Chapter 28
In This Chapter
• Technological challenges
• Environmental challenges
• Globalization
• Terrorism and extremism
• Responses to challenges
The world community will face many challenges in the twenty-first century. These include technological and environmental challenges in addition to the economic and cultural problems associated with globalization.Several organizations are trying to confront these challenges including the United Nations, NATO, the European Union, and other nongovernmental groups. The solution to these problems would be more easily reached if the world community learned to settle many of its disputespeacefully. But sadly, with the rise of extremism and terrorism, this goal appears to be far away.
Challenges for the Future
As the world enters the twenty-first century, it is not without a little fear and trepidation.The twentieth century, which started with a great deal of promise and progress, became one of the bloodiest centuries in human history. In addition, changes on the world stage are happening so quickly that it’s hard to understand or keep up. With that in focus, there are a few major challenges at the beginning of the twenty-first century that the world community will need to address.
Technology (No, I Am Not a Luddite!)
Modern transportation and technology have changed the world. The world has access to jumbo jets, the Internet, satellites, television, fax machines, and cell phones. The exploration of space has led to some of these changes. Satellites transmit information to the world through radios, television, and telecommunications. Space probes have even increased our knowledge of our solar system, galaxy, and universe.
Medical technology has advanced the way doctors treat diseases and perform surgery; because of this, people are able to live longer and healthier lives. The changes in medical technology have also raised some new valid concerns. For example, genetic engineering allows scientists to alter the genetic information of cells to produce new variations. But what if the new cell variations are deadly? Or what if someone were to misuse this new technology?Additionally, the use of antibiotics in animals and humans has created “supergerms“ that are very resistant to available antibiotics. Finally, issues over stem-cell research and human cloning have become the center of intense debates between the scientific and religious communities.
What in the World
Most people believe that multimediacommunication is more easily controlled and manipulatedthan the printed word. But a potential drawback to this type of communication is that it limits the imagination.
definition
The Green Revolution is the development of better types of rice, corn, and other grains that have better yields per acre than traditional crops.
The agricultural Green Revolution, using fertilizers and pesticides to grow new crops, has promised big rewards to the world community. It was thought that these new and better crops were the solution to the world’s growing population with its mouths to feed. But many nations cannot afford to supply their farmers with the fertilizers, and the pesticides have created environmental problems, including the contaminationof water supplies.
The technological revolution brought about the development of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. With the end of the Cold War, the threat of nuclear war diminished to some degree, but there is a fear that rogue nations or even terrorists may acquire nuclear weapons. The same problem exists with biological and chemical weapons. Many governments have made agreements to limit the research, production, and use of these types of weapons, but rogue nations and terrorists have not.
definition
A rogue nation is one that acts outside the boundaries of internationallaw and diplomacy.
The Environment
In 1962, the American scientist, Rachel Carson, published a book called Silent Spring in which she warned the world about the dangers of pesticide use on crops to kill insects. Carson documented evidence that the pesticides were also killing birds, fish, and other animals. She also warned that humans, too, could be affected by pesticide residue on or in food. Her stark warnings led to the emergence of a new field of science called ecology, which is the study of the relationships between living things and the environment.The world community started to become aware of dangers to the environment.
One danger to the environment is overpopulation. The world’s resources cannot sustain such a large number of people. As a result of this overpopulation, many areas of the world have been overdeveloped and deforested. Deforestation is when forests or jungles are cut down to provide space for farmland and building development, destroying animal and plant habitats. Tropical rainforests are the biggest concern with this type of clear cutting. They support more than 50 percent of the world’s plants and animals. In addition, rainforests are vital in the process of removing carbondioxide from the air and returning oxygen to it. Rainforests are the lungs of the world. They help the earth breathe.
Chemical waste is another danger to the world’s environment. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) found in gases used in aerosol cans and Freon in refrigerators and air conditionershave destroyed a portion of the ozone layer. This thin layer of gas protects the earth from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Scientists believe that the buildup of carbon dioxide in the world’s atmosphere is creating a greenhouse effect. As a result, the temperature of the earth is steadily increasing and melting the polar ice caps. Finally, acid rain, which comes from sulfur being released from factories and mixing with moisture in the air, has browned and killed thousands of acres of forests in North America and Europe.
Several major ecological disasters in the past two decades have contributed to the destruction of the environment. In 1986, an explosion and fire at a nuclear reactor at Chernobyl in the Soviet Union spread a radioactive cloud over thousands of square miles. In 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdezran aground, causing a massive oil spill that did serious harm to the Alaskan environment.
With the environmental challenges brought to the attention of the world community, the nations of the world have worked to improve the situation. In 1987, representativesfrom 46 countries met in Montreal to draft the Montreal Protocol to limit CFCs. Later in 1992, the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro looked at environmental challenges and proposed solutions. Finally in 1997, the major nations of the world met at Kyoto, Japan, to draft the Kyoto Protocol to limit the production of greenhouse gases.
Notable Quotable
"Even the most ardent environmentalist doesn’t really want to stop pollution. If he thinks about it, and doesn’t just talk about it, he wants to have the right amount of pollution.We can’t really afford to eliminate it—not without abandoning all of the benefits of technology that we not only enjoy but on which we depend.”
—Milton Friedman, No Such Thing as a Free Lunch, 1975
Globalization
The end of World War II was the beginning of globalization. A globalized economy is one in which the production, distribution, and sale of goods take place on the world market. There is some question to whether this is a new phenomenon or an old variation of imperialism in a new package. Organizations like the World Trade Organization (WTO), North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA), and the European Union (EU) have tried to capitalize on this global economy, but not without criticism. At times the WTO has placed commercial interests above environmentalconcerns. These organizations have also been criticized for being exclusive and arbitrary in leaving out some nations.
There are other problems with globalization, such as the enormous gap between the rich and the poor. The rich, industrialized countries that make up the West have many advantages, including well-organized infrastructures, advanced technologies, and good educational systems. Developing nations are poorer are located mainly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, all of which experienced colonialism and imperialism.These countries were exploited in the past for raw materials and have not experienced industrialization like the West during the nineteenth century. So these nations are mostly agricultural nations with little technological and educational innovation. The possibility of being exploited by the West is still a factor, even if imperialism has withered away.
A problem that these developing nations have is population growth. In comparison to the nations of the West, they have experienced the bulk of the world’s growth in population to more than 6 billion people. Many of those people have moved to the urbanized areas of the world where living conditions are poor. Additionally these cities are developing faster than the environment can support. Hunger, starvation, sanitation, and disease are serious concerns. Nearly 8 million people die of starvation annually, most of them in the developing nations. In addition, the lack of food and other resources to support life in these nations results in conflicts. For example in the Sudan in the 1980s, a civil war was fought in which the prevention of the import of food was used as tactic of war. As a result, more than 1 million people died of starvationin the Sudan.
In the West, differences between the sexes have decreased economically and socially. Women have entered the workforce and university systems in steadily increasing numbers. Many laws have been passed to institute equality in every way imaginable for women. Women in the developing nations do not have it as good. Cultural and religious traditions have created a system of inequality for women. Most are still treated as being subordinate to their husbands or fathers. In addition, education, property rights, and employment are still male-centeredand male-dominated. Thus women in developing countries have a much longer road to travel to gain equality with men.
Notable Quotable
"The central challenge we face today is to ensure that globalization becomes a positive force for all the world’s people, instead of leaving billions behind in squalor.”
—United Nations Secretary-GeneralKofi Annan, 2000
Terrorism and Extremism
The world is facing political problems in terrorism and other forms of extremism. There are many different dictatorships and one-party governments in power around the world. Many of these governments practice extreme ideologies that do not permit public discourse. As a result, the world has experienced many regional, ethnic, and religious conflicts.
The Eastern European nation of Yugoslavia was torn apart by ethnic divisions duringthe 1990s. Hundreds of thousands of Africans have been killed because of ethnic differences. Religious differences in the region of Palestine have brought Israelis and Palestinians into conflict. Terrorism of extremist groups like al-Qaeda on September 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center demonstrated the advanced ability of terrorists and their tactics. To combat these groups, nations have worked together to cooperate on responses and security.
Solutions Anyone?
With all of the challenges that face the world including environmental, political, and social concerns, it appears that the twenty-first century could be a tough one if measures are not taken. But whose responsibility is it to take these measures?
The United Nations, NATO, and the European Union
Several organizations have stepped up to take on the challenges that face the world. The United Nations (UN) was created after World War II with two main goals: to maintain peace and human rights. The general assembly of the UN consists of representativesfrom the majority of the nations of the world. It discusses and recommends solutions to issues the world faces today. The secretary-general of the UN executes and supervises the administration of UN mandates.
The most important group of the UN is the security council, made up of five permanentmembers, which includes the United States, Russia, Great Britain, France, and China. Ten other members are selected to serve on this council for limited terms. The security council works to settle international disputes around the world, sometimes with the use of peacekeeping forces. Three of the UN’s specialized agencieshave important functions in maintaining human rights. They are the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO). These agencies address economic and social problems related to human rights.
Another organization, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), works to stabilize regions of the world with military force. The role of NATO is evolving from its original Cold War purpose. New members from Eastern Europe have joined, and the United States has a less prominent role. Whether this organization will have military objectives like those of the past is yet to be seen.
The European Union (EU) is also working to maintain economic stability in Europe. In recent years, its role has changed to include applying economic pressure to obtain human rights for other regions of the world. For example, the nation of Turkey wanted to be a member, but the EU denied its entrance based on human rights violationsin the nation.
Think Globally, Act Locally!
Another approach to the challenges of the world has been the emergence of social movements at the grassroots level with ordinary citizens. Local groups have organizedto make a difference in their respective community and have inspired other citizens in other locations. In addition, nongovernmental organizations like business and professional organizations, foundations, and religious groups have worked to solve the challenges facing the world. These groups bring awareness to global perspectivesand inspire political and diplomatic action.
Even with all of the efforts of the UN, NATO, the EU and other nongovernmental groups, the world’s problems cannot be solved without help. The disputes over political,ethnic, and religious differences must be resolved in a peaceful forum. During the twenty-first century, it is the people’s hope that the governments of the world can do that more effectively.
The Least You Need to Know
• The world community will face many technological and environmental challengesin the twenty-first century.
• Economic globalization has many benefits but might prove to be disadvantageousfor developing nations.
• The UN, NATO, EU, and other nongovernmental groups are trying to tackle the global challenges of the twenty-first century.
• The path of the twenty-first century will be difficult unless the world communitylearns to solve its disputes peacefully.