INTRODUCTION
Local global politics is the politics of the world that affect the environment. Environment in this context means our surrounding, that is, all of the external factors affecting an organism. These factors may be either biotic or abiotic. The biotic factors are living organisms, while the abiotic factors include temperature, wind, and ocean currents. All organisms need to co-exist for their survival. However, in the recent past, man seems to have ignored this principle and has gone further to destroy the environment through industrialization. This has led to increasing pollution and subsequent global warming.
Pollution is the contamination of the world’s environment with the materials that interfere with the quality of life.
Global warming is the increase of earth’s surface temperatures.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Environmental protection is an important issue in the United Kingdom because as a highly populated and technologically advanced nation grows the environment suffers. Compared to many other industrialized nations, the country has relatively good record of protecting the environment. Environmental activity involves ordinary citizens at the local level, while the national government provides leadership, goals, and direction, particularly through the secretary of state for the environment. The United Kingdom, along with other prospering nations, has contributed funds and expertise toward global efforts to preserve the environment. In 2003, the national parks, regional parks, and smaller protected areas protected 10.5 percent of the United Kingdom.
In her book, “The Greenhouse Effect: Life of a Warmer Planet,” Rebecca Johnson explains Britain’s long history of dealing with environmental problems, as the world’s first industrialized society. Contamination from sewerage, impure water supplies, and filthy streets from massive horse traffic were all problems handled with success before World War I broke out in 1914. Air pollution from smoke remained a major problem until the Clean Air Act was passed in 1995, a measure that reduced industrial pollution by three-quarters. The increased substitution of gas and electricity for coal as a source of energy further reduced air pollution, both from industries and homes. In recent decades, however, the large increase in the number of motor vehicles has erased many of the gains achieved by the Clean Air Act. River pollution has been more difficult to deal with. This is partly because local sewerage authorities, which were among the worst polluters, were represented on the boards regulating pollution in the rivers. In 1989, a National Rivers Authority was created that has no connection with potential polluters, and Britain’s rivers are slowly improving.
The problems facing the environment are vast and diverse. Global warming, depletion of the ozone layer in the atmosphere, and destruction of the world’s rain forests are just some of the problems that many scientists believe will reach critical proportions in the coming decades.
Global warming is an increase in the earth’s surface temperature. Within the last century, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dramatically increased, largely because people burn vast amount of fossil fuels-coal and petroleum and its derivatives. Average global temperatures also increased by 0.6 Celsius degrees (1-Fahrenheit degree) within the past century. Researches carried out by scientists have shown that if global warming continues at this high rate, many plant and animal species will probably be driven into extinction, agriculture will severely be disrupted in many regions, and the frequency of severe hurricanes and droughts will likely increase.
Another environmental problem that is raising awareness is the depletion of the ozone layer. The ozone layer is a thin band in the stratosphere that serves to shield Earth from the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. In the 1970s, scientists discovered that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – chemicals used in refrigeration, air-conditioning systems, cleaning solvents and aerosol sprays, destroy the ozone layer. The consequences of continued depletion of the ozone layer would be dramatic. Increased ultraviolet radiation would lead to a growing number of skin cancers and cataracts and reduce the ability of immune systems to respond to infection. Additionally, growth of the world’s oceanic plankton (base of marine food chain), would decline. Plankton contains photosynthetic organisms that breakdown carbon dioxide. If plankton populations decline, it may lead to increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and thus to global warming.
Habitat destruction and species extinction is another cause for concern in the global arena. Plant and animal species are dying out at an unprecedented rate. Estimates range that from 4,000 to as many as 50,000 species per year become extinct. The leading cause of extinction is habitat destruction, particularly of the world’s richest ecosystems-tropical rain forests and coral reefs. If the world’s rain forests continue to be cut down at the current rate, they may completely disappear by the year 2030.
Various types of pollution are also a cause of concern to the environment. The two main types of pollution are air pollution and water pollution. A significant portion of industry and transportation burns fossil fuels such as gasoline. When these fuels burn and are released into the air, they interact with one another and with ultraviolet radiation in sunlight in dangerous ways to form substances such as smog. When the air pollutants interact with water, they form acid rain. Acid rain forms when sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide transform into sulfuric acid and nitric acid in the atmosphere and come back to Earth in precipitation. Acid rain has made numerous lakes so acidic that they no longer support fish populations.
Since the 1940s, one of the most serious environmental problems has been the disposal of radioactive waste, including the dismantling of nuclear power stations after they become obsolete. The country’s early nuclear industry disposed of radioactive waste by ocean dumping, leaving a legacy of contamination, particularly in the Irish Sea.
Water that collects beneath the ground is called groundwater. Worldwide, groundwater is 40 times more abundant than fresh water in streams and lakes. Scientists worry about groundwater contamination, which arises from leaking underground storage tanks, poorly designed industrial waste ponds, and seepage from the deep-well injection of hazardous wastes into underground geological formations.
Studies have also shown that not all individuals are equally exposed to pollution. For example, worldwide toxic-waste sites are more prevalent in poorer communities. In the United Kingdom, the single most important factor in predicting the location of hazardous-waste sites is the ethnic composition of a neighborhood. Environmental racism takes international forms as well. American corporations often continue to produce dangerous, U.K.banned chemicals and ship them to developing countries.
According to Christianson, Gale, E. Greenhouse: The 200-year Story of Global Warming. Walker, 1999., a number of toxic substances that humans encounter regularly may pose serious health risks. Pesticide residues on vegetable crops, mercury in fish, and many industrially produced chemicals may cause cancer, birth defects, genetic mutations, or death. Many chemicals have been found to mimic estrogen, the hormone that controls the development of the female reproductive system in a large number of animal species. Preliminary results indicate that these chemicals, in trace amounts, may disrupt development and lead to a host of serious problems in both males and females, including infertility, increased mortality of offspring, and behavioral changes such as increased aggression.
Though the world acts slowly to pollution and global warming, many European countries, including the United Kingdom, reached an agreement during the December 1997 summit on global warming in Kyoto, Japan to reduce emissions of gases that many scientists believe may lead to global warming.
In “Laboratory Earth: The Planetary Gamble We Can’t Afford to Lose”, by Schneider, Stephen., the simplest way to sequester carbon that greatly contributes to global warming is to preserve trees and to plant more .Efforts have been made in Britain to grow more trees and expand the managed forest areas. Local authorities have the power to protect trees and woodlands. It is an offense to cut down trees without permission, and when trees protected by the government die, they must be replaced.
The United Kingdom is also recognized worldwide on its national and local programs that impose heavy taxes on energy usage, designed partly to curb such emissions. The government is also working against greenhouse emissions by conserving energy in buildings, modernizing their vehicles, and advising the public.
Conclusion
In summary, the United Kingdom has greatly supported the need to save the planet from the dangerous and severe effects of global warming, through the signing of international treaties and imposing national and local programs that strive to reduce pollution and subsequent global warming.
EUROPEAN POLITICS ON CAR DESIGN
In the 1970s, new pollution emission regulations by the European community made many two-stroke engines obsolete. To improve emissions performance, many manufacturers replaced the traditional air-cooled engine with liquid-cooled four-stroke engines. Electronic ignition also replaced contact point ignition systems to improve reliability and reduce noise pollution.
According to Croucher, Robert M. Observer’s Book of Motorcycles.Motorbooks, (1980)., some high performance motorcycles with “turbocharged” engines were introduced. A turbocharger uses hot exhaust gases to spin a small turbine blade. Fuel injections that replaced the carburetors on some engines for easier starting, also improved fuel economy, and reduced emissions.
REFERENCES:
- Christianson, Gale, E. Greenhouse: The 200-year Story of Global Warming. Walker, 1999.
- Johnson, Rebecca, L. The Greenhouse Effect: Life of a Warmer Planet. Learner, 1990, 1994.
- Schneider, Stephen, H. Laboratory Earth: The Planetary Gamble We Can’t Afford to Lose. Basic Books, 1997, 1998.
- Croucher, Robert, M. Observer’s Book of Motorcycles. Motorbook.1980.
ORGANISATION POLITICS
An organization can be defined as a group of people identified by a shared interest or purpose, e.g. a business. An organization has two major groupings, that is, the management and the employees.
In an organization, the role of managers is to supervise, monitor, and coordinate the different areas of an industry. For example, financial managers focus on generating and reinvesting finance capital. Human resource managers help recruit people with desirable skills and place them where they are needed most. Marketing managers help sell final
goods and services to customers. Managers are also involved in planning, controlling of resources for efficient and effective decision-making.
On the other hand, the employees provide labor in the organization. Labor means any mental or physical efforts of human beings. However, for the efficiency of labor, that is, the quality and quantity of any commodity to be produced by a laborer, the following factors must be taken into account:
1. Mental abilities and physical strength.
2. Social Services.
3. Working conditions.
4. Education and training
5. Supply of proper equipment and tools.
Relationship between the management and the employees should be one that helps the organization to run smoothly. Relationships in the organization can be boosted in the following ways:
1. The Management should include the employees in decision-making, especially in cases of wages and salaries and working conditions.
2. The Management should provide a listening ear to the employees to avoid cold strikes and subsequent reduction in production.
3. Management should carry performance appraisals on the employees in order to motivate them.
4. The workers should also be candid to the Management about issues affecting them, so that matters are settled in diplomacy rather than using undiplomatic ways like strikes that may tarnish the organizations image.
In summary, the relationship between the Management and the employees affects the organization in various ways, since one cannot function without the other.
REFERENCES:
- Malkhiat, Singh, F. Entrepreneurship and Management. Illinois: Irwin Publishers