Anthropogenic Climate Change in the Himalayas

Mount Everest is the tallest most dangerous mountain in the world. Located in the Himalayas on the border of China and Nepal it is a spiritual leader for the communities that live in the Himalayas. But for the tourists who travel there to embark on a vigorous life-changing journey it is just a mountain that they hope to conquer. Everest has been a beacon for climbers and adventurers for over 50 years, starting in 1953 when Sir Edumund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay his Sherpa, climbed it for the first time. Everest or Sagarmatha, meaning goddess of the sky the Nepalese name for Mount Everest, has since been climbed by thousands people, both experienced and not experienced. As more time has passed and climbers and tourists from all over the world continue to flock to the mountain, more environmental degradation has plagued the area and the communities of the Himalayas, Nepal and Tibet. As Mount Everest becomes a beacon of greatness more and more people wish to climb, or pay to be assisted to climb. The increased human activity on such a majestic natural landscape has changed the make up of the land and increased pollution and environmental degradation. In this paper the impacts of human activity and pollution on the communities of the Himalayas and Mt. Everest will be researched and explained through the World-Systems Theory. The World-Systems Theory is a theory that looks at a social analysis of the world and the way the world is made up into core and peripheral countries. This theory will help explain the effects of environmental degradation on the Himalayas due to excess tourism in the past decade.

Mount Everest standing at 29,035 feet above sea level is one of the most beautiful creations of nature in our current lifetime. However...

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... environmental degradation. In this paper the impacts of human activity on the communities of the Himalayas and Mt. Everest proved to increase environmental degradation at the cost of the Himalayan communities. The World-Systems Theory was used to explain the issue of core countries and peripheral countries and how their different roles in the world system have shaped environmental impacts. There is great certainty that our growing population has disrupted the ecosystem in many negative ways, it is just a matter of time before the majestic Mt. Everest is destroyed forever. But for now, as the world continues to grow and Mount Everest continues to be a beacon for those who seek adventure or thrill it will continue to be degraded unless regulation is developed. Until then Mount Everest will continue to be “the highest junkyard on the face of the Earth.” (Barry Bishop)