But if there was a need 25 years ago for a global environmental organization, that need has only multiplied since. For now, not only do we recognize the global character of the environmental problems themselves, but ways in which other forces in the global political economy impinge on environmental issues. Globalization is a process that has been underway for centuries, if not millennia. As transportation and communications technologies have evolved from walking to the world wide web, the planet has become smaller and human society more integrated. And there have undoubtedly been people down through the ages lamenting this fact, but it is as inevitable as human curiosity and proclivity for invention.
Globalization is such a broad term.
It is used as a kind of catch-all for a multitude of sins. But the fact that we are more interconnected on this planet than we have ever been before is not, in itself, a bad thing. The opportunity to learn from each other, to appreciate and benefit from our differences, and to build together on our strengths is surely a golden one. But there are also costs. And we believe that it is important to understand what they are in order to respond.