Contents contributed and discussions participated by bmoran - World Systems @ KSU

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World Simulation Ideas - 95 views

started by Mike Wesch on 18 May 07 no follow-up yet

#7 bmoran on 20 May 07

I think that the rules should include multinational corporations. MNC's have been important to the world in good and bad ways. On the good side, they help to create employment opportunities in the poor countries, they import capital to the third world, introduce new technology and manufacturing techniques to developing nations, etc. But, despite their contributions, MNC's have created negative conditions in the world by promoting greater dependence of 3rd world countries on the wealthier 1st world nations, they oftentimes exploit the workers who reside in poor areas, we hear of local, small-town businesses being so overwhelmed by the MNC's that they end up losing those businesses, etc. I just think that, in order to establish a more realistic world simulation, we will need to add multinational corporations to the mix.

I also wanted to add to anscott's incorporation of religion...One idea for rewriting the rules would involve simulating the expansion and influence of religion (and other beliefs) on people. As was said in class on Friday: One of the possible reasons that it was Europe that decided to colonize instead of China was due to the Chinese peoples' beliefs. Notably, Buddhism and Confucianism were the predominate forms of belief. Also, as was said in class, the main beliefs that the Chinese had were that China was the place in the world that was closest to heaven...Therefore, there was no need or drive to colonize other areas of the world.

mwesch wrote:
> Hi class,
> Post your world simulation ideas here. Read Wallerstein, Lappe & Collins, and the first 2 pages of Wolf. Using the ideas you gather there, re-write the rules and post them here.

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Early Warning Signs of Global Warming: Spreading Disease - 0 views

www.ucsusa.org/...warming-spreading-disease.html disease globalwarming

shared by bmoran on 31 May 07 - Cached

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Alternative fuel vehicle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views

en.wikipedia.org/...Alternative_fuel_vehicle alternative-fuels globalwarming vehicles wiki

shared by bmoran on 28 May 07 - Cached

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Greenfreeze and solar chill | Greenpeace International - 0 views

www.greenpeace.org/...solar_chill globalwarming ozone power refrigeration solar

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Solutions myths | Greenpeace International - 0 views

www.greenpeace.org/...solutions_myths globalwarming issues myths solutions

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Governments | Greenpeace International - 0 views

www.greenpeace.org/...governments climate globalwarming governments industrialization nations

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Industrialised nations are responsible for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions - both today and historically. In the past, economic progress was linked directly to carbon dioxide emissions (via the burning of oil, coal and gas to generate energy). Renewable energy sources change this, but only a small number of nations have begun to implement them in earnest.
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Two billion people – one third of the world's population – have no access to electricity for basic needs such as lighting or cooking. Getting people the clean and reliable energy necessary for essential needs such as clean water, health care facilities, heating and lighting is one of the most pressing problems facing humanity today.
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Industrialised nations have the capital, resources and expertise to jump-start their renewable energy industries. Obviously, countries with advanced space programs, established higher educational systems and abundant cash for investment are better positioned to implement these new energy technologies then countries still struggling with basic energy needs.
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The Ozone Layer and Climate Change - Global Issues - 0 views

www.globalissues.org/...Ozone.asp climate globalwarming ozone

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Global Warming and Population - Global Issues - 0 views

www.globalissues.org/...population.asp developing-nations globalwarming industrialzed-nations population

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Population and Climate ChangeA “Malthusian” theory about the relationship between population growth and the environment suggests that as populations grow, they will strip their resources leading to famine, hunger and environmental degradation.As detailed further in this site’s section on population, that is an oversimplification and has largely shown not to be true. Instead, it has been factors such as politics and economics (i.e. how we use our resources and for what purpose) that has determined environmental degradation or sustainability.For example, the world’s wealthiest 20% (i.e. the rich countries) consume approximately 80% of the world’s resources, while the rest of humanity shares the other 20% of resource consumed, as noted in the consumption section of this web site.In regards to climate change, countries with large populations such as China and India have not been the countries contributing greenhouse gases for the decades that has been required to trigger climate change, as noted further above.While in total amounts their emissions might be high (China is second largest emitter after the United States, for example), per person, their emissions are significantly smaller as noted earlier.
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as countries such as China, India and Brazil grow in prosperity, there will be large populations with purchasing power, consuming more goods and services, thus making more demands on the planet.Indeed, many environmentalists have constantly noted that if such countries were to follow the style of development that the rich countries used and emulate them, then our planet may not be able to cope much longer.
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researchers have found that depending on what variables you factor in, the planet can support an extremely large population, or an extremely small one. These ranges are ridiculously wide: from 2 billion to 147 billion people! Why such variance? It depends on how efficiently resources are used and for what purpose (i.e. economics).
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bmoran on 28 May 07

This article shows that overpopulation isn't really a problem IF we learn to use our resources effectively.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">This article shows that overpopulation isn't really a problem IF we learn to use our resources effectively.<br></div>

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Carbon Sinks, Forests and Climate Change - Global Issues - 0 views

www.globalissues.org/...Forests.asp carbon-sinks climate deforestation globalwarming

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Over the past 150 years, deforestation has contributed an estimated 30 percent of the atmospheric build-up of CO2. It is also a significant driving force behind the loss of genes, species, and critical ecosystem services. However, in the international policy arena, biodiversity loss and climate change have often moved in wholly unconnected domains. — Climate, Biodiversity, and Forests, World Resources Institute, 1998
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Carbon Sinks and LandA mechanism suggested for tackling climate change and warming has been the idea of using "Carbon Sinks" to soak up carbon dioxide. To aid in this, reforestation, or planting of new forests, have been suggested. This is a popular strategy for the logging industry and nations with large forests interests, such as Canada, the United States, various Latin American nations, and some Asian countries such as Indonesia.While there may be some potential in this solution, it cannot be effective on its own. This is because it legitimizes continued destruction of old-growth and pristine forests which are rich ecosystem and have an established biodiversity base (albeit shrinking now) that naturally maintain the environment (at no cost!). Creating new forest areas would require the creation of entire ecosystems. It is also criticized for being a quick fix that doesn't tackle the root causes effectively and doesn't lead to, or promote actual emissions reduction.
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Environmentalists and others point out that the use of carbon sinks is a big loophole in the Kytoto Protocol; that if carbon sinks can be counted towards emissions reductions credit, then industrialized countries would be able to meet their commitments while reducing emissions by less than would otherwise be required. Because they are carbon sinks, it means that when forests burn or as vegetation naturally dies, they release more carbon too (because it is stored carbon). As the climate changes, it is possible that there may be more forest fires etc, releasing more carbon. (And then these sinks would become sources!)
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Climate Justice and Equity - Global Issues - 0 views

www.globalissues.org/...Justice.asp developing-nations emissions globalwarming industrialzed-nations justice

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UN Framework Convention on Climate Change - Global Issues - 0 views

www.globalissues.org/...Convention.asp change climate conventions globalwarming solution

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Global Dimming - Global Issues - 0 views

www.globalissues.org/...globaldimming.asp acid-rain global-dimming globalwarming

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If we were to use global dimming pollutants to stave off the effects of global warming, we would still face many problems, such as:Human health problems from the soot/smogEnvironmental problems such as acid rainEcological problems such as changes in rainfall patterns (as the Ethiopian famine example above reminds us) which can kill millions, if not billions.Climatologists are stressing that the roots of both global dimming causing pollutants and global warming causing greenhouse gases have to be dealt with together and soon.
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The death toll that global dimming may have already caused is thought to be massive.Climatologists studying this phenomenon believe that the reflection of heat have made waters in the northern hemisphere cooler. As a result, less rain has formed in key areas and crucial rainfall has failed to arrive over the Sahel in Northern Africa.In the 1970s and 1980s, massive famines were caused by failed rains which climatologists had never quite understood why they had failed.The answers that global dimming models seemed to provide, the documentary noted, has led to a chilling conclusion: “what came out of our exhaust pipes and power stations [from Europe and North America] contributed to the deaths of a million people in Africa, and afflicted 50 million more” with hunger and starvation.
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The nuclear fallacy | Greenpeace International - 0 views

www.greenpeace.org/...nuclear_fallacy globalwarming nuclear power

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Nuclear power remains dangerous, polluting, expensive and non-renewable. More nuclear power means more nuclear weapons proliferation, more nuclear-armed states, more potential "dirty bombs" and more targets for terrorists. It also means less resources invested in real solutions to growing energy demands.
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If we would replace all fossil fuels with nuclear power, the world would run out of uranium in less than four years.
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Currently, nuclear is a marginal energy source, supplying only two percent of the world energy demand, and there is no realistic scenario in which this could be significantly increased.
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bmoran on 28 May 07

Although nuclear power seems to be an option, this article claims that, with our current technology and resources, it is a non-renewable option that will promote, rather than solve, problems concerning global warming, nuclear arms proliferation, etc.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Although nuclear power seems to be an option, this article claims that, with our current technology and resources, it is a non-renewable option that will promote, rather than solve, problems concerning global warming, nuclear arms proliferation, etc.<br></div>

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