International Issues Facing Us All

(This post is an expansion on a paper I wrote for a political science class I am [currently] enrolled in. There are many issues and concerns affecting every person alive in some degree. These areas are not exclusive to certain income or life station demographics--they affect everyone one of us--and we should all be concerned.)

The areas I will be looking at regarding international issues and their ranked importance are:

1) Population Concerns
2) Food Supplies
3) Energy Supplies
4) Energy Research
5) Pollution
6) Disease Control
7) Healthcare

Why these? Simply because they are all vital concerns that affect every person on the planet. These areas are not exclusive to any country, government, political agenda, or group. They affect us all, mutually.

*Population Concerns
It is estimated that there are now as many people on the earth as there have been throughout all the millennia of history combined. We have 6,000,000,000 (Billion!) people living on approximately one third of the surface of the earth (the rest is ocean). And that number simply keeps enlarging. Previous to the mid-twentieth century, there were many things which kept the world population in relative balance.

These included major pandemics; fluctuations in food supplies; regional warfare; little (if any) healthcare; poor general nutrition; natural disasters and the resultant health crises which inevitably followed, etc. With the advances in science and technology, these balancing factors are being negated, and thus, the world population is swelling.

*Food Supply
In the United States, with our abundantly stocked store shelves, it is easy to forget the food supply issues facing most of the world. Aside from North America, Europe and parts of Asia and the pan-Pacific area, food stocks are not nearly as abundant, or are teetering on non-existent. The United States has been the “bread basket of the world” for decades. However, with climate problems, a decreasing number of farms, use of grains for energy enhancement, exporting issues, and wasteful consumption by Americans, our ability to feed the world is decreasing.

There are currently efforts underway in places such as Russia, Ukraine, and numerous emerging states to increase their domestic crop abilities, and to rely less on the US for grains, fruits, etc. Until (or unless) this effort takes full effect, the pressures on world food supplies will continue to increase along with world population.

*Energy Supplies
The most obvious form of energy supply is Oil. Found over most of the world, this seemingly inexhaustible resource has been at the forefront of global economies since the end of World War II. But this dominant resource comes with its own inherent, unique problems. To name a few: air, water and ground pollution; toxic chemical byproducts; global demand; exclusivity of product capture and conversion by multinational corporations, etc. Additionally, as we have seen in parts of the US, the supply of oil is not unlimited, and will eventually exhaust itself.

Next, let’s look at Hydroelectric Power. Aside from the costs of dam construction, hydro power is one of the least expensive forms of energy in the world. There are few (if any) pollution concerns, and as long as rivers flow, the ability of a dam to produce electricity is unlimited. But like oil, the production of hydroelectricity carries inherent problems…a few of which scientists are just beginning to understand.

First and foremost is the loss of millions of acres of habitable, arable land that is buried beneath billions of acre feet of water behind the dams; land which could be used for human habitat, farming, etc. Next, is the now evident impact these dams have on the salmon populations around the world. Dams have been preventing the re-population of historical salmon runs for decades, and now, several populations have collapsed.

For instance, on the Elwah River in Western Washington (prior to the construction of two dams) the salmon runs ran into the millions. Native Americans in the area had an abundant food supply that only scratched the total number of these fish. In 2007, a DNR study found a returning salmon run of just 3.

Additionally, the decreasing salmon population is causing an ecological collapse as ocean species, dependent upon salmon as a food source, are looking for other species to feed on which causes a ripple effect that could endanger entire ocean-based ecosystems. Such a collapse would affect economies, and food supplies throughout the world.

As previously stated hydroelectric generation depends on rivers flowing. As climate issues cause deviations in weather patterns, snowpacks that are vital to river health are shrinking, rainfall patterns are changing, and ultimately, dams may not have enough sustainable water supply to continue generation of power.

The next area I want to briefly examine is Wind Power. Here is another source of relatively inexpensive power generation. The main costs are construction and maintenance. Wind is free. The biggest hindrance to more widespread use of this cheap form of energy is people. A NIMBY attitude is pervasive (at least in the US), and environmental groups contend that wind farms present a grave danger to bird populations. As to whether or not such a claim is true, I do not know; nor have I read any research about this concern—if any has even been done.

Finally, I want to look at Nuclear Energy. This type of energy is truly unlimited. It currently supplies approximately 20% of US electrical energy needs. The drawbacks to nuclear energy though are severe. The Chernobyl disaster showed exactly the severity of the dangers surrounding these plants. Additionally, there are grave concerns regarding Spent Fuel Rod storage, and the safe storage or disposal of nuclear waste water.

*Energy Research
In the United States the research towards more and viable forms of so-called Alternative Energy is done mostly in the private sector. The pace is slow, and the US government has done little thus far in funding any research. For instance, in the 2006 (?) energy package passed by Congress, Oil Companies received over $600,000,000 in tax breaks. Grants for Alternative Energy research totaled $7,000,000—a clear indicator of the power of the Oil lobby, and of the unwillingness of Congress to adopt new forms of energy.

Around the world, research continues, but I do not know to what degree it is being pushed. I would hope that areas such as Cold Fusion, Hydrogen Power, and other forms of potentially clean, cheap energy are being researched with urgency. After all, we only have one planet, and to continue polluting it only serves to hasten [potential] environmental collapse.

*Pollution
One of the gravest threats we, as a world citizenry, face is the problem of pollution. From industrial waste to chemical contamination, to human waste in its many forms, pollution is a major problem around the world. Waste contaminates groundwater, aquifers, oceans, etc. It releases huge amounts of methane into the atmosphere, and causes unhealthy levels of airborne contaminants to be released into the air we all breathe. Its impact can be seen in our food supply as livestock, fruits, grains, fish, etc are all affected in ways both great and small.

There are ways to help reduce the sheer volume of pollution we produce on a daily basis, but the known methods are expensive to both enact and maintain, thereby making them prohibitive to even start. These things include: burning garbage (one tone of trash can be reduced to one pound of ash); strict, effective environmental controls (and supervision) on industrial businesses; safe chemical decomposition of certain waste waters and chemical byproducts, and other emerging methods.

*Diseases
Through pollution, diseases are spread which can affect people around the world. These might include E-coli, Hepatitis C, Cholera, Diphtheria, Trichinosis, Botulism, etc. In countries with inadequate healthcare, a disease, once contracted by a single person, can spread so rapidly that it can affect thousands before it is detected, and ultimately millions before it is controlled.

Also, disease caused by genetic mutation can spread rapidly, quietly. Before anyone is aware, any disease in this category can spread to every continent on the earth. Such is the case on the recent Swine Flu outbreak which originated in Mexico. Others include common seasonal Influenzas, the cross species Avian Flu, Spanish Influence (the last true pandemic), etc.

Other factors influencing disease generation and spread are: Population density/over-crowding; general nutrition; availability and quality of healthcare; lack of clean drinking water/use of infected waters by multiple communities downstream from one another; over-exposure to the natural elements; transmission from infected animals to humans via consumption of meat, etc.

So, what can be done? The United Nations (through the World Health Organization) works daily on improving nutrition, healthcare, prevention of water contamination, etc. Further, many private organizations such as the International Red Cross (or, the Red Crescent in the Middle East) work with communities to address such needs. Charitable Foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation spend billions of dollars every year to try and eradicate disease and hunger.

*Healthcare
Aside from a majority of industrialized countries, healthcare around the world is woeful at best, tragic at worst. In many parts of the world, healthcare is a once yearly visit from a doctor (of some sort) who may see you for all of five or ten minutes. In other areas, people may go for years without seeing a doctor even once. Or, you may have availability to healthcare, but are required to wait weeks for a visit. In either event, the lack of adequate healthcare in many parts of the world is a glaring reality.

Living in an industrialized nation is no guarantee of available healthcare. In the United States, it is estimated that over 40% of the population cannot afford even a simple visit to a doctor. We’re talking around 144,000,000+ citizens in the wealthiest nation on the earth who cannot afford healthcare. The problems in the US are beginning to escalate out of control, and attempts by anyone to address the issue are stopped dead in their tracks by lobbies representing the healthcare industry. In Europe and parts of Asia Socialized Healthcare is working. Some places are better than others, but countries such as Great Britain, Germany, Sweden, Japan and Taiwan guarantee every citizen yearly visits to doctors, and affordable advanced care as needed.


So the problems are not insurmountable; we just have to be willing to do what is necessary to ensure that everyone benefits. Will these be easy to solve? Not a chance; but they are solvable. And it will take the unbiased, unselfish, coordinated efforts of every government on the earth. Anything less and the results will be far from what is absolutlely necessary; and our battle to preserve our food, resources, and quality of human life will fall short, and we will have no one to blame but ourselves as we look to a future with diminishing ability to meet the basic life needs of the peoples of the earth.