mean when discussing geographical factors. By this we are referring to both the constant features such as latitude, distance from coastlines and elevation

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whole community. This also freed up time so certain people could spend time innovating and producing technology to aid development rather than spending all day individually hunting and gathering for survival. Nowadays, farming is much more climate-insensitive – humans can manufacture internal conditions to suit crops regardless of natural conditions. However, manipulating conditions requires costly technology and in low-income countries (LICs) habitants cannot accumulate the capital investment necessary for this technology so are still reliant on climate. Not only do LICs lack investment for technology required for farming, they also often lack infrastructure for irrigation, lack knowledge and education on suitable techniques, lack access to fertilisers and pesticides due to poor transport and most importantly lack a workforce to maintain the land.

This lack of labour causes children to be hired to tend to land, missing out on an education, fueling the vicious cycle of poverty as they are uneducated so will miss out on higher income jobs when they are older.

Moreover, extreme climates can impede development. Extreme climates repel migrants, tourists

and economic activities due to the uncomfortable and unpredictable nature of the environment.

Furthermore, infectious diseases (such as malaria, dengue and leishmaniasis) thrive in hot and humid climates as breeding temperatures for vectors are optimum resulting in a greater population growth of the vectors and an increased spread of the disease. This limits the economic productivity of the population and increases costs of healthcare.

Countries with temperate climates have fewer epidemics because, during the cold winter season, organisms hibernate, limiting the spread of diseases through animals and insects. Another geographical factor affecting development is the prevalence of risk of climate hazards. Tropical cyclones, droughts and floods all affect food security, damage infrastructure and increase costs of healthcare, impeding stable economic growth.

Another way that environmental determinism can influence development is the access to global trade routes that a country has.

It is no coincidence that a third of the countries that were ranked by the Human Development Index as having low human development were landlocked (United Nations Information Sheet, no date) (the only developed landlocked countries being the few in Western Europe which are highly integrated into the regional European market).

Landlocked countries are heavily reliant on neighbouring countries to access global trade markets; these countries may have poor infrastructure, unstable political situations and corrupt, untrustworthy trading practices.

This leads to high, volatile prices of imports and exports (on average import and export prices in landlocked countries are more than double than those in coastal countries). The high, volatile costs of trade are reflected in prices of goods, so the cost of living is often higher in landlocked countries. However, with improving travel infrastructure by

train and road and a shift towards cheaper air cargo transportation, this factor could potentially become less of a restriction for development.

To conclude, a large factor affecting development of a country is geographical location. Potential industries (and therefore economic development) depend on location.

However, this is only applicable for the primary industry which is necessary to jump-start development; importance diminishes once the country becomes developed and there is a shift towards secondary and tertiary industry. Also, climatic hazards and optimum conditions for the spread of an epidemic can set back development due to destruction of infrastructure and the cost of restoration, as well as the detrimental impact on the workforce. On the other hand, governmental policies and attitudes can heavily influence development despite the geographical factors.

Money, money, money: How cash proved to be Zimbabwe’s downfall

Dubai Photo by Leonard Von Bibra

Natural resources are unevenly distributed across our planet meaning that any geographical location can bring development if, by apparent luck, natural resources are discovered. Natural resources are found in abundance in some nations, and in scarcity in others, creating a demand and a supply which nations can capitalise on, maximising profit from their fortunate finding. One such example is the UAE (Crown Prince Court, no date) transforming from a poverty-ridden country to the country with the 28th highest GDP per capita in the world due to the utilisation of oil resources. However, without careful institutionalised management, natural resources do not necessarily lead to development.

The African countries of Congo, Angola and Gabon are all rich with natural resources (diamond, bauxite, natural gas), yet extreme poverty prevails due to poor management of resources in countries with war and political instability.

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Rishi Cross currlcular Politics essay

References Frank RH (December 2012), The Easterlin paradox revisited. Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pubmed/23088778 (Accessed: 20 November 2019) National Human Genome Research Institute (7 September 2018), Genetics vs. Genomics Fact Sheet. Available at https://www.genome.gov/aboutgenomics/fact-sheets/Genetics-vsGenomics (Accessed: 23 November 2019) National Geographic (no date), Climate and Crop Growth. Available at https:// www.nationalgeographic.org/activity/ climate-crop-growth/ (Accessed: 20 November 2019) United Nations Information Source (no date), Landlocked Developing Countries. Available at http://www. unis.unvienna.org/unis/en/topics/lldc. html (Accessed: 24 November 2019) Crown Prince Court (no date), About the UAE. Available at https://www. cpc.gov.ae/en-us/TheUae/Pages/ AboutUAE.aspx (Accessed: 24 November 2019)

Sometimes, less is more. The Zimbabwean government would do well to learn this.

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nce known as the ‘Jewel of Africa’ (Lessing, 2003) for its prosperity, Zimbabwe has fallen far from its pedestal. Nestled deep in southern Africa, it is infamous for the hyperinflation which has plagued the economy since the 1990s, tragically cutting short the potential seen prior to this in the Southern Rhodesia state, the precursor to modern-day Zimbabwe. However, we must first distinguish inflation from hyperinflation: inflation is the sustained rise in the general price level of an economy. This is typically quite low- the UK’s inflation rate was just 1.5% in October 2019 (Office

for National Statistics, 2019). By contrast, hyperinflation is very high and generally accelerating inflationZimbabwe’s peak inflation rate of 90 sextillion percent (a 9 followed by 22 zeros) in November 2008 exemplifies this (Kaminska, 2019).

Currency denominations reached as high as Z$100 trillion (Koech, 2011), and prices doubled every 24 hours (Hanke & Kwok, 2009) as Zimbabwe became the first 21st century example of hyperinflation.

Though the situation seems to have improved since, another bout of hyperinflation appears to be on its way in Zimbabwe; inflation rates are, at the time of writing, estimated to be as high as 500% (‘Land of hope and worry’, 2019)- the Zimbabwean government no longer files official inflation statistics. What has caused such excessive inflation and what has been its effects on

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Zimbabweans and the rest of the world? Are there any potential mitigative or preventative measures that could have been implemented, or which might be needed now to prevent history repeating itself?

On 17th April 1980, Zimbabwe’s controversial former President and Prime Minister, Robert Mugabe, took his oath of office. The economy was already in dangerous territory following the 15-year civil war which caused great damage to Zimbabwe’s productive capacity.

Note that racial inequality was a huge issue at this time, with the white demographic forming just 1% of the population but owning over 70% of fertile land, a key resource in Zimbabwe’s main industry of agriculture, and generating 80% of its output (Reuters, 2017). Mugabe’s government made effective use of a

populist approach, campaigning for and (upon being voted in) vowing to bring about racial reconciliation.

However, this became problematic when the government instituted extreme land reforms, which took land from white farmers and redistributed it to much less experienced and less skilled black farmers. As a result, food output capacity plummeted by 45% whilst unemployment rose to 80% (Mitchell, 2009). The nation became more dependent on imports with rail, raw material extraction and other industries collapsing as the government accumulated external debt, reaching 119% of GDP in 2008 (Koech, 2011). However, the action taken in response by the dysfunctional government is a prime example of irresponsible monetary policy, and was the root cause of Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation: they simply just printed more money to finance their debts and loans, such as military involvement in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The rife corruption in the government, exemplified in Zimbabwe’s score of 22/100 (0 = highly corrupt, 100 = clean) and its position of 160 out of 180 in institutionalised corruption rankings (Transparency International, 2018), further dented confidence in the currency. As the

value of the Zimbabwean dollar dwindled, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe responded by printing yet more money, and, in this way, hyperinflation became a rapidly worsening, self-perpetuating cycle until the currency was abandoned entirely in 2008, with foreign currencies, primarily the US dollar, used instead.

The social repercussions of the initial crisis were catastrophic. Two severe droughts in 1992 and 1995 only worsened the slump in agriculture.

Such dire economic conditions led to swathes of emigrants to neighbouring countries, causing a fall in the population and labour force. Emigration was over 750,000 in 2005, equivalent to an astounding 6% of the population (Koech, 2011), which decreased the size of the tax base and prompted further printing of money. This cycle of economic strife had a profound effect on citizens, pushing real GDP per capita down to $136 in 2008 from $151 in 1954- over half a century ago, when Zimbabwe wasn’t even called Zimbabwe- whilst lifetime savings were eroded until they became worthless within days, and those on fixed incomes found themselves becoming poorer each day, leading to a drastic fall in standards of

living. The sheer rate of the rampant inflation was incomprehensible, with a loaf of bread in 2008 costing the same as 12 cars had a decade before, and a pack of coffee beans costing roughly Z$1bn, or the same as 60 cars had 10 years ago (Koech, 2011). Prices were being revised several times a day, so that the evening commute was considerably more expensive than the same morning’s journey, but much cheaper than the next morning’s fare. The government attempted to fix this problem by setting price ceilings, but this would lead to shortages and these businesses were unable to turn a profit and so disappeared, giving rise to a black market filled with goods and services at a much higher price as a result. Money stopped fulfilling its main purpose, as society began to favour a system of bartering instead.

Billionaires were now starving- a peculiar thought.

So, what should have been done instead? The government firstly instigated the entire situation through their land reforms, then failed to nip the problem in the bud and continued to worsen it by persisting in printing money until 2009. Instead, the land reforms could have been much gentler initially,

whilst being implemented in tandem with investment into human capital, to help the marginalised black population gain the skills required to become farmers. However, having introduced these radical reforms, the government then should not have taken on as much debt as they did, and might have been better off adopting deflationary policies such as increasing interest rates, devaluing the currency (though this is much harder to carry out- the failed attempt in Mexico in the 1990s evidences this) or, most importantly in this case, reducing the supply of money. Not only was this contractionary monetary policy not followed, but instead the government did the exact opposite for almost 20 years. It seems clear that the crisis could have been avoided, or, at the very least, managed to some extent at multiple stages, but instead was allowed to grow in severity following an embarrassing chain of blunders by a government who put their own interests ahead of their people’s.

You could dismiss what’s been said here, that it’s all in the pastexcept it isn’t. Zimbabwe has seen several worrying signs in recent times, as inflation has rocketed once more. The crisis seemed over until February 2019, where foreign currencies were deemed to no longer be legal tender and were replaced

by Real-Time Gross-Settlement (RTGS) dollars. Timing could have been better, as the country was hit by Cyclone Idai a month later, displacing 16,000 households, and a severe drought which has impacted both crop yields and hydroelectric power generation (‘A mouthful of zollars’, 2019). It is estimated that around half of the population, or 7.5m people, struggle to get a meal a day (‘Parched and pillaged’, 2019).

Now, the Zimbabwean government must learn from their mistakes, to help provide the essentials for their people. The Jewel of Africa seems like a lifetime ago, a forgotten dream.

Bibliography: KAMINSKA, I. (2019) Mobile money is not helping Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation.

Financial Times. [Online] 29th October.

Available from: https://www.ft.com/content/ 2078bf62-f9ab-11e9-98fd-4d6c20050229.

[Accessed: 8th December 2019].

KOECH, J. (2011) Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe. Dallas: Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. [Online]. Available from: https://www.dallasfed. org/~/media/documents/institute/ annual/2011/annual11b.pdf.

[Accessed: 8th December 2019].

LESSING, D. (2003) The Jewel of Africa.

The New York Review of Books. [Online].

Available from: https://www.nybooks. com/articles/2003/04/10/the-jewel-of -africa/. [Accessed: 8th December 2019].

OFFICE FOR NATIONAL STATISTICS. (2019) Inflation and price indices.

[Online] Available from: https://www .ons.gov.uk/economy/inflation andprice indices. [Accessed: 8th December 2019].

HANKE, S. & KWOK, A. (2009) On the Measurement of Zimbabwe’s Hyperinflation. Cato Institute Journal.

[Online]. Available from: https://www. cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/ files/cato-journal/2009/5/cj29n2-8.pdf.

[Accessed 8th December 2019].

BROCK, J. & CROPLEY, E. (2017) Some white farmers still hope to return to Zimbabwe. Reuters. [Online] 5th September. Available from: https:// uk.reuters.com/article/uk-zimbabwemugabe-land/some-white-farmersstill-hope-to-return-to-zimbabweidUKKCN1BG19G. [Accessed: 8th December 2019].

MITCHELL, M. (2009) Zimbabwe for hyperventilators 101. [Online] Available from: http://bilbo.economicoutlook. net/blog/?p=3773. [Accessed: 8th December 2019].

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL. (2018) Corruption Perceptions Index 2018. [Online] Available from: https:// www.transparency.org/cpi2018.

[Accessed: 8th December 2019].

ANON. (2019) A mouthful of zollars.

The Economist. [Online]. (25-31 May).

Available from: https://www.economist .com/finance-and-economics /2019/05/23/zimbabwe-strugglesto-keep-its-fledgling-currency-alive.

[Accessed: 10th December 2019].

ANON. (2019) Land of hope and worry.

The Economist. [Online]. (17-23 August). Available from: https://www. economist.com/leaders/2019/08/15/ zimbabwes-economy-is-crashing-andits-people-are-hungry. [Accessed: 10th December 2019].

ANON. (2019) Parched and pillaged.

The Economist. [Online]. (17-23 August). Available from: https://www. economist.com/middle-east-andafrica/2019/08/15/zimbabwe-faces-itsworst-economic-crisis-in-a-decade [Accessed: 10th December 2019].

Photo bto buy if approved

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HAYES, N. (2019) Hyperinflation and distrust in Zimbabwe. [Online] Available from: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/ 2019/07/23/hyperinflation-zimbabwe/.

[Accessed: 10th December 2019].

KUYEDZWA, C. (2019) It’s official: Hyperinflation has returned to Zimbabwe. Fin24. [Online]. 22nd October. Available from: https://www. fin24.com/Economy/Africa/its-officialhyperinflation-has-returned-tozimbabwe-20191012. [Accessed: 10th December 2019].

COOMER, J. & GSTRAUNTHALER, T. (2011) The Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe.

The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. [Online]. p.311-346.

Available from: http://csinvesting. org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/ hyperinflation-in-zimbabwe.pdf.

[Accessed: 10th December 2019].

MAKOCHEKANWA, A. (2007) A Dynamic Enquiry into the Causes of Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe. Pretoria: University of Pretoria. [Online]. Available from: https://pdfs. semanticscholar .org/e4a3/f3dc649fdc7cb8cbfb46e4f79 16b83c81 d9f.pdf. [Accessed: 10th December 2019].

HANKE, S. (2008) From Hyperinflation to Growth. Cato Institute Journal.

[Online]. Available from: https://www. cato.org/sites /cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/ dpa6.pdf. [Accessed: 10th December 2019].

MCINDOE-CALDER, T. (2011) Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe.Dublin: Central Bank of Ireland. [Online].

Available from: https://s3.amazonaws .com/ academia.edu.documents/ 5680606/hyperinflation.pdf?responsecontent -disposition=inline%3B%20 filename %3DHyperinflation_ in_Zimbabwe_ Money_Demand. pdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4HMAC-SHA256 &X-Amz- Credential= AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53 UL3A% 2F20191210 %2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2 Faws4request &X-Amz-Date= 20191210T193401Z&X -Amz-Expires= 3600&X-Amz-Signed Headers=host&X-AmzSignature=6bd6b 1a16fb1e1dfec60f78cd668def9af239 d88397d6c8dd2e182253c281c66.

[Accessed: 10th December 2019].

KRAMARENKO, V. et al. (2010) Zimbabwe: Challenges and Policy Options After Hyperinflation. Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund.

[Online]. Available from: https:// s3.amazonaws.com/ academia.edu. documents/41584819/afr1003.pdf? response-content -disposition=inline %3B%20filename%3DZimbabwe_ Challenges_and_Policy_Options_a. pdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMACSHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIW OWYYGZ2Y53UL3A%2F20191210%2F us-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&XAmz-Date=20191210T193413Z&X-AmzExpires=3600&X-AmzSignedHeaders =host&X-Amz-Signature=773d5d09a 2a0625f9deb0cf0c6aa2 657e09713d 9856c654bd33dd85d7b2f0480.

[Accessed: 10th December 2019

Chris LeBoutillier

Should TNCs be held responsible for climate change?

Araliya

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lobal warming has become a very prominent issue as a result of the acceleration of globalisation. Globalisation is a long-standing process which involves widening and deepening interdependence between countries and the movement of goods and services across borders. It has been present since the 15th century but has only recently accelerated in the 19th century due to development of transnational corporations (TNCs).

Transnational corporations are companies that locate in more than one country and are often referred to as the ‘architects of globalisation’ due to the global networks they form. However, as well as creating connections, transnational corporations also promote carbon emissions – a detriment to the environment which in the words of Greta Thunberg is

“setting our house on fire”.

Climate change and the warming of global temperatures has severe consequences for the environment,

increasing temperatures can cause rising sea levels, glacial melt and lead to severe climatic conditions.

TNC’s, through their direct removal of carbon sinks are exacerbating this concern. A carbon sink is a natural reservoir of carbon, such as an ocean or forest which can store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Carbon sinks play the key role of preventing carbon levels from rising to dangerous levels and are therefore of prime importance in preventing global warming. High carbon dioxide levels accelerate the natural greenhouse effect which as a result leads to warmer temperatures. Less carbon dioxide is being converted into oxygen through photosynthesis by trees, and there are fewer carbon sinks able to store the increasing carbon emissions when deforestation occurs.

Many TNCs encourage deforestation for example, for agricultural farming.

Vast quantities of forest are removed via by slash-and-burn farming. This technique involves cutting the natural vegetation and burning it to clear it for cultivation. As a result, carbon sinks

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are being destroyed but there is also the increased risk of emissions from the fires created from these slash and burn methods. In total, estimated emissions from deforestation amount to 20% of the increased concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. Worldwide slash and burn farming destroys 50 acres of rainforest every hour in areas such as central Africa, northern South America, and Southeast Asia.

Palm oil is also another significant reason for deforestation. Palm oil is used in almost all everyday products, ranging from lipstick and ice cream to detergent and soap.

Greenpeace International assessed palm oil production to find that 25 palm oil groups had cleared 130,000 hectares of rainforest since the end of 2015. TNCs such as Nestle, and 11 others were sourcing from 20 of the 25 palm oil groups promoting the deforestation of Papa New Guinea’s rainforests (as that is where most palm oil production takes place). It is imperative that TNCs such as these are held responsible for deforestation and therefore global warming.

TNCs also promote carbon dioxide emissions through transportation, which is essentially one of the key components of globalisation. The process of globalisation includes the movements of goods and services across international borders by these large corporations and therefore transport is a necessity. Road transport is a key source of emissions especially on transnational roads as it is estimated that it accounts for 30% of pollution in European cites.

However, due to globalisation focusing on connections between hub cities worldwide, aviation dominates. Between 1990 and 2004, greenhouse gas emissions from aviation rose by 86%, and is today responsible for 4-9% of the total greenhouse gas emissions released worldwide. These emissions have increased the global temperature by 0.8°C since 1880, however two thirds of this temperature rise have occurred since 1975, at a rate of roughly 0.15-0.20°C per decade.

TNCs have been the primary reason for this rise due to the increase in transport and the movement of products globally, therefore the recent acceleration of temperature (global warming) has been a direct consequence of their activity.

TNCs also indirectly promote carbon emissions through industrial activity and consumption. With the growth of globalisation, demand for electricity generation also increases which largely involves burning coal and oil. In turn, this enhances the greenhouse effect and hence climate change. TNCs tend to locate in less industrialised countries due to relaxed environmental policies put in place to encourage foreign direct investment (FDI) for example, in 1995 Ford set up an assembly

plant producing 100,000 cars a year in Chennai, India due to the relaxed restrictions. As a result, countries such as India and China have higher carbon emissions due to their large proportion of industrial activity.

China for example, has the world’s largest population and with a fastgrowing economy takes the top spot for carbon emissions. It also has the second largest number of TNCs after the United States with 66% of its electricity produced in coal power stations. This clearly shows that where TNCs choose to locate has a huge influence on the carbon emissions produced, as they are responsible for the vast quantities of energy being used for industrial activity and manufacturing.

Whilst TNCs are clearly causing environmental concern they benefit people in several ways, by bringing foreign direct investment (FDI) into developing countries they are helping to boost the economy and provide local people with new jobs and skills. This investment allows the government to spend more on infrastructure and services such as education and healthcare, improving the standard of living for the local people. Furthermore, the development of TNCs could lead to more sustainable alternatives in the future as countries continue to globalise and profit, they can afford to turn to cleaner alternatives for industry, creating a positive feedback loop to help the sustainability of future industrial activity.

Overall, a transnational corporation’s ulterior motive is to operate in as many countries as possible in order to maximise profits. However, this cannot be accomplished without the side effect of environmental degradation. Transport can be argued to be the most important component of globalisation as without it, goods and people cannot be moved across international borders. However, this movement is driving climate change through the increasing contribution of greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere via aviation. Food chains

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are also greatly responsible for the increased rate of deforestation, with a growing population pressure is placed on current resources and making space for agricultural farming has become more prominent, threatening the existing carbon sinks. Therefore, it can be easily argued that TNCs are actively contributing to global warming and should be held responsible for “the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced”.

References Huwart, Jean-Yves and Loïc Verdier.

(2013). What is the impact of globalisation on the environment?. Available: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/ docserver/9789264111905-8-en. pdf?expires=1573411287&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=54CEB6FFA6F257BA72E7C7FD7F8B467B. Last accessed 21st Nov 2019.

Espino, C. (2019). Why are carbon sinks so important?. Available: https://blog. usejournal.com/why-are-carbonsinks-so-important-88a4b3484703.

Last accessed 28th Nov 2019.

The Climate Reality Project .

(2018). WAIT, WHY IS CLIMATE CHANGE A BAD THING?. Available: https://www.climaterealityproject.org/ blog/wait-why-climate-change-badthing. Last accessed 28th Nov 2019.

Greenpeace International.

(2018). World’s biggest brands still linked to rainforest destruction in Indonesia. Available: https:// www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/18485/ greenpeace-investigation-wilmar-brands-palm-oil-deforestation-indonesia/. Last accessed 28th Nov 2019.

WHO. (2019). Air pollution. Available: https://www.who.int/sustainable-development/transport/health-risks/ air-pollution/en/. Last accessed 2nd Dec 2019.

Michael, K. (2016). How do we know more CO2 is causing warming?.

Available: https://skepticalscience. com/empirical-evidence-for-co2-enhanced-greenhouse-effect.htm. Last accessed 3rd Dec 2019.

Guerrero, G.G . (2016). The rise of Chinese TNCs, BRICS, and current global challenges. Available: https://www. tni.org/en/article/the-rise-of-chinesetncs-brics-and-current-global-challenges. Last accessed 3rd Dec 2019.

Center for Strategic and International Studies. (2019). How is China’s energy footprint changing?. Available: https:// chinapower.csis.org/energy-footprint/.

Last accessed 9th Dec 2019.

Riy aK um ar i

Is globalisation sustainable in less developed countries?

Jai - cross curricular Economics essay

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lobalisation and the attendant concerns about poverty have reached the pinnacle of pressing discussions. The financial press and influential international officials confidently assert that global free markets expand the horizons for the poor, whereas activist-protesters maintain the opposite belief with

equal intensity (Bardhan, 2006).

Nonetheless, the strength of people’s conviction is often in inverse proportion to the amount of robust factual evidence they possess. Let us first define globalisation: it is a process by which economies and cultures have been drawn deeper together and have become more

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inter-connected through global networks of trade, capital flows, and the spread of technology and global media. A momentous area of interest is that of economic globalisation – the expansion of foreign trade and investment. How does this process affect the incomes and access to resources for the poorest people in

the world? How does it affect their lives? Do the benefits outweigh the costs? These questions are some of the most imperative in social science today. The globalisationpoverty relationship is complex. The concept of free trade exists on the principle of comparative advantage, the idea that countries are better off when they export the commodities, they are best at producing, and import the rest (this leads to increased productivity and output of an economy). Many economists accept the principle, but even they have serious differences of opinion on the balance of potential benefits and actual costs from trade and on the significance of social protection for the poor. Free traders believe that the rising tide of international specialisation and investment benefits all. Others put forward the view that innumerable poor people lack the capacity to adjust, retool and relocate with changing market conditions. These scholars argue that the benefits of specialisation emerge in the long term, over which people and resources are assumed to be fully mobile, whereas the adjustments can cause difficulties in the short term (Nissanke and Thorbecke, 2004). Between 1981 and 2001, the percentage of rural people living on less than $1 a day decreased from 79 to 27 percent in China, 63 to 42 percent in India, and 55 to 11 percent in Indonesia (Bardhan, 2006). One may say this is a result of globalisation and the openness of these economies. Nonetheless, to convincingly demonstrate that improvements in their condition are mainly the result of globalisation is rather cumbersome. In China, the positive poverty trend could instead be accredited to internal factors such as the expansion of infrastructure, the massive 1978 land reforms (reallocation of agricultural land to landless people), changes in grain procurement prices, and the relaxation of restrictions on rural-to-urban migration. Those who are dubious of the benefits of globalisation point out that poverty has remained high in Africa. Between 1981 and 2001

the proportion of Africans living below the international poverty line increased from 42 to 47 percent (Bardhan, 2006). But this lack of development is seemingly less associated with globalisation than with unstable or failed political regimes. Tim Harford, famously the author of the Undercover Economist, notes that

“government banditry” is one of the root causes of the deterioration in Cameroon, where there remain few incentives for businesses to invest as a result of poor government legislation.

Though any trend in poverty and income inequality observed so far cannot be mainly attributed to globalisation without rigorous analysis, one cannot simply dismiss the concerns raised that this process may have had at least some adverse effects on poverty. One influence that should be considered is that of the International Monetary Fund (IMF): an institution established to regulate global financial systems (this was done as a part of rebuilding the global economy after World War II).

However, many argue that the IMF’s policies have caused significant deterioration in less developed countries (LDCs), for example during the 1980 Debt Crisis, when many

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LDCs were in debt. One example of a devastating policy was the Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs), which, in essence, were established to ensure debt repayment, leading to governments of LDCs reducing national government spending on critical sectors such as health and education, and caused LDCs to become more dependent on the developed nations in terms of trade and employment (Clapton, 2019).

This negative effect of globalisation led to the diminishing prospect of LDCs competing effectively in the global market, and thus was not economically sustainable.

John Maynard Keynes, a British economist and the founder of Keynesian economics, insisted that capital (machinery) should not be moved from one place to another, as capital was needed to stimulate economic growth: he disagreed with the deregulation of finance (Clapton, 2019). His words were of great wisdom: ironically, the Multinational Corporations (MNCs) in the world today are seen by many as a devastating force due to the ability of MNCs to move capital and operate in countless places in the world.

“In Bangladesh, Disney and WalMart employ 1.8 million garment workers from the ages 16 – 25 in 600 factories and sewing 900 million garments for the West” (Clapton, 2019). Unfortunately, these workers

with these jobs are languishing.

The working hours of over 100 hours a week, the low, unhygienic living standards, the relentless exploitation of child labour, the “starvation wage”: all this amounts to what some would say is close to slavery. Upon digesting this, it has become apparent that “workers in Bangladesh have suggested that 34 cents a day could feed their families and relieve the misery caused by poverty” (Clapton, 2019).

This, fundamentally, insinuates that MNCs (tragically) give little consideration to the extreme poverty of its powerless workers as long as productivity increases, and consumer demands are met. In fear of driving away MNCs, governments of developing countries are less likely to enact regulations to protect and enhance labour rights. In short, we have observed that globalisation may not be socially sustainable from this perspective.

can worsen the environmental problems. Conversely, globalisation can help spread the positive effects of environmentally friendly technologies and practices from developed to developing countries.

This can reduce pollution in developing countries through, for example, importing greener technologies or developing better environmental regulations and standards. The environmental sustainability depends on the way resources are used, and weaker states are more likely to suffer more costs than benefits in the process due to misallocation of resources and poor regulation.

Nonetheless, there are numerous measures under intense discussion to address the issue of poverty in less developed countries. The major hurdle many poor countries face is not too much globalisation but too little and reducing trade barriers and tariffs can lead to

acceptance and recognition in global markets (Bardhan, 2006).

In summary, globalisation is a pivotal phenomenon by which the world has become increasingly interconnected, and unequivocally, the spread of technology, ideas and culture are all tremendous positive impacts. However, its sustainability in less developed countries remains a simple question with ambiguous, complex answers. It may be more a question of how willing these less developed countries are to reap the benefits of globalisation: poor infrastructure, venal government officials, corrupt politicians, and weak states – all these factors may be the root causes of poverty in many less developed countries. Improving upon these issues will enable the masses to thrive without one hand tied behind their back, without major constraints, and ultimately, without a lack of sustainability. 6 References Clapton, J. (2019). The Effects of Globalisation on Less Developed Countries. [online] Ivoryresearch.com. Available at: https://www.ivoryresearch. com/samples/the-effects-of-globalisation-on-less-developed-countries/ [Accessed 10 Dec. 2019].

Does India have what it takes to be a global superpower?

Nissanke, M. and Thorbecke, E. (2019).

The Impact of Globalization on the World’s Poor. [online] UNU-WIDER. Available at: https://www.wider.unu. edu/publication/impact-globalization-world’s-poor [Accessed 10 Dec. 2019].

You may be asking: “What about the environment?” A pressing issue that is raised commonly is that globalisation promotes the overexploitation of finite and valuable natural resources, such as forests and fisheries, posing an adverse effect on the poor.

Many people say that MNCs flock to poor countries with relaxed environmental standards. These standards are ultimately a domestic policy or institutional failure, leading to resource depletion. If a country opens its markets without dealing with these distortions, it

increased economic growth. The annual loss to developing countries as a group from trade barriers on textile and clothing is estimated to be $24 billion (Clapton, 2019). The toll exceeds rich countries’ foreign aid to less developed countries.

In addition, many small exporters in less developed countries have impeded access to global markets owing to the near-monopoly power enjoyed by a few corporations: a way to address this may be to establish internationally approved quality-certification programs that can help LDCs’ products gain

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Open Textbooks for Hong Kong. (2019).

Positive effects of globalization for developing country business. [online] Available at: http://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/ditatopic/7202 [Accessed 10 Dec. 2019].

UKEssays. November 2018. The Effect of Globalization on Less Developed Countries. [online]. Available from: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/ economics/the-effect-of-globalization-on-less-developed-countries-economics-essay.php?vref=1 [Accessed 10 December 2019].

Bardhan, P. (2019). Does Globalization Help or Hurt the World’s Poor: Overview/Globalization and Poverty. [online] Scientific American. Available at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-globalization-help-o-2006-04/ [Accessed 10 Dec. 2019].

Malika

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superpower is a country that has the capacity to project dominating power and influence anywhere in the world. There are many different countries that are considered as rising superpowers such as Russia, due to its large economy which is sustained by natural resources and China, due to its extensive contribution to the global manufacturing industry. India occupies the southern part of Asia, consisting of 29 states and about one-sixth of the world’s population.

Whether India can be a global superpower can be assessed from a geopolitical, social and economic standpoint and by comparing it to

the USA; the only global superpower.

India is surrounded by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Bay of Bengal to the west. The Indian Ocean is home to major sea routes connecting Africa and East Asia with Europe and the USA. This is one of the reasons that India is projected to have the largest GDP by 2080. This means India has the potential to strengthen ties with external trading partners which would help project its influence in other countries through the spread of its culture in the form of goods, foods and exportations. As well as this, India’s location makes it the prime area for generating

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renewable energy, specifically solar and hydroelectric power. As we move away from the ‘fossil fuel era’, it is important that countries with a global influence are switching to more sustainable sources of energy as this shows that they are advanced enough to start looking at alternative forms of generating electricity to support their growing industries.

India is aiming to produce 72 GW of hydroelectric power by 2027 and 20GW of solar energy by 2022.

India borders with countries such as Pakistan, China, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The maintenance of good international relations is vital to

References Miller, L. (2006). China an Emerging superpower? Available: https://web. stanford.edu/group/sjir/6.1.03_miller. html. Last accessed 26th Nov 2019.

N/A. (2019). Top 10 Most Powerful Countries in the World 2019.Available: https://improb.com/top-powerfulcountries-in-the-world/. Last accessed 26th Nov 2019.

the succession of becoming a global superpower; protection, alliances, security and opportunity.

Over many centuries India has gained and lost many relationships with surrounding countries. Disputes with China over geopolitical dominance, Pakistan over historical religious rivalry and Bangladesh over water supply, has prevented India from growing as a nation. The USA has benefited greatly from its well-maintained relationships with its neighbouring countries.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico and the USA to promote economic growth. It is estimated that NAFTA has added US$18 billion to the US economy since its implementation. In order to become a super power India would need to rebuild relations with these neighbouring countries, looking to the US example.

India has a highly skilled Englishspeaking population; the country specialises in IT and technology producing highly accomplished academics such as technicians and engineers. This has helped them gain global recognition from influential countries as transnational companies seek to outsource jobs to India, the USA for example outsources 84.2% of its telecommunications industry to India. English is the dominant

language in business and is crucial to speak when entering the global market. This has helped India make stronger relationships with different countries such as the UK and the USA, two globally powerful trading partners. On the other hand, India still adheres to a caste system. Men outrank women, senior relatives outrank younger relatives and wealthier individuals outrank poorer

individuals causing an enormous social divide. Members of higherranking castes tend to be more prosperous than members of lowerranking castes, who often endure poverty and social disadvantage and are referred to as ‘untouchables.’

This inhibits India from developing into a global superpower as it prevents the poorer people from investing in their education and

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therefore have less opportunities.

This has created social instability in India. In 2016, 21.1% of the population lived below the national poverty line in comparison to 12.3% in the USA. By living in a hierarchical society, India’s ideologies differ to widely accepted western ideologies for example, feminism which prevents them from developing as a country.

India has the world’s second largest population with a large proportion of the population (65%) being below the age of 35.

A youthful population provides India with a large work force for the future and can benefit industries that need lots of labour such as manufacturing and IT computer specialists. This large working population increases competition for jobs and helps keep labour costs low which ultimately boosts profits. The government will also receive more tax from this working population. India’s demographics can help it to gain superpower status, with abundant workers India gains economic power as well as attracting transnational cooperation’s (TNCs) bringing foreign direct investment.

India also benefits greatly from the tourism industry with around 10 million foreign tourists visiting in 2017 alone. Tourist attractions include the Taj Mahal and Ranthambore National Park which has helped them grow as a global superpower as tourists are allowed to experience local traditions and customs which helps the spread of the influence of Indian culture around the globe giving India soft power. However, India lacks the basic infrastructure such as roads, water and power to support this growing economy and economic success has slowed down as a result of this.

This lack of infrastructure has also deterred companies and TNCs from basing in India as simple things such as communication is not efficient. To be a global superpower you need to be able to support a growing economy which requires strong infrastructure. In 2017 over 43% of the workforce worked in agriculture (primary sector), 25% worked in industry (secondary sector) and 31%

worked in services (tertiary sector).

In comparison to this, the USA had 2% in agriculture, 23% in industry and 75% in services. Countries that are less developed have a higher percentage in the primary sector, however as a country begins to develop there is an increase in the secondary and tertiary sector as well as rural to urban migration occurring. We can see that there has been a decline in the primary sector and an increase in both the tertiary and secondary sector. India is rapidly developing with major growth however it is still far behind other rising superpowers in terms of development and infrastructure.

At this moment, India does not have what it takes to be a global superpower. Although it has a fifth fastest growing economy with an abundance of workers who have valuable qualifications, it lacks the basic infrastructure to support the economy. As well as this, they carry both ends of the social scale. The rich are very rich and the poor are very poor which creates a massive wealth divide affecting all aspects of life, from education to the opportunities they receive. Geographically, they have the potential to further open their trading doors however they lack the resources and technology to do so efficiently. Overall, India is a promising nation which currently is unable to be viewed as a global superpower, due to the aforementioned. However, with the correct geopolitical, economic and social aids, it is possible that they would be able to rise to the top of the political hierarchy in the coming years.

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Stanley A. Wolpert. (2019). India .

Available: https://www.britannica.com/ place/India. Last accessed 26th Nov 2019.

Jacobson, D. (2004). Indian society and ways of living. Available: https:// asiasociety.org/education/indian-society-and-ways-living. Last accessed 27th Nov 2019.

N/A. (2019). Location of India. Available: https://www.mapsofindia.com/ india-locations/. Last accessed 27th Nov 2019.

Pradesh, A. (2017). Why solar. Available: http://www.sunwattindia.com/ whysolar.html. Last accessed 2nd Dec 2019.

Bhatia, G. (2016). China and India: A love hate relationship . Available: https://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/11/china-and-india-a-love-hate-relationship. html. Last accessed 2nd Dec 2019.

Malhotra, A. (2014). India’s relationship with its neighbours: Conflict and Cooperation. Available: https://mea.gov.in/ conflit-cooperation.htm. Last accessed 3rd Dec 2019.

Hemrajani, N. (2018). The jobs in India that attract thousands of applicants.

Available: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180601-the-jobs-in-india-that-attract-millions-of-applicants.

Last accessed 3rd Dec 2019.

Plecher, H. (2019). India: Distribution of the workforce across economic sectors from 2008 to 2018. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/271320/distribution-of-the-workforce-across-economic-sectors-in-india/. Last accessed 6th Dec 2019.

Trines, S. (2018). Education in India. Available: https://wenr.wes. org/2018/09/education-in-india. Last accessed 6th Dec 2019.

Marshall, T. (2015). India and Pakistan .

In: Prisoners of Geography: Ten maps that tell you everything you need to know about global politics. England: Elliot & Thompson, Scribner. p185-213.

Climate change adaptation vs mitigation – which is better for a 21st century world?

Daniel

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ver recent decades, the world has seen a rapid increase in the presence of climate change issues, alongside the awareness of the need to address these issues. However, addressing these issues has not come without its challenges, with some world leaders denying the adverse effects

of global warming. One of the most frequented categories of resolution is adaptation, which is ‘adapting to life in a changing climate’ [NASA].

This involves adjusting to the current climate or the predicted future climate, and trying to achieve the goal of reducing our vulnerability to the harmful effects of climate

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change (like food insecurity or rising sea-levels) as well as the often overlooked issue of making the most of any potential beneficial opportunities created by climate change (like the greater possibilities of grow crops in places such as Greenland, as well as longer growing seasons).

Mitigation, on the other hand, is ‘reducing climate change’. This encompasses the reduction of the flow of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere through two methods; reducing the sources of these gases, such as the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, or enhancing the carbon sinks that accumulate and store these gases, such as forests or oceans. The goal of mitigation is to evade substantial human interference with the climatic system, and to stabilize ‘greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.’ [IPCC Summary for Policymakers, 2014, page 4]

burned or converted in biorefineries equipped with technologies that capture the carbon dioxide, preventing the gas from returning to the atmosphere. This captured carbon dioxide is then injected in deep geological formations. This results in a net transfer of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to the ground, which can effectively reduce the effects of climate change, provided that the emissions associated with supplying the biomass and capturing the carbon dioxide do not exceed the amount removed from the air by photosynthesis. In theory, BECCS compensates for any shortterm increases of greenhouse gas emissions caused by delays in the implementation of climate policy.

from the industrialised countries to make more of the planet’s capacity for assimilation of greenhouse gases available to those countries that are industrialising now. This is a plan that should be facilitated through the movement of finances and technology from developed to developing countries, however, some would argue that we should not be funding countries to add more greenhouse gases to our atmosphere. Furthermore, it has also been seen that smaller island states effectively subsidise the economies of industrial countries that are net producers or exporters of carbon dioxide, since more natural carbon dioxide is fixed by the tropical rain forests, oceans,

The implementation of laws and policies will undoubtedly help to curb the effects of impending, irreversible climate change. Mitigation brings about innovative solutions to the climate change crisis, as well as effective litigation.

Mitigating climate change seems to be the logical first step. It is far better to prevent something from happening, rather than trying to fix it after it has happened. However, one can argue that mitigation is not the best approach to tackling climate on the premise of global equity. At present, the major proportion of greenhouse gas emissions comes from industrialised countries, which contain only about 35 per cent of the world’s population. This has led to developing world leaders calling for reductions in emissions

coral reefs and mangroves of small islands than is emitted locally from these islands [Pernetta, 1992].

Given that the impacts of climate change are uneven geographically, with some poorer countries and regions particularly vulnerable, this is a global-scale environmental justice issue, on which globalscale mitigation finds it hard to act due to the ever-present dilemma proposed by poorer countries. This is a hindrance to the effectiveness of mitigation and has withheld several potentially effective policies until a

One example of effective climate change mitigation technology is Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). This is a chain where carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is absorbed via photosynthesis into the biomass of plant materials. It is then

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fairer solution has been reached.

However, this dilemma will continue to be present whatever the outcome of the implemented policies due to global variations in wealth caused by factors such as population size, so it could be said that it is more effective to put in place policies as soon as possible to try to mitigate the negative effects of climate change as early as possible.

Since the 2009 UN climate talks in Copenhagen, several highprofile figures suggested that the focus needs to shift to adaptation, particularly in the developing world where the effects of climate change are the most harmful. Rather than tough mitigation agreements, it was proposed that the emphasis should be on building greater societal resilience through measures such as water conservation, flood defences and the development of droughttolerant crops. Furthermore, land corridors should be created to help

species migrate, and in particularly vulnerable areas, the abandonment of settlements should be considered, and the residents should move inland. In the absence of effective climate change mitigation from world powers and corporations, it is down to the people and municipalities on a local scale to adapt first, until effective climate change mitigation is put in place that can help to prevent adaptation. It seems natural to prefer mitigation over adaptation as it could stop climate change in its tracks, and we may not have to alter our lifestyles. However, adaptation is becoming more common; we have all had to do it in our daily lives and so currently it could be the most effective strategy, despite the various pledges from world leaders in the Paris agreement in 2016. These pledges are not proving effective enough, leading to adaptation taking place over effective mitigation at this moment in time.

Countering the pro-adaptation claims, other experts have warned that some of the impacts of climate change are extremely hard to accommodate such as ocean acidification, more dangerous and frequent wildfires and the newly created climate refugees. To solely focus on adaptation could lead to a world where we concede to climate change. If we let our global society constantly adapt and put up with climate change, we will eventually be living in a severely compromised world that has sacrificed many of the benefits of the yesteryear.

Furthermore, a switch to an emphasis on adaptation proposes a worry that the limited government resources set aside for mitigation would be used up and thus, without mitigation, the need for adaptation would be greater. The MIT professor of systems dynamics, John Sterman, argues that if people believe they are protected from the impacts of climate change such as rising sea

level or raging wildfires, they would be less open to supporting mitigation policies. On top of this, many of the adaptation strategies require a large sum of capital to implement them into countries, while the countries that need them most are often the poorer countries, those without the capital required. Adaptation is a money-sapping solution, one that may not be suitable for use in the countries that need it most.

Many adaptation and mitigation options can be useful in addressing climate change, but no single option is sufficient by itself. As the IPCC said in its synthesis report, ‘Effective implementation depends on policies and cooperation at all scales and can be enhanced through integrated responses that link mitigation and adaptation with other societal objectives’.

This shows that mitigation and adaptation complement each other and together can reduce the risks

posed by climatic change to society and the natural environment, although their effects vary temporally and spatially. Mitigation has time lags on the climatic and biophysical systems that mean that the global benefits will be barely noticeable until around the middle of the twenty-first century, while the benefits of adaptation are mainly local to regional in scale but they can be immediate, especially if they address vulnerabilities to current climate conditions. Although it is clear to see that both mitigation and adaptation are necessary now, the less we choose to mitigate today, the more we will need to adapt later. This adaptation will also become progressively less effective as the impacts of climate change heighten and storms simply surge over seawalls or crops no longer can be grown in as many places. The answer to the question posed by the title is this: though we must adapt today, we must solve the problem by mitigating our greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible.

References BBC News. (2014, April 13). What is climate change mitigation? Retrieved from BBC News: https://www. bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26980837 Berners-Lee, M. (2019). There Is No Planet B A Handbook for the Make or Break Years. Cambridge University Press.

Climate Policy Info Hub. (n.d.).

Climate Change Adaptation: Needs, Barriers and Limits. Retrieved from https://climatepolicyinfohub.eu/climate-change-adaptation-needs-barriers-and-limits Cook, J. (2018). Deconstructing climate misinformation to identify reasoning errors. Environmental Research Letters.

Fajardy, M., Köberle, A., Dowell, N. M., & Fantuzzi, A. (2019, January). BECCS deployment: a reality check. Retrieved from https://www.imperial.ac.uk/ media/imperial-college/grantham-institute/public/publications/briefing-papers/BECCS-deployment---a-realitycheck.pdf Flint, J., & Raco, M. (2012). The Future of Sustainable Cities. The Policy Press.

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Gordijn, B. (2012, January 12). Ethics of mitigation, adaptation and geoengineering. Retrieved from https:// www.researchgate.net/publication/51983733_Ethics_of_mitigation_ adaptation_and_geoengineering IPCC. (2018, February). Summary for Policymakers. Retrieved from https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_summary-for-policymakers.pdf IPCC. (n.d.). Synthesis Report. Retrieved from https://ar5-syr.ipcc.ch/ topic_adaptation.php Machin, A. (2013). Negotiatiing Climate Change Radical Democracy and the Illusion of Consensus. Zed Books.

Markkanen, S. (2019). Social impacts of climate change mitigation policies and their implications for inequality .

Climate Policy, 827-844.

Middleton, N. (2013). The Global Casino An Introduction to Environmental Issues. Routledge.

NASA. (n.d.). Responding to Climate Change. Retrieved from https:// climate.nasa.gov/solutions/adaptation-mitigation/ OECD. (2008). Climate Change Mitigation WHAT DO WE DO? Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/environment/ cc/41751042.pdf OECD. (2009, August). Cost-Effective Actions to Tackle Climate Change.

Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/ env/Policy_Brief_Cost-effective_actions_to_tackle_climate_change.pdf Pernetta, J. C. (1992, March). Impacts of climate change and sea-level rise on small island states: National and international responses.

Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/ pii/0959378092900334 Road to Paris. (n.d.). Mitigation vs.

Adaptation Which one matters more?

Retrieved from https://roadtoparis. info/top-list/mitigation-vs-adaptation/ Sterman, J. (2013, July 5). Adaptation Or Mitigation? Lessons From Abolition In The Battle Over Climate Policy.

Retrieved from https://thinkprogress. org/adaptation-or-mitigation-lessons-from-abolition-in-the-battle-over-climate-policy-7f81d4b7e353/ The Climate Reality Project. (2019, November 7). CLIMATE ADAPTATION VS. MITIGATION: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE, AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? Retrieved from climaterealityproject. org/blog/climate-adaptation-vs-mitigation-why-does-it-matter

several secondary impacts from the fashion industry that indirectly contribute to environmental degradation. However, a key concern is its influence in global warming, as it is clear that fashion is responsible for emitting high levels of greenhouse gases, in fact the industry releases more CO2 than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. This clearly demonstrates the significance of this industry in anthropogenic climate change, as these high carbon emissions increase the atmospheric carbon stores to levels higher than is natural. It is these gases in the atmosphere that increase the earth’s ability to absorb the sun’s infrared radiation, and therefore lead to the rise in global temperatures.

The future of fashion:

Does being more sustainable mean you must sacrifice your style?

Erin St Joan of Arc School Rickmansworth - guest writer

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ingle-use plastic, unsustainable agricultural practices and polluting energy generation: our Earth is facing many concerning environmental pressures. But what about the clothes you’re wearing right now? The fashion industry is often overlooked as a threat to the environment and yet it is a growing concern, particularly with the rise of fast fashion websites such as ASOS transforming the way people shop. In fact, the fashion industry produces approximately 10% of the world’s carbon emissions and is

therefore a major contributor to the enhanced greenhouse effect, which in turn is causing average global temperatures to rise.

The key issue is the changing consumer culture. Consumers worldwide are buying more clothes than ever before, with 60% more clothing being bought in 2014 than in 2000. This could largely be attributed to the growing domination of online shopping, making it possible for people to purchase entire new wardrobes form the comfort of their

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homes. Furthering the problem, shoppers are also keeping their clothes for significantly shorter periods of time. This combination means that not only are more garments being manufactured, but they are also having to be made rapidly in order to meet the demand of customers who expect to be able to purchase the very latest style with the click of a button.

How does this impact the environment? The answer is not straightforward as there are

Another aspect of the fashion industry that significantly threatens the environment is that huge volumes of water are involved in the process. This is largely due to the use of the extremely water intensive crop cotton - It takes 700 gallons of water to produce just one cotton t-shirt. It is this extensive water use for cotton farming that leads to the drying of water sources such as the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan, with its Eastern basin being dry for the first time in 600 years. Although other physical factors such as the naturally dry conditions have clearly contributed to this drying, many have

identified the key cause as irrigation for farming, and a large proportion of this is for cotton plants to supply the fashion industry. This rapid drying of the Aral Sea demonstrates the extent to which this industry is damaging the environment.

But could fashion become more sustainable? Despite an increase in the use of fast fashion sites, there is also a substantial number of people selling used clothes on increasingly popular platforms such as Depop, which now has 15 million users in 147 countries. This could allow consumers to reduce their ecological footprint, by purchasing second-hand clothes and reselling them to someone else when they’re no longer wanted. This reduces the demand for new clothes to be manufactured as well as reducing the amount of waste clothing that will end up in landfill after very little use. Platforms such as this represent the diminishing stigma surrounding ‘pre-loved’ clothes and as a result, sites such as Depop could start to reduce the impacts the fashion industry is having on the environment.

However, it could be that the only way for major changes to occur is for large fashion retailers to act towards sustainability. There is already evidence of this, for example Zara has pledged that all its clothes will be sustainable by 2025. This is extremely significant as Zara’s parent company Inditex is a Spanish retail conglomerate that operates 7 other brands; therefore, this would indicate a change in attitude from major TNCs that could reduce the industry’s overall environmental impact. Furthermore, The UN has launched the Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, which is encouraging companies to farm cotton more sustainably and therefore reduce water use. This kind of multilateral action is providing a more positive outlook in that large-scale efforts are clearly being made to lessen fashion’s environmental footprint.

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Increasingly evident large-scale efforts from major global players are providing a more positive outlook for the fashion industry to shift towards a more environmentally friendly future.

We as consumers must also make conscious decisions to make ethical purchases, using platforms such as Depop to buy second-hand clothing.

With these sites selling fashionable items and highly sought-after brands, perhaps more people will begin to make better choices, as sustainability does not mean you have to sacrifice your style.

References Business Insider (2019). The fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined. Here are the biggest ways it impacts the planet. [online]. Available at: https://www.businessinsider. com/fast-fashion-environmental-impact-pollution-emissions-waste-water-201910?r=US&IR=T [Accessed 17 November 2019].

National Geographic (2014). Aral Sea’s Eastern Basin Is Dry for First Time in 600 Years. [online]. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic. com/news/2014/10/141001-aral-seashrinking-drought-water-environment/ [Accessed 17 November 2019].

BBC News (2019). Depop: Can pre-loved clothes make fast fashion sustainable? [online]. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49677383 [Accessed 17 November 2019] BBC News (2019). Fast fashion: Zara promises all its clothes will be sustainable by 2025. [online]. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-49022453 [Accessed 17 November 2019]. The Future of Fashion

PHOTOGRAPHS - entries from students depicting the relationship between physical and human Geography

The Geography departments worked alongside the Art department in an exciting Ishaan – Village Life, Ahmedabad, India.

photography competition for the 2019-2020 edition of HABS Geographical.

Students across all year groups submitted photographs; these images had to reflect both human and physical Geography in one shot. Here are some of the fantastic submissions we received.

Joel – Lockdown walk – Hendon 42

Ishaan – Foothills of Mount Kailas, Tibet 43

Keshni – Athabasca Glacier, Canada

Michelle – Þingvellir, Iceland

Michelle – Reykjavik, Iceland 44

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Soham – Sør-Hidle - Paradise in Norway

A regional focus:

Covid-19: The impact on sporting events, the economy and environment in Europe.

Charlene and Daanysh

C

OVID-19, more commonly known as Coronavirus has been in the news since late October 2019. It started in the city of Wuhan in China and has in matter of months spread globally and was confirmed a pandemic by the WHO on the 11th March. The virus is highly contagious

Zoe – Tikal, Flores, Guatemala

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however it only has a death rate of around 2%. The virus spread quickly into Europe, which in April 2020 was considered the epicentre of the pandemic. It has led to the cancellation and postponement of many events such as the 2020 Olympics and the London Marathon.

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Sport has been hit especially hard as society practices social distancing; this has affected people’s mental health and spirit and caused huge economic losses. There are also environmental implications of the mitigation and adaptation response to the pandemic.

This pandemic has wreaked havoc on sporting events in 2020.

Attempts could be made to host games without crowds, however the economic losses from tickets, merchandise and food is substantial.

The industry is due to lose billions this year with profits hanging in the balance. The UEFA Euro competition is a football tournament that only comes around every four years. It is highly competitive and anticipated, and the event has already been delayed for a year to 2021. UEFA are concerned that delaying the event has already cost them hundreds of millions of dollars and the costs are still rising. Furthermore, on a global scale the sporting industry is due to lose trillions. Each year from ticket sales, merchandise and food sold at events, $1.926 trillion dollars are generated, $420 billion of which is contributed by Europe. This is a massive loss to have in any one year as this can directly impact the events for years to come, which is one of the major concerns for UEFA. There is also a risk for some people who are self-employed and make most of their living from these events, for example people who own food trucks and vans are able to make a large number of sales at sporting events however this year that will not be possible which is a financial risk to them and their families. Overall, we can see that Coronavirus has caused economic losses from sporting events in the Eurozone, as well as globally and it will have longer term effects in years to come.

The postponement of Euro 2020 has had many consequences on the global economy. However, the virus has also led to some benefits, especially on the environment.

There have already been drastic improvements in air quality as countries are faced with large-scale lockdowns, particularly in Europe.

Marshall Burke, a researcher at Stanford University, has calculated that the improvements in air quality recorded in China may have saved the lives of 73,000 adults over 70.

Others have estimated that the number of deaths prevented from

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improvements in air quality could potentially be greater than the deaths caused by Covid-19. This is significant as it shows us just how much we pollute the Earth which has long term consequences on health as it impacts the quality of the air that we breathe. Although this is important to note, it cannot be concluded that pandemics are beneficial to our health, but it is a mere reminder of how much we pollute the air with increasing globalisation.

On the other hand, the fall in carbon emissions and improvement in air quality may result in global leaders realising how much pollution is created and society will visually witness the benefits that reduced economic activity has on the environment, so more people will be willing to adapt to more sustainable ways of living, such as the increased use in renewable energy.

Governments may also be willing to focus on making the renewable energy sector more affordable.

In addition, the virus has halted global economic activity due to the closure of schools, offices and factories. This reduces the amount of carbon emissions from transport, resulting in a fall in emissions. The Euro 2020 games were supposed to be held in 12 European countries, including Italy, where the Covid-19 death toll was one of the highest in the world. Due to the postponement of the tournament there will also be fewer tourists and football fans visiting those countries which will lead to lower emissions from the aviation industry as fewer people are needing to travel. Transport makes up 23% of global emissions which will benefit our climate in the long term as these figures will be reduced greatly. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), the EU target is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020 and a reduction in carbon emissions due to slower economic activity will help the EU keep on track to reach this target. However, there are fears that once the pandemic is over, countries will want to increase production rapidly, in order boost their economy back to sustainable growth. This will balance out the effects of the virus having any beneficial consequences on the environment as carbon emissions will rise dramatically.

Therefore, the Coronavirus could end up not having any environmental benefits in the long term; the fall in carbon emissions is not sustainable as rapid production will cancel out any effect of lower carbon emissions in the atmosphere during the period of lockdown.

Coronavirus will not only affect the physical health of society, but also their wellbeing and mental health.

This is because the postponement of Euro 2020 will result in a loss of entertainment for people watching.

The championships occur every 4 years, so there is a big build-up in terms of advertising and marketing for the event. The finals were planned to be held in July in London, however, the current lockdown situation has meant that these games will not take place. Society will suffer a loss in the entertainment industry which can have an impact on wellbeing and community spirit. This is evident as we saw that the London 2012 Olympics created a huge community spirit both locally and nationally.

The population has been hit hard as they lack entertainment and conversation topics and are influenced by an overwhelming sense of emptiness, disconnection and uncertainty.

As well as this, there have been great economic losses being made by multiple companies and increasing risks being posed towards the livelihoods. Finally, there is the question as to whether this event has benefited or simply delayed the damage that we cause to our environment.

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The situation is uncertain, and noone can be sure of what will come over the next few years but 2020 is a bleak year, and many people will be affected by Covid-19, directly, indirectly, physically and mentally.

References: Total greenhouse gas emission trends and projections in Europe (2020).

Available at: https://www.eea.europa. eu/data-and-maps/indicators/greenhouse-gas-emission-trends-6/assessment-3 (Accessed: 27 March 2020).

Tondo, L. (2020) Coronavirus deaths in Italy pass 10,000 with 889 new fatalities, the Guardian. Available at: https:// www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ mar/28/coronavirus-deaths-in-italypass-10000-with-889-new-fatalities (Accessed: 28 March 2020).

Watts, J. and Kommenda, N. (2020) Coronavirus pandemic leading to huge drop in air pollution, the Guardian. Available at: https://www. theguardian.com/environment/2020/ mar/23/coronavirus-pandemic-leading-to-huge-drop-in-air-pollution (Accessed: 28 March 2020).

News, A.B.C. (n.d.). UEFA postpones Euro 2020 by 1 year because of pandemic. [online] ABC News. Available at: https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/ wireStory/uefa-begins-talks-postponing-euro-2020-69637403 [Accessed 29 Mar. 2020].

Somoggi, A., Value, founder of S. and industry, analyses the expected economic impact of the C. the sports (2020). Coronavirus’ economic impact on the Sports Industry. [online] Sports Venue Business (SVB). Available at: https://sportsvenuebusiness.com/index.php/2020/03/19/coronavirus-economic-impact-on-the-sports-industry/ [Accessed 29 Mar. 2020].

Association, T.F. (n.d.). Mark Bullingham speaks on postponement of UEFA EURO 2020 and COVID-19 updates. [online] www.thefa.com. Available at: http://www.thefa.com/news/2020/ mar/17/uefa-euro-2020-statement-170320 [Accessed 29 Mar. 2020].

LICs where HIV screening is not as prevalent as it should be, resulting in the virus unknowingly being passed on. This also occurs in HICs such as the UK where 1 in 14 people are unaware of themselves having HIV.

A global perspective:

The spread and control of HIV Aadit

H

IV/AIDS is quite possibly the largest and most prevalent pandemic currently present on the globe. HIV is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, a predominantly sexually transmitted retrovirus found in humans. It is the virus which causes the disease AIDS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. AIDS causes the progressive failure of the immune system by suppressing its defences by invading cells. As a result of this, it allows for the entering and growth of pathogens causing opportunistic

diseases – diseases which come as a result of unusually beneficial environment and conditions which favour the growth of the infection.

Pretty much all countries have an HIV presence which causes public health issues and it is widely believed that level of development is important in determining the distribution and spread of the virus; the control of the pandemic can be influenced by the development of a country. It is an increasingly common disease and virus predominantly caused as a result of unprotected

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sex or as a result of the virus being passed down from a mother to her child during a pregnancy.

It is estimated that globally, 37.9 million people actively had HIV as of 2018. 36.2 million of these people were above the age of 15, while the rest were under the age of 15.

A large proportion of the young population have acquired the virus as a result of it being passed down from their mother. This remains undetected in the child until they show symptoms, especially in

97% of British people with HIV are on medication to prevent and supress the virus. The suppressants are found to be highly effective as 97% of people on medication are incapable of passing on the infection.

This makes HIV and AIDS highly controllable in the UK as we have the capital and means to widely test for and treat HIV in short periods of time with little or no cost to those with the infection themselves. This is similar in many HICs due to their level of development and advanced healthcare. 87% of the population who are assumed to have HIV are virally supressed, thus reducing and controlling transmission.

Countries such as the UK are able to curb their HIV rates and reduce the rate of transmission through targeted education and easy access to help and healthcare. HIV is a wellresearched virus within the UK, with numerous charities put in place for support and education such as the National AIDS Trust. As a country develops, access to HIV education gradually increases as the taboo nature of such a topic is shed.

“Since its launch in 2013, the It Starts With Me campaign has used social marketing, local engagement, and policy work to successfully increase HIV prevention knowledge, improve attitudes, and significantly encourage uptake of protection behaviours.”

– HIV Prevention UK

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As the graph above indicates, HIV diagnosis was very low in the mid90s due to the subject being avoided due to fears of its nature. However, campaigns over the years have supported public education and knowledge. In addition, government provision of HIV testing has enabled diagnoses to rise and AIDS deaths and diagnoses to fall. The relationship between HIV diagnoses and AIDS diagnoses/deaths is that the increased awareness has enabled people to become more aware of their infection, thus enabling them to take suppressant drugs, resulting in fewer AIDS infections and therefore fewer deaths. Therefore, government and private charity campaigns and attempts to make the public aware of HIV since the 90s have been beneficial as HIV rates have been falling as well as HIV suppressant increasing within the UK. In contrast, LICs found predominantly in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are the largest and most prevalent hubs for those with HIV; HIV is predominantly found in SSA. General estimates suggest that approximately 61% of new infections of HIV in 2016 were diagnosed in SSA. SSA has 3 times the HIV diagnoses of the next most infected region with 19.6 million estimated total infected people in 2017.

Eswatini is the country with the highest rates (percentage) globally, with an estimated 27.4% of people aged between 15 and 49 having it within their 1.3 million population.

Each year there are approximately 7000 new infections and 3500 deaths as a result of AIDS. 86%

of the adults and 75 % of children who have HIV are on medication for viral suppression of HIV which helps to reduce the transmission.

In 2005 an estimated 40% of 15-49 had HIV in Eswatini, therefore there is proof that rates have fallen due to increased access to healthcare and a vast increase in HIV testing and suppression. In 2005 only 5% of those under 49 were medicated for HIV, while 86% are medicated today.

The most particularly affected group is those in the sex work industry; it has the highest sex worker HIV prevalence of 60.5%.

pressures. Young women are particularly affected, with 15.9% being a host for the infection. The virus is easily passed onto their offspring as the total fertility rate of the country sits at 3.0, therefore many babies are born each year by mothers who are not on HIV drugs.

This is a reason for the drop in HIV rates as total fertility rate (TFR) has fallen from its peak of 6.9 in 1972 to a low of 3.0 in 2017 due to the increase in use of contraception; only 27% of women had access and use of contraceptives in 2000 as opposed to 66.5% in 2014.

The largest barrier to controlling HIV is high levels of stigma and discrimination, such as in Eswatini which has resulted in not enough people accessing care or treatment.

It has proven to be the country’s greatest medical threat, thus contributing to the low life expectancy of 58. Women are disproportionately affected as 35.1% of all women are living with HIV, compared to 19.3% of men. Women’s increased vulnerability is a result of gender inequality within their society and culture as 12% of women are in a polygamous marriage, therefore increasing possible transmission.

Married women also typically need their husbands’ consent to access sexual and reproductive health services as a result of societal inequality, prejudice and social

Furthermore, the UN have noted that Eswatini life expectancies have coincidentally fallen as a result of high HIV rates; life expectancy was 62 in 1990 but is 58 in 2018. In fact, life expectancy fell to a modern low of 42 in 2006. Naturally, HIV is only a contributing factor in the lowered life expectancy, but once paired with prevalent issues such as poverty, malnutrition, high disease rates and low access to healthcare, there is an overall large impact on society. This shows the destructive and counterintuitive nature of viruses like HIV and diseases such as AIDS as the lack of control can prove detrimental to the health of existing and future generations.

Eswatini only has 0.8 doctors per 1000; in contrast the UK has 2.8 per 1000. This is a result of the low

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level of development experienced in Eswatini; the country falls into the second stage of the demographic transition model with a birth rate of 26 per 1000 in 2018 and a death rate of 9.1 per 1000, resulting in a rapidly growing population, therefore increased likelihood of transmitting HIV and a lowering number of doctors per 1000.

However, there has been a reduction in the number of deaths as a result of AIDS since 2010, from 3800 to 2400. In contrast, HIV infection rates have risen to 11,000 from 7,800 within the same time frame. These figures illustrate that although HIV spread has not been controlled, the control of HIV within a person’s system has increased.

This further indicates that HIV suppression is increasing within Eswatini as a result of increased government and charity support and education. 85% of women in Eswatini have primary education, which is almost on par with men.

Adult literacy rates are also similar for both genders at 88.4% in 2018 which has increased from 67% in 1986; therefore education rates are gradually increasing. This increase correlates with the increasing HIV awareness and suppression, thus suggesting that HIV rates will eventually fall as the country develops further.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were a set of 8 international development goals which aimed to enhance the level of development of numerous countries around the globe. The goals relating to reducing HIV, reducing child mortality, decreasing poverty and malnutrition, and decreasing levels of inequality are the goals which directly impact the control of AIDS and HIV. The policy was launched in 2000 and aimed to meet its goals by 2015. Correlation is not causation, however, since the introduction of the MDGs a total of around 21 million lives were estimated to have been saved as a result of each of the countries efforts to counter the prevalent issues detailed above.

the gradual eradication of extreme hunger and poverty. These factors combine to contribute HIV spread, therefore tackling these issues at the root by governments and charities has enabled greater control over HIV. As of 2013, an estimated 471 million were deemed to no longer be in extreme poverty due to the MDGs. The effects of the MDGs were greater in LICs as opposed to HICs as HICs tended to already have a strong grasp over these 8 issues.

Meanwhile LICs were generally not yet at a stage of development which had enabled them to bypass these issues, therefore the MDGs acted as a kickstart for governments to get their act together and tackle these issues. The figures above imply that MDGs were successful in bettering the development of countries and the lives of citizens.

are often capable of being easily transmitted, especially those that are viruses such as HIV. The quickest and simplest way of stopping such pandemics from occurring in the first place is for governments to intervene and put measures in place which stop the disease or infection from spreading until a cure or suppressant is found. For diseases such as HIV, governments pushing and promoting medication is quite possibly the most effective measure for HIV. To prevent pandemics, we need instantaneous government control and effective suppressants and cures, as well as strong education on these topics so populations can truly understand how to prevent the spread.

References: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hivand-aids/ https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/data-and-trends/global-statistics https://www.nat.org.uk/we-inform/ HIV-statistics/UK-statistics https://www.avert.org/global-hiv-andaids-statistics https://www.avert.org/professionals/ hiv-around-world/sub-saharan-africa/ swaziland https://www.ceicdata.com/en/eswatini/health-statistics/sz-contraceptiveprevalence-any-methods--of-womenaged-1549 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Development_Goals https://www.who.int/hiv/HIVCP_SWZ.pdf

As the bar above shows, SSA was the region most improved by the scheme, saving an approximate 14.1 million lives over the course of 15 years, thus averaging over a million saved lives per year. An estimated 8.7 million of the lives saved were a result of measures to counteract HIV/AIDS spread by providing access to medication and care. When considering its’ effects on a global scale, we can see that there was a total reduction of 31% in HIV cases between 2001 and 2013, suggesting that governments were effectively tackling HIV transmission as a result of the MDGs. This is also tied to child mortality, gender equality, female empowerment and

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the successor to the MDGs, designed to continue to improve on the original aims of the MDGs, whilst also introducing new goals alongside the existing ones.

They was implemented in 2015 and are targeted to meet the goals by 2030. There are 17 goals which all intend to increase the level of development of the countries which have agreed to the SDGs, and they require government action to get the ball rolling. Although HIV is no longer a primary goal or concern, it still remains a secondary factor which relates to issues such as poverty, wellbeing, economic growth and inequality.

http://datatopics.worldbank.org/ world-development-indicators/

Pandemics are one of the largest threats which affect our planet. They

https://sustainabledevelopment. un.org/?menu=1300

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http://www.nhshistory.net/aidsdata.pdf https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/SWZ/eswatini/birth-rate https://knoema.com/atlas/Eswatini/ Death-rate https://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/swaziland https://knoema.com/atlas/Eswatini/ topics/Education/Literacy/Adult-literacy-rate https://www.who.int/news-room/ fact-sheets/detail/millennium-development-goals-(mdgs) https://www.theguardian.com/ global-development-professionals-network/2017/mar/30/how-successful-were-the-millennium-development-goals https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goals

A global perspective:

How can governments control pandemics?

Francesca

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n the last two centuries, the world has been challenged with 7 pandemics, including numerous influenza pandemics, SARS, HIV and more recently Covid-19. When

a new deadly virus is spreading across the globe, as well as finding a cure for the disease, it is crucial for governments to put regulations in place to prevent the spread of

the virus whether it’s encouraging social distancing or imposing travel bans or educating people in how to protect themselves against the virus.

The ‘Spanish’ influenza pandemic, which got its name due to the first cases being reported in Spain, wreaked havoc across the world in the years 1918 to 1919 following the First World War. While this pandemic did not occur in a modern world and global travel may not have been as accessible back then as it is now, it would have been expected that the virus spread slowly, however, soldiers travelling back home from war caused this deadly virus to spread rapidly around the world, affecting 30% of the population and killing 20-50 million.

via boat. The disease then spread along major travel routes as armies were moved around or as soldiers returned home.

The pandemic occurred in three waves. The first, the mildest of the waves, began in March 1918, during the war. It was unclear where the virus started but due to the movement of troops, it quickly spread throughout Western Europe and had reached Poland by July. In the USA, the first cases were reported in Kansas City in a military camp. The second wave, the deadliest of the waves, began in

Non-pharmaceutical measures were put in place by governments to halt the spread including restrictions on social gatherings (to prevent human to human transmission).

In the United states of America schools, churches, dance halls closed, weddings of more than 20 people were banned and in New York, factory shifts were staggered to reduce human contact. While these measures were extreme in terms of how they affected everyday life, studies conducted by researchers from NIAID and the Harvard School of Public Health found a clear correlation between number of interventions put in place by authorities and the peak death rate: the more interventions, the lower the death rate.

In controlling the spread of ‘Spanish’ influenza, the timing of implementing social distancing regulations was key in flattening the curve of peak death rates.

Outbreaks of this deadly virus occurred in almost every part of the world inhabited by man, extending all the way to South Pacific islands such as New Zealand and Samoa.

Outbreaks began in ports as the most common way for people to travel between countries and for soldiers to return home in 1918 was

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September 1918 as soldiers began to return home from war. In the USA, the second wave hit Boston hard due to its major port, allowing the return of soldiers. In the month of October 195,000 Americans died. The final wave hit in the winter of 1919 and lasted until spring.

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Two cities in America, St. Louis and Philadelphia both introduced similar public health measures to contain the pandemic however, peak mortality rates were significantly higher in Philadelphia as, unlike St. Louis where measures were put into place two days after the first cases were reported, Philadelphia waited two weeks. The death rate in St. Louis was estimated to be reduced

during wartime. For example, in the UK, public health official Arthur Newsholme knew quarantine would be an effective way to prevent the spread of the influenza virus but he didn’t want to affect war efforts by keeping munition factory workers at home. While the rise of globalization and urbanisation have made it increasingly difficult to contain a pandemic in a modern world, such as Covid–19, there are many lessons that we have learnt from the 1918 pandemic such as when to implement and lift regulations and what the best non-pharmaceutical measures are in the absence of a vaccine.

References Nina Strochlic. (2020). How some cities ‘flattened the curve’ during the 1918 flu pandemic. Available: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/03/ how-cities-flattened-curve-1918-spanish-flu-pandemic-coronavirus/. Last accessed 15th May 2020.

All About History. (2020). Spanish flu: The deadliest pandemic in history.

Available: https://www.livescience. com/spanish-flu.html. Last accessed 16th May 2020.

by 30-50%. Additionally, another study conducted by researchers at Imperial College London showed that the timing of when control measures were lifted played a key part in whether the infection remerged amongst the population.

The studies suggest that had San Francisco kept its controls in place longer, deaths could have been reduced by up to 90%.

As well as implementing measures to control the spread of the virus, governments have to maintain calm amongst the population. As this pandemic began as World War One ended, governments avoided mentioning the virus at first to keep up morale in society. Authorities told half-truths regarding the severity of the pandemic and that ‘there was no cause for panic and alarm’.

However, people knew this was

not the case due to the numerous deaths of friends and family they were witnessing. In a pandemic, it is crucial for governments to find the right balance when informing the public about the situation in terms of how much information they should share to reduce panic but to also maintain the trust of their population. Additionally, by keeping the virus hidden in the beginning stages of the outbreak, there were no immediate measures put in place to halt the spread of the virus, allowing it to transfer around the world as soldiers returned home.

The movement of wartime troops is one of the main reason for the rapid and widespread outbreak of this deadly virus. However, it should be recognised that the blame should also fall on public health official’s unwillingness to impose quarantines

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Dave Roos. (2020). Why the Second Wave of the 1918 Spanish Flu Was So Deadly. Available: https://www. history.com/news/spanish-flu-second-wave-resurgence. Last accessed 16th May 2020.

Editors of Britannica. (2020). Influenza pandemic of 1918–19. Available: https://www.britannica.com/event/influenza-pandemic-of-1918-1919. Last accessed 15th May 2020.

Molly Billings. (2005). The Influenza Pandemic of 1918. Available: https:// virus.stanford.edu/uda/. Last accessed 16th May 2020.

Nina Strochlic. (2020). How some cities ‘flattened the curve’ during the 1918 flu pandemic. Available: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/03/ how-cities-flattened-curve-1918-spanish-flu-pandemic-coronavirus/. Last accessed 15th May 2020. . (2007). Rapid Response was Crucial to Containing the 1918 Flu Pandemic. Available: https://www.nih. gov/news-events/news-releases/ rapid-response-was-crucial-containing-1918-flu-pandemic. Last accessed 16th May 2020.

Journal Review:

Climate Change by Robert D. Blackwill Araliya and Anay

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n his academic journal Robert D Blackwill explores the problems associated with the beliefs, Donald Trump – the United States president and global leader, has regarding climate change. Blackwill illustrates Trump view of climate change as a hoax, he not only highlights the environmental damage but also the social and economic impacts this view has on the US military defence and intelligence. This is particularly ironic as Donald Trump has a high interest in national security yet is unable to see how climate change is affecting it, despite his own administration warning him.

Robert D Blackwill begins with an examination of why climate change is not a concern for the president of the US. Summarising that his beliefs are rooted in the idea that climate change was constructed by the Chinese to eliminate manufacturing competitiveness and that we should be more focused on keeping our air clean rather than cool. Furthermore, Trump uses the example of winter months in early 2019, when temperatures were very low, as an opportunity to prove that global warming does not exist. Despite his own administration releasing documentation on the impacts of climate change in a national climate assessment, he failed to mention it in his eighty-two-minute State of the Union speech, which was the third longest in history. This highlighted his ignorance towards the topic and his refusal to accept it as a concern.

Blackwill continues to discuss why this is a problem for the rest of the world; being a global leader puts Trump in a place of power to make major decisions for the US, these decisions are influential on the global stage. Blackwell refers to the United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, made to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius. This agreement is a global effort and therefore when Trump withdrew the US, he made clear to the rest of world his stark position on climate change. Trump decided this from an economic perspective rather than an environmental one as he did not want to disrupt coal production within the US, which would have had to be reduced if the US were still part of the agreement.

Trump did not want to pay funding to the UN for an ‘expensive hoax’.

However, climate change is not only an environmental threat, but also a threat to the ‘national security’ of the US. The journal describes the extensive damage that climate change would have on overseas military bases due to an increased frequency of natural disasters, wreaking havoc on America’s ability to project its power globally. Not only does climate change harm the military bases due to natural disasters, but also has the ability to spark conflicts, which may lead to US intervention. The article demonstrates how increased

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droughts which cause food and water shortages, power outages and other impacts can lead to humanitarian disasters. Furthermore, Blackwill explains that these impacts can also cause migration and as recent history shows us mass human migrations can result in increased propensity for conflict and turmoil as new populations intermingle with and compete against established populations.

All of which will increase demand for military humanitarian assistance.

Robert D Blackwill goes on to depict the scale of the disaster of climate change, as the Sierra Club and Pentagon ‘have aligned on a policy issue’ for perhaps for the first time. This is significant because historically these two organisations have been opposed over all policies, particularly illustrated when the Club sued the Pentagon in 2006. The fact that these polar bodies have come together on climate change demonstrates just how significant this issue is and how alienated Trump is from even the rest of his country and administration with his combative rhetoric.

Overall, this journal explores climate change beyond the well-known environmental impacts and delves into political views which are not commonly shared. Blackwill clearly highlights the issues associated with having a global leader view climate change as a ‘hoax’. This journal is therefore particularly interesting to a reader who wants to gain an all rounded outlook on a topic that is often only classified as environmental

Elstree’s rurality and flat land meant that the schools had the opportunity to expand to incorporate spacious facilities such as sporting grounds, swimming pools and lecture halls.

Collectively, both schools have over 128 acres of land.

Elstree is home to numerous farms, Aldenham Country Park and Aldenham Reservoir and the land use around this area is mainly agricultural. There are also good transport links which means that it is accessible for the school community. It is situated just off the M1, if travelling by car and can also be accessed via public transport from Elstree and Borehamwood Station. London Elstree Aerodrome is 2.5km north-west of the town centre, giving the area regional and national access. Both schools provide a coach service ranging from Kilburn up to Harpenden in the North. This means that many people from the surrounding area can attend the schools , which increases their sphere of influence.

A local focus

The location of the Haberdashers’ Schools Malika and Daniel

T

he girls’ school used to be located in Acton. During World War II, it lost its’ library and dining room.

This led to major reconstruction and the eventual relocation to Elstree in 1974 which brought with it the ability to expand. The boys’ school was located in Hampstead, from

1898-1961 at which point the school moved to Elstree.

Elstree is a settlement in the county of Hertfordshire, 15 miles from Central London. It is situated in-between Edgware and Radlett and has an area of around 4.3km2.

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The gradient of the land in Elstree is relatively gentle. As you travel further south, the height increases, with the highest point 145m above sea level near Penniwells Farm.

Nearer the school, the land is lower with the lowest point 80m above sea level near Little Kendall’s Woods.

In Victorian times, this area was surrounded by farms and had a population of 1,323.

When the film industry arrived in 1914, it attracted businesses and retail to the area bringing in new job opportunities.

This change in function from agriculture to manufacturing meant that new facilities were built to serve the new residents. The underground system was extended from Edgware to Elstree Hill and local community centres such as the Allum Hall were created. This sparked a spiral of development. Today, Elstree’s main industry is retail. It has a population of around 32,000 and it is estimated that there are around 13,000 dwellings in the area.

In the surrounding areas of Elstree and Borehamwood, 30.9% of the population are under 18 and the largest demographic is between 18-65 at 60.9%. There is a roughly equal split between male and female, with the exception of the 90+ category where there are double the number of elderly females than males. The surrounding area is predominantly made up of people from the UK at 81%, with 1.5% of people coming from the Republic of Ireland, 4.6% of people come from other EU countries, and 10.9% of people come from countries outside the EU. This shows that Elstree and Borehamwood has a significantly higher immigrant population than the rest of the UK. There are fewer people claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance in Elstree and Borehamwood at 2.1%, which is 1.2 percentage points below the national average. This area has a large white population of 28,966, followed by similarly sized populations of Black and Asian communities at 2,500 people. There is also a smaller Arab community of 110 people.

area is quite affluent compared to the national average, however the area still has representation from all demographic categories.

In conclusion, there are several factors that have coalesced to turn the local area into what it is today; accessibility, rurality and local services and demographics. These have undoubtedly had an influence on the development of the schools and their characteristics.

References N/A. (2015). Elstree and Borehamwood Survey. Available: https://www5.hertsmere.gov.uk/democracy/documents/ s31675/20140618AR07%20SocialElstreeBorehamwood.pdf. Last accessed 19/05/20.

N/A. (1950). OS Map of Elstree.

Available: https://digimapforschools. edina.ac.uk/roam/map/schools. Last accessed 20/05/20.

N/A. (2015). History and Tradition.

Available: https://www.habsgirls.org. uk/about/history-and-tradition/. Last accessed 20/05/20.

N/A. History of Habs Boys. Available: https://www.habsboys.org.uk/preppre-prep/about-us/history-of-habsboys. Last accessed 20/05/20.

N/A. (2012). Elstree and Borehamwood Town History. Available: http://www. elstreeborehamwood-tc.gov.uk/index. php/yourtown/town-history. Last accessed 19/05/20.

If you look at the mosaic profile, a way of dividing up the different categories of people in an area, the two most prominent groups are E, middle income suburbia, and H, new homemakers. The three lowest groups are A, I and O. These are rural solitude, terraced diversity and reliant families respectively. This shows that this

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N/A. (2001). Borehamwood Built-up Area Subdivision. Available: https:// www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastofengland/hertfordshire/E35000719__ borehamwood/. Last accessed 20/05/20.

The Habs Geographical Committee We would like to thank the Habs Geographical committee for their hard work and dedication to this expert edition. The team have produced high quality and wide-ranging geographical articles touching on a range of cross curricular themes. They have worked collaboratively throughout, even during the remote learning phase of school life. We commend their positive and proactive attitude and hope you have enjoyed the compilation of articles they have produced.

Special thanks, Mrs McCarthy & Mrs Edwards

Daanysh

Aadit

Malika

Anay

Charlene

Theo

Francesca

Daniel

Araliya

Geysir, Iceland - Josh