The World's Environment and the Globalization of Environment

The twentieth century was marked with drastic environmental changes that shook a lot people and raised concerns for future generations. There were three speculated causes of these changes: 1) the world's population quadrupled in a single century, 2) the new ability to tap potential fossil fuel energy, and 3) the phenomenal economic growth from the advancement of science and technology.

Just like all the other revolutions, there was different types of environmentalist movements. In England, environmentalists calls for the abandonment of "dark satanic mills" caused by the industrial era. Others asked for the preservation of the "wilderness" from human exploitation. These are called the first wave of environmental movement and did not gain much supporters. The second wave of environmentalism was initiated by Rachel Carson when she published her book "Silent Spring" in 1962. In her book, she talked about the "chemical contamination of the environment that threatened both human health and the survival of many other species". She also talked about the "strange stillness" from the absence of the singings birds in the future. By early 1990s, there was about 14 million members of environmental organizations in the America. In Europe, environmental group Club of Rome warned about the exhaustion of resources from the growing and continuing industrialization.

The environmental movements in the developing countries were different from those in the West. There were fewer organizations and were more locally based. Members were from poor communities rather than the middle class and their concerns were based on food security, health and basic survival. They focused more towards the protection of their livelihood and the effects of large industrial factories owned by Corporations from the West.