Technological progress is an important driver of globalization, facilitating trade between nations. It is to it that people owe the greatest possible variety of goods and services (Friedman, 2005). Advances in transportation enable products to travel quickly, providing food for people all over the earth. In addition, in recent years a global system of production has been taking shape, with transnational corporations being the main vehicle and instrument of the globalization of production. Thus, the globalization of production is complemented by the outstripping development of world trade. Globalization accelerated especially strongly after the scientific and technological revolution of the twentieth century.
The ocean provides a wide range of vital benefits, many of which are often overlooked. The world economy and the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people depend on the ocean. In addition, many people get valuable food from it, and it has much less impact on the environment than producing products on land. However, human-created stressors affect virtually the entire ocean, making it difficult for it to sustain human life on Earth (Ruddle, 1994). Pollution of the world’s oceans has become one of the most serious environmental problems of modern times. The situation began to worsen around the middle of the twentieth century due to the development of the chemical and refining industries.
Challenges of the world’s oceans include climate change, making the water warmer and more acidic, which negatively affects plants and animals. In addition, the ocean is in danger of being significantly diminished by human economic activity. It is important to remember that the misuse of water resources and the effects of global climate change will make life worse for everyone (Berkes et al., 2006). It is, therefore, necessary to build a new relationship with the ocean, one that will ensure its health and a sustainable economy.
References
Berkes, F., Hughes, T. P., Steneck, R. S., Wilson, J. A., Bellwood, D. R., Crona, B., Folke, C., Gunderson, L. H., Leslie, H. M., Norberg, J., Nyström, M., Olsson, P., Osterblom, H., Scheffer, M., & Worm, B. (2006). Globalization, roving bandits, and marine resources. Science, 311(5767), 1557–1558. Web.
Friedman, T. L. (2005). It’s a flat world after all. The New York Times.
Ruddle, K. (1994). External forces and change in traditional community-based fishery management systems in the Asia-Pacific Region. MAST – Martime Anthropological Studies, 6, 1-37.