Ch 64, NYT, & WP Article

In Ch 64, Paul Wapner discusses the impact of transnational environmental groups, specifically Greenpeace, and their impact in global politics. The author's analysis of Greenpeace and their structure as  is meant to demonstrate their operations of a global organization, as well as their reach. One thing that stuck out to me was the author mentions that Greenpeace is best known for is their act of "bearing witness." Their non-violent, but eye-catching tactics of causing disruption within these environmentally toxic operations, and documenting them for the world to see helps them to bring attention to these global issues and their large network of coordinators and project directors allows them to tackle specific problems that affect different communities worldwide. I do find it interesting that he refers to the internet as "communication technologies" and the "mass communication system," when talking about how Greenpeace uses technology to their advantage. There is also mention of Greenpeace using more dated technology such as fax machines and telephones to relay information to their home offices. 

The Washington Post article about graphite pollution highlighted the detrimental effects of graphite production on the environment in China, as well as various companies failure to make any effort to address or fix the situation. Most companies, when asked questions about the pollution in nearby villages responded with the same vague promise to make their operations more eco-friendly. All the while the people living in places like Jixi are breathing in these toxic graphite particles that pollute the drinking water and poison their food. The insufficient response from both the government and the graphite manufacturers conveys that larger problems that communities have been facing due to China's global dominance in the graphite industry. 

The New York Times article "The Barbados Rebellion" discusses the financial crisis in Barbados and how it overlaps with the impact of climate change across the Caribbean. Much like in the documentary about Jamaica, Barbados is in an "economic purgatory" where they are forced to borrow money from larger countries, effectively indebting themselves to the rest of the world. This greatly limits how effectively small countries like Barbados are able to provide for their citizens and develop as a country while under the thumb of organizations like the I.M.F. and World Bank.