Global Issues - An Introduction

An introduction to the most important issues facing an increasingly globalized world with this thoroughly updated and revised sixth edition.
 
Global Issues is an accessible, wide-ranging introduction to the major environmental and development issues confronting the modern world. Spanning disciplines such as political science, economics, sociology, ecology, international relations, and development studies, this popular textbook enables students to develop a broad perspective on the relationships between nations, society, corporations, and the environment in various contexts. Exploring issues surrounding wealth, poverty, inequality, climate change, natural resources, pollution, technology, and others, the text illustrates the importance of global solutions to the issues facing increasingly interdependent nations around the world.
 
This sixth edition has been extensively revised to ensure contemporary relevance, featuring updated case studies and compelling research on food security, poverty, and the impact of climate change on development. New discussions explore energy, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, differences in the social and economic conditions of rich and poor countries, and environmental trends. Providing an integrated, multidisciplinary perspective, this unique text:
* Examines the intersection of development, inequality, environment, and society
* Covers topically relevant issues such as population growth, shifting demographics, renewable energy, and the threats that development poses to the environment
* Discusses possible future scenarios and governance concerns related to global issues
* Explores shifts in traditional development pathways and policies around the world
* Offers numerous student-friendly features, including chapter summaries, a glossary of key terms, further reading suggestions, and extensive online media and learning tools
 
Global Issues: An Introduction, Sixth Edition is an ideal entry-level textbook for a range of courses including global studies, international studies, environmental studies, geography, politics, sociology, sustainable development, and more.

List of contents

List of Plates xiii
 
List of Figures, Maps, and Tables xv
 
Acknowledgements xix
 
Introduction 1
 
The Creation of Global Issues 1
 
1 What is Development? 3
 
Developing Toward What? 3
 
Twentieth-Century Approach: Development as Economic Growth 4
 
Twenty-First-Century Approach: Developing towards Sustainability 6
 
Wave of Hope: The Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015) 7
 
Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030) 8
 
Development Assistance and Foreign Aid 10
 
Culture and Development 14
 
Conclusion 16
 
Notes 18
 
Further Reading 19
 
2 Wealth and Poverty 21
 
Can We Eradicate Poverty? 23
 
Mainstreaming Sustainable Development 27
 
A Pessimistic View: The Persistence of Poverty 29
 
Systematic Approaches 33
 
A Market Approach 33
 
The State as Economic Actor 36
 
A Blended Approach 40
 
Trade and Global Economic Interdependence 41
 
Global Interdependence 43
 
Positive aspects 43
 
Negative aspects 44
 
Geography and Wealth, Geography and Poverty 45
 
Conclusions 46
 
Notes 48
 
Further Reading 52
 
3 Population 55
 
The Changing Population of the World 56
 
Shifting Demographics: Rural to Urban 61
 
Causes of the Population Explosion 67
 
Demographic transitions: population and development 68
 
How Population Growth Affects Development 74
 
Rapid growth 74
 
Slow growth 76
 
An aging population and low birth rates 76
 
How Development Affects Population Growth 79
 
Factors lowering birth rates 80
 
International Conferences on Population 82
 
Governmental Population Policies 84
 
Managing growth 84
 
Mexico 86
 
India 88
 
China 88
 
Promoting growth 89
 
The Future 92
 
The growth of the world's population 92
 
The carrying capacity of the Earth 92
 
"Optimum" size of the Earth's population 94
 
Population-related challenges in our future 96
 
Conclusions 98
 
Notes 99
 
Further Reading 105
 
4 Food 108
 
How Many Are Hungry? 109
 
World Food Production 110
 
Arable land 111
 
Climate 112
 
How Development Affects Food 113
 
United States: Industrial Agriculture and Farm Consolidation 114
 
Brazil: Becoming a Food Exporter by Expanding the
 
Agricultural Frontier 116
 
Contents ix
 
China: Limited Land to Grow, Many Mouths to Feed 116
 
Feeding a Growing Population 118
 
The "Green" Revolution 119
 
Fertilizers 120
 
Pesticides 121
 
Energy 121
 
Irrigation 122
 
Biotechnology 122
 
Fishing and aquaculture 125
 
Traditional/sustainable/organic agriculture 126
 
Causes of World Hunger 128
 
How Food Affects Development 132
 
The type of food 134
 
What's your Footprint? 138
 
Food Waste and Food Loss 139
 
The Future 140
 
Governmental Food Policies 141
 
Future Food Supplies 143
 
Conclusions 145
 
Notes 146
 
Further Reading 156
 
5 Energy 158
 
The Relationship between Energy Use and Development 159
 
Nonrenewable Energy Sources 161
 
Oil 162
 
Global Oil Supplies and Price Shocks 163
 
Coal 165
 
Natural Gas 166
 
The Energy Transition 167
 
Renewable Energy Sour

About the author

KRISTEN A. HITE leads climate work for Oxfam America and teaches on global issues at the graduate level. Professor Hite has consulted for UN and nonprofit organizations, served as an attorney for the US government and environmental clients, and instructed graduate students at Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, American University, and the University of Maryland. Her approach centers on working across geographies to bridge the intersections of rights, land, and climate in pursuit of sustainable development.
JOHN L. SEITZ is Professor Emeritus of Government at Wofford College, USA. He earned a BA and MPA from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, and a PhD in political science from the University of Wisconsin. He is a Member of Phi Beta Kappa and has extensive first-hand experience of South Korea, Iran, Brazil, Liberia, and Pakistan. Previous editions of this book, for which he was sole author, have been used around the world and have been translated into a number of languages, including Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese.

Summary

An introduction to the most important issues facing an increasingly globalized world with this thoroughly updated and revised sixth edition.

Global Issues is an accessible, wide-ranging introduction to the major environmental and development issues confronting the modern world. Spanning disciplines such as political science, economics, sociology, ecology, international relations, and development studies, this popular textbook enables students to develop a broad perspective on the relationships between nations, society, corporations, and the environment in various contexts. Exploring issues surrounding wealth, poverty, inequality, climate change, natural resources, pollution, technology, and others, the text illustrates the importance of global solutions to the issues facing increasingly interdependent nations around the world.

This sixth edition has been extensively revised to ensure contemporary relevance, featuring updated case studies and compelling research on food security, poverty, and the impact of climate change on development. New discussions explore energy, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, differences in the social and economic conditions of rich and poor countries, and environmental trends. Providing an integrated, multidisciplinary perspective, this unique text:
* Examines the intersection of development, inequality, environment, and society
* Covers topically relevant issues such as population growth, shifting demographics, renewable energy, and the threats that development poses to the environment
* Discusses possible future scenarios and governance concerns related to global issues
* Explores shifts in traditional development pathways and policies around the world
* Offers numerous student-friendly features, including chapter summaries, a glossary of key terms, further reading suggestions, and extensive online media and learning tools

Global Issues: An Introduction, Sixth Edition is an ideal entry-level textbook for a range of courses including global studies, international studies, environmental studies, geography, politics, sociology, sustainable development, and more.

Product details

• Authors: KA Hite, Kristen Hite, Kristen A Hite, Kristen A. Hite, Kristen A. Seitz Hite, Hite Kristen A., John L Seitz, John L. Seitz
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.08.2020
• EAN: 9781119538509
• ISBN: 978-1-119-53850-9
• No. of pages: 400
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Geosciences > Geography; Soziologie, Weltpolitik, Politikwissenschaft, Geographie, Sociology, Geography, Political Science, Umweltsoziologie, Environmental Sociology, Lebensmitteltechnik, Geographie der Globalisierung, Geography of Globalization, Global politics