Global issues are of great importance for they may literally decide the
future of the human race. The very concept of issues that are global
in scale is recent. Global issues have and hold the potential for
extensive impacts on people and the planet. Global issues are beyond
the ability of any one nation to resolve and are persistent, or
long-acting. Their onset may take years, decades, or even generations
to be felt, and may take similar amounts of time to be resolved.
I am going to outline a few global issues briefly before finally
concentrating on one particular issue, starting with conflict. There
are around thirty high-intensity wars raging around the world today.
These conflicts cause millions of casualties, as well as social and
economic disruptions that threaten food supplies, health, local
environments and political strength in many regions. Most conflicts
start over things such as access to farmland, water, fishing grounds,
timber resources, or control of valuable products such as diamonds or
coffee. Combatant groups can be entities from opposition, communal or
the government and are often members of a particular class, ethnic
group, or religion struggling for right to use to natural resources,
social services, or political power.
After food and water, energy is our most basic need. Modern cultures
are founded almost solely around the production and consumption of
energy. Many people believed that our main concern was the fact that
supplies will eventually run out, when in fact the greater concern
about energy is that our current energy models are unsustainable
because of environmental and economic issues. Our current energy
models rely mainly on hydrocarbon fuels like oil, natural gas, and
coal which provide nearly 80 percent of the world’s energy. However,
this can cause smog and acid rain, and may be linked to global
warming. We also use long-established biomass fuels such as solid
wood that provides almost 10 percent of the world’s energy but
unfortunately contributes to deforestation and air pollution. The
final energy model we use is a nuclear generation which provides just
over 6 percent of the world’s energy, but produces toxic waste which
needs long-term safe disposal.
Human impact on the environment is becoming both more visually obvious
and more extensive. Almost 40 percent of the earth’s land surface is
being used as cropland or pasture land and half the planet’s tropical
forests have been destroyed or ruined. The planet’s protective ozone
layer has been badly damaged, while huge numbers of carbon emissions
causes smog and acid rain, and also contributes to global warming and
climate change. All of these environmental impacts result from the
needs and desires of our growing population and the models of
production and consumption we use to try to meet those needs and
desires. Much of the damage to the environment is a result of
over-consumption of resources and production of wastes by wealthy
nations and individuals.
Nothing is as basic to human survival as food and water. But billions
of people lack access to adequate nutrition and clean water. Around
800 million people are chronically hungry and over two billion lack
adequate nutrition and more than 80 countries now face water
shortages.
There is enough food available to feed everyone on the planet, today.
But economic policies, poverty, discrimination, and poor governance
keep many people from receiving enough food. Through destroying
natural habitats for farmland, over-fishing, pollution from pesticides
and fertilizers, soil erosion, and desertification, we are also doing
damage to the Earth in producing much of our food.
Health is completely essential for social and economic development.
Population growth, globalization, and unsuitable development have made
health more fragile than ever for many people in the world.
Inadequate development has resulted in poverty and insufficient health
services in much of the world, while over-consumption by developed
nations has created severe environmental health impacts. Health is
very much linked to other global issues. For example, poverty is a
major contributor to ill health. Poor people, especially women and
children, often cannot afford sufficient nutrition, clean water, or
access to medical attention. Ill health, therefore, traps people in or
condemns them to poverty.
I am going to finally concentrate on the gap between the rich and poor
as a global issue and hopefully comprise an idea for action that a
primary school could take on.
As time goes by, the gap between the worlds rich and poor is becoming
larger and larger, both within countries and among them. The vast
majority of the world’s population is receiving an ever-decreasing
share of its wealth, while the share claimed by a few rich nations and
individuals is steadily growing.
The results of this widening rich-poor gap are diverse. They include
environmental destruction as richer nations can afford to over-consume
resources, while poorer nations are forced to over-exploit the
environment just to survive. People may be forced to migrate and move
in search of adequate resources. They also include conflict
wealthier nation’s fight to keep what they have, while those suffering
a lack of resources fight to attain them. Global inequality has many
causes and is diverse and complex. Such as, the unequal distribution
of natural resources, and lack of access to education, healthcare,
especially for women and girls.
History has shown that individuals and nations do not have to stay in
poverty for an indefinite period, however. With a knowledge and
understanding of the interdependence of our world, it is possible to
eradicate the original causes of poverty. By increasing economic
opportunities, access improves to nutrition, education, and
healthcare. This creates a higher income, more independence
(especially for women) and the opportunity to obtain environmentally
safe technology and products. When social health improves so does the
stability of it, better economic production and less opportunities for
conflict. Population tends to even out, governments tend to be more
democratic, and environmental protection becomes both more desired and
attainable.
Most people have an image in their minds of what they perceive to be a
poor person but rarely think beyond that image to all the other ways
being poor affects a person’s life, or how that poverty affects the
larger world.
Wealth and poverty are closely associated to population. When
population increases, there are more people who must share the
resources. When there aren’t enough resources to support the people,
poverty follows. The shortage of resources and poverty may then cause
discrimination, migration, environmental destruction, and conflict.
High levels of education and income often work together. Educated and
wealthier families tend to be smaller, and usually have fewer children
so they can focus their resources on those children, generating better
health, educational, and economic outcomes.
Poverty can often make families use their children as a way of earning
money. The children may raise food, haul water, gather fuel, work in
sweatshops, or be sold into slavery or prostitution to help support
their families.
The decline of the condition of the environment is a major cause of
poverty. Overexploitation and deprivation of the resources can force
people into poverty, just as people living in poverty are often forced
to destroy and degrade their environment.
Another major connection is between poverty and health. Poverty is the
main reason that children are not vaccinated, clean water and
sanitation are not available to them, life saving drugs and treatments
are difficult to get to for poor people, and mothers die in
childbirth.
There are some obvious reasons for the severe gap between rich and
poor developing regions, for example the world’s raw resources, from
which most wealth comes from, have never been properly shared out. Raw
materials and goods made from them are redistributed through trade (or
are taken by force).
There are many things that can be done to help the problem of poverty
- I am going to focus of what children can do to in and out of school
to help. I think that the easier way of doing this is to first raise
awareness of the issue which is the first step to making real and
lasting changes - this can easily be done by children in their own
communities.
For example, primary school children could get together in their class
and write a letter to a newspaper editor, in the hope that many people
would read it and hopefully respond to it and share their opinions
with others. They could also share what they’ve learnt about poverty
by getting creative. Art can have a positive effect on its audience
which makes it a powerful tool for raising awareness about important
issues.
Raising money can also help solve an issue such as this immensely.
Money is usually given to programs in developing countries that need
funding for helping children get an education. With the help of
parents or teachers, children can easily help donate money by holding
an activity to raise money such as a walk-a-thon. Or even selling
sweets and cakes that they have made themselves with their families or
at school.
With the right kind of support from adults in the school, big events
can be held, like a talent contest for example, in aid of raising
money for the fight against poverty.
Another idea that could be used as an ongoing project is for Teachers
coordinate their lesson plans to focus on a particular area in a
country that needs help where there is a project being carried out,
like Gambia for example. Students could learn about Zambia’s culture
in history and geography. In music they could learn traditional
African songs and rhythms. Parents and could become involved by
helping gather school supplies to make education kits to send to
students in Zambia. The kits could include pencils, a note pad, a
rubber, and a sharpener, basic school supplies that many Zambian
students don’t have. Students could then enclose a personal letter and
a photograph of themselves, that could spark a global friendship with
a peer in Zambia.
This would teach help children see that their group effort could help
address the global issues of poverty and inequity in our world.
All of these ideas would be ideal to be used in a school environment
for children because firstly, the activities are fun and the children
will enjoy what they are doing and feel involved, and secondly, they
will feel empowered in the knowledge that their efforts will really
make a difference in the lives of children just like them around the
world.
There is no doubt that the gap between the rich and poor is growing
larger and larger. But it is not the gap that is the problem it is
more the behaviors and problems it creates within the minds of both
the rich and poor that matter. Poverty on a national and international
scale is closely linked to many of the challenges humans face so if
there is change in one (that could be positive or negative) impacts
all the others. Because of this, efforts to reduce poverty reduce the
amounts of recourses we use up, steady population growth, protect the
environment and support human rights are together strengthened. There
are many opportunities and choices that we could take to close the gap
between rich and poor and get rid of poverty worldwide. The choice is
ours and the results could be extraordinary.
The article was produced by the member of masterpapers.com.
Sharon White has many years of a vast experience in Essay Writing and custom essays writing consulting. Get free samples of essays and courseworks and buy essays .
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