From weapons of mass destruction to climate change, here are 10 of the world’s biggest
problems: Number 10 Weapons of Mass Destruction
Even though there has been great progress on nuclear disarmament since the end of the
Cold War, weapons of mass destruction aren’t completely removed as a threat.
Nine states are currently known to possess nuclear arsenals, adding up to an estimated
total of 15,000 warheads, with the US and Russia holding almost half of the stock.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has the world’s fastest-growing nuclear stockpile and Israel is deploying
cruise missiles with nuclear weapons on submarines.
Sometimes, the countries that host the world’s nuclear armament find themselves in unstable
relationships.
The idea that they possess weapons capable of obliterating entire cities understandably
makes some people feel uneasy.
Another concern is the security of the weapon systems, as they were developed at a time
when computer capabilities were in their infancy.
Researchers have recently pointed to fact that the weapons could be vulnerable to cyber-attack,
or that a large-scale cyber-attack could lead to the escalation of a nuclear response.
Number 9 Pollution and Waste ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ are terms
most associated with paper or plastic, but electronics might be some of the most dangerous
discarded items.
Components such as heavy metals can leak into the ground as the remains are packed into
landfills and eventually get into the groundwater.
Harmful dioxins are also released in the air when the items are incinerated.
Every year, over 50 million tons of electronic waste is created, only 12.5% of it being recycled.
Another problem associated with the use of electronics is energy waste.
Even leaving your fully charged cell phone attached to the charger can waste almost 20
kWh a year.
Given the current trends, The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
warns that energy-related emissions will increase by 70% over the next 30 years.
The primary environmental effect is an increase in the carbon footprint.
This may accelerate the consequences of climate change, including a rise in the frequency
of extreme weather events.
Number 8 Food and Water Safety Our economy is built around natural resources
and, since we’re consuming much more than we need, the planet can barely cope with the
demand.
It’s been estimated that, by the end of 2050, the world will have 9 billion people
to feed.
The demand for food will be greater than it is today so the consumption of water, gas,
and energy will also grow.
This inevitably interferes with the make-up of our food.
We take too much from nature and dispose it carelessly into the atmosphere causing pollution
which affects our resources.
Carbon pollution has an additional impact that we’re only beginning to understand.
The increasing level of CO2 in the atmosphere may be making our food less nutritious.
Researchers who, over the past 70 years, have witnessed a measurable drop in the vitamin,
mineral and protein content in fruits and vegetables have called this the ‘junk food
effect’.
Number 7 Global Health Apart from diseases like malaria that still
kill hundreds of thousands of people every year, the issue of mental health is getting
more and more problematic.
Almost every country in the world is currently facing and failing to manage a mental health
crisis, from epidemics of anxiety and depression to conditions caused by trauma and violence.
It is estimated that 13.5 million lives could be saved every year if the underlying mental
health problems were addressed.
In many of the world’s countries people don’t even expect to find help anymore.
Surveys in China and India, countries which are home to a third of the world’s population,
suggest that more than 80% of the people with substance use disorders or other mental health
problems didn’t seek treatment, and, when they did, the quality was poor.
Number 6 Education Survival in harsh environments, like the ones
we used to inhabit in the past, required the development of logical skills in order to
survive.
The environment today consists of less physical threats so the educational system is meant
to prepare children for other challenges of life in a society.
The problem today is no longer only about the lack of access to schooling, but rather
about what happens once children enter a classroom.
The effort made to educate young people is tremendous but the results, on a global scale,
seem to be lacking.
The emphasis, more often than not, falls on the quantity of schooling and not its quality.
Not only are there not enough teachers globally, but many of them are also untrained, which
leads to children failing to learn the basics.
In countries like Kenya and Uganda 75% of the third-grade students cannot read a simple
phrase.
In rural India, half of the fifth-graders cannot subtract two-digit numbers.
This contributes to the perpetuation of inequality, with the people in the world’s poorest regions
suffering the most from the consequences of educational inefficacy.
Number 5 Economy Our current economic system places more value
on corporate needs than it does on the needs of the planet or humanity.
Instead of financing medium and small-sized businesses that are the main job creators,
banks mainly grant loans to people with collaterals already existing.
In the market economy, the consumers are the ones who dictate, by spending money on certain
goods and services more than on others.
This is where media advertising plays its role.
The current system demands that we consume more in order for the economy to continue
to grow.
To a certain point this makes sense, but we are sacrificing more and more to keep the
system stable.
While many people can’t afford access to food or water, others end up measuring their
social status by the things they own.
The rich and poor distinction thus fuels a constantly growing notion of separation.
Number 4 Addiction to Technology Billions of dollars are being spent on trying
to make artificial intelligence more and more powerful.
However, hardly any effort is devoted to making sure that those capabilities are implemented
safely for the benefit of humanity.
This is a concern from many points of view.
The advances in technology change the way we work and relate to other human beings.
Apart from the political threats and the risks of accidents, technology has become a problem
because we basically can’t do without it.
Overusing computers and machines in our work may actually reduce our intelligence and creative
force.
Our face-to-face communication also seems to be affected by the things we see and share
on social media.
With almost every aspect of our lives reliant on technology, humanity as a whole risks losing
the skills gained over years of evolution.
Number 3 Corruption In short, corruption refers to the practice
of obtaining influence, power or personal gains through illegitimate means, often at
the expense of others.
When discussing corruption, politics may be the first thing that comes to mind.
This phenomenon has led to crisis in many parts of the world where corrupt people in
positions of power take advantage of those who aren’t.
Often, the proper channels to influence are closed so that only those with money are able
to succeed.
Corruption is not only restricted to politics as it can have an enormous impact on every
aspect of our lives, including education, safety, justice or health.
It threatens the proper functioning of society in many ways, one of which is creating the
notion that people who have power and wealth are basically not obligated to abide by its
rules.
Number 2 War and Racism It would seem that war and racism are often
interlocking concepts.
The US intervention in Vietnam, for example, wasn’t primarily motivated by race but racial
ideology permeated justifications of crimes committed against non-white civilians.
Atrocities that have marked events such as World War II or the Sino-Japanese Wars were
often driven by racial discrimination.
It has been used as a powerful weapon to encourage fear and hatred in times of conflict and even
in times of economic downturn.
Even actions intended to make the world safer, such as the wars on drugs or terrorism, have
produced profoundly unequal outcomes among racial groups.
People of color often experience discrimination at every stage of the criminal justice system.
Racism has fostered inequality for centuries, also influencing the manner in which human
beings relate to each other.
Number 1 Climate Change Global warming is described as the rise in
the average temperature of the Earth’s surface.
Climate change has already had many observable consequences on the environment.
Effects predicted by scientists in the past, such as intense heat waves, loss of sea ice
or the rise in sea levels are now occurring at an accelerated pace.
There is also high confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for decades
to come.
Higher temperatures are also contributing to the occurrence of disasters like storms,
floods and droughts.
Many scientists point to climate change as the biggest threat of the 21st century.
It’s a problem that impacts people in many ways, both direct and indirect.
As temperatures spike, so does the incidence of emergency room visits, illness and death.
The rising temperatures also worsen air pollution by increasing the ground level ozone that’s
created when pollution from cars, factories and other sources react to sunlight and heat.
Extinction rates on land and in the oceans are also growing as a result of climate change.
Thanks for watching!
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