For Wednesday, 18 November: Environmental Issues

We are running slightly behind schedule, which is fine, since Thursday is a free day. We can rearrange things as we go. For Tuesday, we will continue our discussion of weapons of mass destruction. Make sure you have done at least some of the assigned reading for Tuesday on the environment, since we will likely turn to that topic in the last hour or so.

Wednesday cover the environment and Thursday, globalization - two big topics. We could devote one entire course to globalization alone, for instance. At least we will try to cover the major topics as well as some fascinating case studies.

For a complete list environmental readings, see "Day 13" of our syllabus. For globalization, see "Day 12." But below you will find the minimum required reading assignments.

One of the fascinating aspects of all this is when globalization and the environment affect each other - for instance, when free trade, low tariffs and an unquenchable global market result in serious damage to ecosystems.

Required reading: The market for coltan is one example, and the story is told by a New York Times correspondent who trekked (at great risk to himself) into the African jungle to document the lives of the people who mine this mineral. Go here for the article!

The Aral Sea has been described as "the world's number one environmental disaster." The catastrophe was not caused by globalized markets but by short-sighted planning in the former Soviet Union. We will talk about the Aral Sea in depth.

Required: Here is a great, short article by Dave Holley of the Los Angeles Times. Dave writes about how the northern half of the Aral Sea is beginning to recover, thanks to enlightened environmental policies and a World Bank loan.

Optional: This 16-page article in the American magazine "Harper's" really captures the dynamics of the Aral Sea tragedy. Read it if you have time and are interested.

Kyoto and climate change

Huge topic. We can only cover the basics in class.

Required reading: Here is a BBC article on the Kyoto Protocol background, although it is five years old. And here is a useful overview of global warming issues.

Pacific rim leaders at the APEC summit failed today to reach a climate deal ahead of the UN Copenhagen summit meeting next month, where climate change will be discussed. Go here for a story on next month's UN summit.

Peak oil

Are we running out of oil? Will this lead to economic disaster? "Peak oil" is a theory that predicts when local oil fields and global oil will become exhausted. It is a controversial theory, and not universally accepted.

Optional: Everything you could ever want to know about peak oil is here, on a site run by the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas.

Resource curses, democracy, etc.

Be sure to ask about "resource curses." What are they? And you might want to look into Thomas Friedman's somewhat controversial assertion that there is a negative relationship between the price of oil and democratic development - at least in oil-producing states that are not fully democratic.

Optional reading: Go here for his famous article on "petropolitics." And see one of his graphs below. Don't take it too seriously; it's an illustration designed to encourage discussion.

Population

I will discuss population growth at some length in class. There's already too much to read (given our crazy schedule of meeting every day), but you might want to familiarize yourself with Thomas Malthus, especially his theory of population growth, sometimes called the "Malthusian Catastrophe" or the "Malthusian Disaster," etc. Here is a pretty good Wikipedia article on the subject.