International Trade ECO 372 University of Phoenix There are many contributing factors to the stabilization and prosperity of our global market. We, the United States, are living in a time of severe trade deficit, meaning that we are importing many more goods than we are exporting. While it is nice to be able to buy foreign products at a lower price, there is risk in doing so. When we purchase foreign goods over domestic at lower prices it forces our domestic companies to sell their goods at lower prices to remain competitive. These lower prices may lend to making enough profit to sustain the current workforce.
We are undermining the planets very ability for people to live here. In the United States, less than four percent of our original forests are left and forty percent of the waterways have become unsanitary. When the resources start to deplete, we do the same thing to third world or lesser developed nations. The erosion of the local environments of these nations and
The Colorado Compact was created in 1922 to establish rights between states. However the period of time in which the agreements were made was during a time of greater rainfall and water surplus. Present environmental conditions and human activity has lead to a decrease in available water which is causing conflict between a wide range of stakeholders in many regions of America – especially Mexico, and lower basin states such as California. One group of stakeholders already suffering are farmers. Agriculture receives 80% of the Colorado River supply, and much of this is wasted in inappropriate crop choices, e.g.
Many timber companies are only worried about profit. They cut down huge amounts of forests at a time and then replace the empty land with tree farms. Tree farms consist of only one or two different types of trees. They are planted in rows and consist of trees of the same age. This affects the environment because it does not create biodiversity in the “new” forest and it is not a stable environment.
He explains that as the global need for oil grows it puts more money in the pockets of the oil producing countries. He has a great “law” in this chapter that says that as oil prices increases the amount of freedom decreases. I found this very interesting just because the measure of freedom can be very subjective and it depends on what a person’s view of freedom is. He also tries to say that the increase of money in these countries fuels more terrorism. Which is another subjective idea because any country becomes richer would almost everything increase?
Suzuki concludes that the war metaphor is appropriate because developed countries as a collective entity are the main cause of the devastating environmental crises around the world. For example, Industrialized nations are using a lot of the earth’s natural resources for personal gain and profits and because of this blatant exploitation of resources. Many citizens in third world countries are living sub standard lives and are unable to get sufficient resources to live. David Suzuki states that even though industrialized nations only account for about 20 percent of the population they are surprisingly consuming eighty per cent of the planets resource and also generate most of its industrial toxins and wastes. This fact proves that the industrialized
This inequality within our nation is the culprit behind America’s insignificant health. “Wealthy Americans make considerably more money than their counterparts in other wealthy countries, while the bottom 10% of our households make considerably less than poor people in Europe or Japan” (Page 228). The breach between America’s poor and rich is causing the overall health to lessen. The wealthy American will spend their money on unnecessary items that they will dissipate; “as private wealth become more concentrated, the quality of public life suffers” (228). Researchers have identified an association between household income inequality and mortality rates.
Disappearing Water Do to the lack of rain in many areas of Central Asia, farmers have been running into many irrigation problems. With population growth around fifteen percent more food is necessary, therefore more water is needed. This is a problem because water is running out. The area of Uzbekistan, formerly part of the Soviet Union, had twenty thousand miles of canals, forty-five dams, and eighty reservoirs. These irrigation techniques actually made Uzbekistan into one of the best cotton growing areas in the world.
Unemployment rates were steadily on the rise just a few months ago and corporate profits are at all time highs. This will lead to companies not hiring workers and a sluggish job recovery rate. Technology is replacing the uneducated worker at an alarming rate as machines increase labor productivity faster than other areas of the economy can absorb the now surplus of labor. This doesn’t mean we need to slow technology, just that we need to be a more educated society. Another link to the great depression would be the precious metals market.
I am sure prehistoric man was stratified, but possibly in different terms. Instead of economic differences they were separated by differences of who was the better hunter, and maybe who had the most food. Our roots draw back to the problem of stratification systems. As proof of the nonexistence of an egalitarian society I make reference to this statistics “Between 1981 and 2000 the wages of ordinary workers in the US roughly doubled. But in the same period… the earnings of America’s most highly paid CEOs rose by 4300 per cent.” (Bone 1) Amazing isn’t it that many people barely get by on their paychecks while other live lavishly.