THU : Welcome to the CBS talk show, and I’m your host, Minh Thu. On the show today, we will meet 3 professors from 3 famous universities in the world. However, before greeting them, we will have some minutes to watch a short video clip to explore the main topic today. Now, let’s see it. … Is it a really interesting video, right? And have all of you guessed the topic today ? . Yes, it’s about the globalization and its challenges. Before going through the three main parts of the show today, I want to explain briefly about the definition of globalization. Globalization Globalization describes an ongoing process by describes an ongoing process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a globe- which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a globe- spanning network of communication and exchange. spanning network of communication and exchange. Right, that‘s an overview about the term “globalization”. Now, let’s move to the Right, that‘s an overview about the term “globalization”. Now, let’s move to the main part of our 20-minute discussion. As we all know, there are many negative impacts main part of our 20-minute discussion. As we all know, there are many negative impacts caused by globalization but today, we just emphasize 3 main points: first, environmental caused by globalization but today, we just emphasize 3 main points: first, environmental effects, then the rich-poor gap, and finally the cultural changes. I hope that through this effects, then the rich-poor gap, and finally the cultural changes. I hope that through this show, you’ll get basic knowledge about the main drawbacks of globalization, and then you show, you’ll get basic knowledge about the main drawbacks of globalization, and then you can take action to solve these problems as well as possible. can take action to solve these problems as well as possible. Now, please give the warmest welcome to our guest. Miss Hoang Mai Ngan , the Now, please give the warmest welcome to our guest. Miss Hoang Mai Ngan , the professor from Yale University ! Miss Ho Thi Hang , the professor from Havard University professor from Yale University ! Miss Ho Thi Hang , the professor from Havard University ! And Miss. Nguyen Thanh Thanh , the professor from Nation Economic University of ! And Miss. Nguyen Thanh Thanh , the professor from Nation Economic University of Singapore Thank you very much for joining us. Singapore Thank you very much for joining us. First, I have a question for Miss Hang. As far as we all know, the process of First, I have a question for Miss Hang. As far as we all know, the process of globalization has affected much on environment. Can you explain more about this? globalization has affected much on environment. Can you explain more about this? HANG : Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am Ho Thi Hang from Havard University. I’m really happy to be invited to this talk show today .and now, I’d like to share with you some information about the drawbacks of globalization. In my opinion, although globalization has certain advantages, it also causes many serious problems. Environmental pollution is one of those. To make it clear for you, I will divide my talk into 2 parts : the first part is the effects that globalization has on the environment, and the second part is some solutions to these problems. As you can see, globalization has many impacts on the environment : global warming and a drain on natural resources. First of all, global warming is one of the most serious threat that globalization brings about. According to recent research, human activities, such as driving cars, using electricity from coal-fired plants . are contributing to global warming by adding large amounts of greenhouse gases to the air. Then, these gases grow more heat and become trapped in the atmosphere. This changes the climate and alters weather patterns, which influences the length of seasons and the operation of wildlife. This also causes flooding and severe storms. In short, global warming and climate changes are becoming more and more dangerous for our lives. Secondly, globalization also causes a loss of natural resources. With the development of worldwide industries, the demand for metals, coal and oil is increasing rapidly in many countries. Human beings have developed many technologies to help them survive and extract benefit from natural resources. However, these technologies impact badly on the ecosystem. Furthermore, people also exploit many other materials for agriculture, transport, housing and so on. Many rare species, also, are on the verge of extinction, and areas of land and forests are reducing gradually. As a result, people will suffer from several disasters because of what they cause. They do not realize that those resources are seriously devastated and may soon be used up in the near future. This brings me to the end of my first point. Now let’s continue with the next point. Because of those effects of globalization, we should find out some measures to protect our environment. In order to prevent global warming, we should reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air by burning less coal, using public transportation and studying renewable sources of energy. We can also appeal other people to plant more trees and use environment friendly products. Besides, policies on the management of natural resources might be a good tool for us to solve these problems. Governments should enforce laws against illegal exploitation so that natural resources might not run out. In conclusion, globalization causes bad impacts on our environment, in terms of climatic conditions and the decrease in natural resources. This proves to put a strain on human life. Therefore, everyone should be aware of its drawbacks and take immediate action to save our environment. That’s what I want to share with you today. Thank you for listening. THU : Thank you very much, Miss Hang. As you have heard from her talk, environmental pollution is really a serious matter nowadays. But as I said earlier, rich-poor gap is also a great problem for us to deal with. Miss Thanh, can you explain more for us ? THANH : Good afternoon, everybody ! My name is Nguyen Thanh Thanh and I’m from NUS of Singapore. It’s really nice to have a talk with you today. As Miss Hang has told you about environmental effects, now I’d like to mention another challenge caused by globalization .it is the widening of rich-poor gap. To make it easier for you to follow, I will divide my speech into three main parts : firstly, the general situation; secondly, the reasons why rich-poor gap is broadened; .and finally, some measures to solve these problems. In the first place, it’s necessary to get an overview of the matter. This can be summarized in an old saying you may know : "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer”. Let me give you an example. According to China’s Report on US Human Rights Record in 2000, the gap between the rich and poor in the United States grew at the same pace as the economic growth. Statistics show that 1 percent of the richest US citizens own 40 percent of the total property of the country; while 80 percent of US citizens own just 16 percent. Meanwhile, there are around 1 billion people suffering from lack of food; 400 million are on the edge of starvation. It is informed that every day, more than 12,000 people die of starvation, and the numbers increase as population grows. These are only some small examples but to some extent, they show this serious inequality situation. This brings me to the end of the first point. Now let me explain the 2 reasons for the widening of rich-poor gap. The first reason is that there is a great difference between the types of income that the rich and the poor receive. In fact, the rich don’t have to “work” physically because they have money working for them. Their investments provide them with “capital gains” or “passive income”. For instance, wealthy earners have the ability to buy houses and then benefit from rising asset prices. On the other hand, the poor focus too much on "earned income", which is also their main source. In the meantime, expenses keep increasing over time; so the wages of a poor person just can remain their life. Another reason is the importance of skills in Global Economy. Arguably, globalisation and economic development have changed the nature of the economy. There is now less demand for unskilled manual labour. Therefore, workers with low skills and qualifications have found it harder to get well-paid jobs. By contrast, skillful laborers with good education have seen significant rises in real pay. Also there has been a growth in bonuses for top executives. That’s the background on my second point. Now let’s take a look at the last point. As stated earlier, the rich-poor gap has been terribly widened by globalization. Thus it’s necessary to find hard-line solutions to those problems. We may not be able to put forward a definite measure, but we can start taking the very first steps now. I agree with the Bank's Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, who said: "To overcome the inequality that undermines their efforts to get out of poverty, poor people must gain influence within political and social institutions, including educational, health and public services institutions.” "To enable them to achieve such influence, the institutions must be truly open, transparent, democratic, participatory - and strong." I believe that these sayings set a trend for us to take possible action. That may cover everything I want to talk with you today. Thank you for your attention. THU : Miss Thanh has provided us with some basic information about the rich-poor gap, and I believe that it’s useful for you. As you see, we’ve gone through 2 main problems of globalization .and now Miss Ngan will explain to you about the third one. NGAN : Good afternoon everybody ! Let me introduce myself. My name is Hoang Mai Ngan and I’m from Yale University. I’m really proud to be your guest today. As you can see, globalization leads to many serious problems … rich-poor gap, environmental pollution… and now, I’d like to tell you about the third drawback of it, we say, cultural changes. To make it easier for you to understand, I’ll introduce my outline now. Firstly I will explain the two reasons why globalization leads to cultural changes . and then I will also mention some solutions to the matter. As you know, cultural problems are becoming more and more serious nowadays. First of all, globalization will cause some cultures to be damaged or even become extinct. In particular, there is a close relationship between economic situation and cultures. Therefore, cultures of wealthy countries prove to be more dominant than those of poorer countries. Let me give you an example. As you know, several Western countries such as the US, the UK, France or Germany…have really great economic power, which means that their worldwide markets are very large. Moreover, they can produce many things that represent their cultural hallmarks, for example, clothes, movies, foods and drinks, etc. When these products come into non-Westerned markets, they will also affect the lifestyles of people in those countries. As a result, the cultures of small nations will gradually be changed…they will lose their own features and may also stand the risk of getting lost. This brings me to the end of my first point. Now let’s move on to the next point. Another problem is that globalization also raises a widespread of materialistic lifestyles. As you can see in this process…businesses have to compete with not only national but also international rivals. This leads to much more severe competition…People will believe that justice and power only belong to stronger parties. Therefore, they tend to be more pragmatic…and they’re only concerned about their own businesses and try their best to earn as much money as possible . In this way, traditional values will gradually be neglected. This causes enormous damage to national cultures at the same time, especially in developing nations. These are two main cultural problems that globalization may bring about. In fact, once joining this ‘worldwide network’, it is really difficult for any country to quit itself from the influence race. Therefore, it’s not simple to crack this problem .but we should find out some solutions and put them into practice as soon as possible. Many nations in the world have now put an emphasis on the role of education. However, if we want to use education as a tool to solve cultural problems, we must set a trend for it. This means .educating is not only stuck with science and technology, but it should also help improve people’s awareness and national pride. It’s a good way to help protect national traditions as well as cultures. Another solution is that governments should organize traditional festivals to attract public attention. For example, in Vietnam, King Hung’s Death Anniversary is widely held every year .and this reminds Vietnamese people of their origin, history and traditions. In fact, cultural activities also contribute to solving cultural problems, apart from education. This brings me to the end of my presentation today. Thank you all for listening. THU : Thank you for your useful information, Miss Ngan. And now, I think our 3 Thank you for your useful information, Miss Ngan. And now, I think our 3 professors are ready to answer all your questions. It’s time for you to raise your voice, professors are ready to answer all your questions. It’s time for you to raise your voice, please. please. … … Ok, I think the show is nearly coming to the end now. In conclusion, globalization Ok, I think the show is nearly coming to the end now. In conclusion, globalization has not only the positive but also the negative effects on our world. Being aware of its main has not only the positive but also the negative effects on our world. Being aware of its main challenges, you can broaden your knowledge as well as adjusting your habit and taking challenges, you can broaden your knowledge as well as adjusting your habit and taking action against those problems. I really hope that all of you have gained something today action against those problems. I really hope that all of you have gained something today show. show. We will be back at the same time and the same place next week. Thank you for tuning in. We will be back at the same time and the same place next week. Thank you for tuning in. Goodbye. Goodbye.