Global Shift of Industry (HL IB Geography)
Revision Note
Polluting Manufacturing Industries
The decision by HICs to relocate manufacturing to NICs and LICs has led to some serious environmental pollution in air, water and soil
Case Study
Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL)
In 1934, Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) became one of the first U.S. companies to invest in India when it acquired 50.9% shares in UCIL
In 1969, the UCIL set up a chemical production plant, primarily pesticides, in Bhopal, India
In December 1984, 40 tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the UCIL plant, killing thousands of people and polluting soils and groundwater in the area
At the time of the disaster, UCIL was ranked twenty-first in size among companies operating in India
A series of human actions led up to one of the worst industrial disasters in history
There was a high turn-over of staff and many of them either received insufficient safety training or chose to disregard it
There were little to no emergency plans in place
Maintenance schedules were lengthened and carbon steel replaced stainless steel in safety valves
Prior to the accident, the UCC plant in Charleston, USA, also suffered a leak but chose not to notify the UCIL plant in India on the defects found to be the cause
Reasons for relocation of polluting industries
Moving closer to emerging markets such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America, industries can reduce their transport costs and increase their market reach
HICs impose higher taxes on polluting industries
There are stricter environmental laws in HICs on polluting industries
LICs have low labour costs, which attracts polluting industries as a cost-cutting measure to increase their profits
For example, in Mexico, a factory worker is paid 1/5 of an American factory worker’s wages
LIC governments create deliberate policies, such as free trade zones or export processing zones, for foreign companies to invest in
Some LICs encourage waste product imports to extract valuable minerals such as gold, platinum, aluminium, etc in order to make a living
In Ghana, Agbogbloshie is the world’s largest e-waste dump for products originating from the United States and the European Union
Impacts of relocation
The underdevelopment of pollution control systems and a desire for economic development makes LICs and NICs vulnerable to pollution from manufacturing industries
Urbanisation usually come with industrialisation, which results in the loss of forests and green spaces
Rapid industrialisation puts a strain on local infrastructure, leading to issues such as high levels of traffic congestion and their emissions and poor or lacking waste disposal
The burning of fossil fuels is often the way that industries meet their increasing energy needs
Examiner Tip
It is important to note that while manufacturers emit pollutants, sometimes it is not just the factory at fault for increased health issues. Unpaved roads and vehicles emit far more particulates than some industries.
Food Production Systems for Agribusiness
On a global scale, business corporations run the agribusiness from the production, processing and distribution of agricultural products to the manufacture of farm machinery, equipment and suppliers
With the quest for cheaper food, modern farming methods have become more intense, increased efficiency and adopted labour-saving technologies such as agrochemicals and machinery
Since the 1960s, wheat yields have increased from 2.6 to 8 tonnes per hectare through the use of fertilisers and pesticides
As a result, large petrochemical industries are linked with agribusiness
These companies such as DuPont and Monsanto, are involved in the research and production of high-yielding seed varieties and genetically modified (GM) seed varieties, along with chemical inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides that support them
Agro-industrialisation may have increased food production but so have energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions
In the UK, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture account for about £12 billion in expenditures
Intensive farming needs to use chemicals and methods that cause land degradation and animal welfare issues. For instance:
The spraying of pesticide on apples can be done up to 16 times before reaching the shops
Food processors (such as Nestle, Kraft and Unilever) want large quantities of uniform-quality produce or animals at specific times
Some agribusinesses are involved in land grabs to grow mono-cultures such as palm oil and soy. Growing one crop requires vast amounts of fertilisers and pesticides and eventually leads to soil degradation
Advantages and Disadvantages of Agribusinesses
Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
Large-scale food production improves food security | Genetically modified seeds impacts biodiversity |
It creates employment opportunities | Large land grabs by TNCs deny local people the right to cultivate food for domestic consumption |
Areas that have insufficient food supplies can import from elsewhere | Food is preserved, processed, package-branded and marketed in a way that makes it difficult to link the food to an animal |
They create revenue for governments through the taxes that businesses pay | Growing a single crop draws too many nutrients from the soil, leading to leaching |
Agribusiness helps with the development of infrastructure in developing countries. | Chemicals such as pesticides and fertilisers are harmful to the environment |
They eliminate the middleman who contributes to increasing the price of agricultural produce | The removal of hedgerows, clearance of ponds and wetlands destroys the habitats of wildlife and ecosystems, some of which may be extremely fragile |
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