Tag: environment

  • COP 27 – A Sociological Analysis

    COP 27 – where 198 nations met to discuss climate change and agreed to do very little about it!

  • Is the Environmental Crisis Built on Systemic Racism..?

    You’re more likely to live next to a waste incinerator in the UK if you’re black compared to if you’re white, and thus more likely to be breathing in toxic fumes. The same trend is also true globally: ‘people of colour’ living in the global south are more likely to suffer environmental harms associated with…

  • Global Warming and the threat to Human Development

    This post explores the extent to which Global Warming poses a threat to continued social and economic development. According to the latest data from Climate.gov global warming is currently causing sea levels to rise by 0.3 centimetres a year, which means that sea levels may have risen by up to 2.5 metres by 2100.  …

  • The relationship between industrial development and the environment

    Does industrial development lead to environment decline? This is one of the key questions in the Global Development for A-level sociology. The historical relationship between industrialisation and harm to the environment Historically, both Capitalist and Socialist models of development have largely ignored the environmental impact of development for most of the last 200 years, with…

  • The UK – a world leader in renewable energy generation…

    The UK is generating more energy from zero carbon sources than from fossil fuels for the first time since the industrial revolution, the National Grid announced recently. Gas and coal generated 46.7% of Britain’s power in the year to the end of May, while zero carbon sources generated 47.9%. The rest came from biomass. A…

  • The dumping of plastic waste – a green crime?

    Only an estimated 9% of the world’s plastic waste is recycled. A further 12% is burnt and the rest, 79% is buried in land fill or just dumped. China used to be the main dumping ground for the world’s rubbish, but it banned the import of plastic waste in 2017, which then lead to a…

  • Greta Thunberg’s Speach at COP24

    Greta Thunberg is a a 16 year old Swede who has inspired a wave of student strikes in the name of Climate Justice. She has been hailed as the voice of a generation. She came to popular attention following her speech at COP24 below (it’s only three minutes long and well worth a listen  …

  • This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein: A Summary (of Part 1)

    The focus of this book is on the causes of climate change, some potential solutions, and the dangers of carrying on with ‘business as usual’. More specifically: Chapter two provides an overview of how globalised neoliberal policies helped to cause climate change (chapter two) Chapters three and four explore how governments have a crucial role to play…

  • A Level Sociology: Global Development Module Overview

    Globalisation and its consequences There are Economic, Cultural and Political elements of Globalisation Optimist view of Globalisation Pessimist view of Globalisation Transformationalist Traditionalist Also… Does Globalisation mean the decline of the nation state? The problems of defining and measuring development and underdevelopment How should we define and measure development? The strengths and limitations of Western…

  • Arguments and Evidence that Transnational Corporations Harm Developing Countries

    Dependency theorists criticise TNCs for extracting resources, exploiting workers and preventing development