Yes, one thing that is definitely global is the
environment. We all share one environment and depend on it for survival. We also depend on eachother's ability to protect the environment, because whatever happens at one place will affect another.
In the world, though there may be disasters that strike one region, the impact may be large enough to affect the rest of the globe. An example is the Mount Pinatubo eruption that occurred in the Philippines in June, 1991. Within the nine hours of eruption, hundreds were killed & thousands were forced to evacuate from heir homes. What appears to be more devastating is that the millions of tons (15 to 30 million tons) of sulphur dioxide discharged into the atmosphere, as a result of the eruption, caused a decrease in temperature worldwide for the next two years. In 1992/1993, the temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere was reduced 0.5 to 0.6°C and the entire planet was cooled 0.4 to 0.5°C, and at maximum, 0.73°C.
Global effects include floods that occurred in 1993 along the Mississippi River and drought in the Sahel region of Africa. In 1992, the USA experienced its third coldest & wettest summer in 77 years. Remarkable sunrises & sunsets were seen around the globe following the eruption, due to the blocking of the sun by the discharge ejected into the atmosphere. It has been claimed that the impact of the eruption is even greater than that of El Nino.
The World's Deadliest Eruption
Another event that brought great impact on the world is the Mount Tambora eruption in April 1815 in East Java, also known as the most disastrous volcanic eruption since the 1700s. The eruptions occurred on a span of a few days, and the effects were devastating. Hot pyroclastic flows cascaded down the mountain, wiping out the whole village of Tambora. The veil of ash in the atmosphere spread to West Java and South Sulawesi just the day after. Nitrous odour filled the air, accompanied by tephra-tinged rain that fell mercilessly on neighbouring regions. Fine ash particles stayed in the atmosphere for months and with the help from longitudinal winds, the particles were spread around the globe, causing an optical phenomena. The eruption released sulphur into the atmosphere, contributing to global climate anomaly, leading to climate change. For example, it led to the
Year Without Summer (1816) -- the coldest year in the Northern Hemisphere, where Summer was cold and Winter was stormy. Extreme cold temperatures ruined crops, for example, in North America. Climate anomaly caused a Typhus Epidemic in Southeast Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. Much livestock died in New England during Winter in 1816-1817. Cold weather and heavy rain also resulted in failed harvest in the British Isles, causing famine, also known as the worst famine of the 19th century in European cities. In Germany, this was the crisis and food prices rose sharply.
Isn't it amazing how an event so small can leave such a major impact on other countries, miles and miles away?
We owe it all to globalisation & the interdependency of everyone on the globe.
I will go into further detail about
globalisation itself & its direct effects on Earth during my next post. In the meantime, Goodbye :)
Bibliography:
http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa030901a.htmhttp://www.beringia.com/climate/images/volcanoes-pinatubu.jpghttp://www.search.com/reference/Mount_Tambora
