Musings…
This week’s session started out on a rather jarring note. The notion that we humans are the scourge of the very planet we thrive on. Prof showed us a cartoonish video of how humans, being the dark, grubby, pestilent beings, take over the earth and destroy everything in their path for world domination. We were even predicted to travel to other parts of the solar system and ‘infect’ those planets as well. It was all a bit shocking but on second thought, we aren’t so different from those grubby beings in the cartoon. We bring war upon each other, conquest after conquest – we not only decimate each other but also the other organisms on this planet. In such efforts and for the betterment of our lives, we plunder the earth’s resources – marauding everything we see fit, from diamonds to coal and vegetation to the ozone. We are slowly but surely destroying our own planet in an unsustainable manner. There won’t be much left. But, what we doing about it? Questions to ponder…
As the session progressed, we discussed whether the earth is able to sustain us once we start growing our own resources. This topic was interesting in the sense that it portrayed us as people who put petty differences aside in order to achieve a greater good. Not to say that war doesn’t exist now, but now, we’ve moved forward to make this earth a sustainable one for future generations. In my opinion, we have not reached the point of no return. The earth’s condition is still salvageable if we are able to channel our efforts and resources into curing global hunger, providing basic education, and delving headfirst into renewable energy. These are all steps in the effort to ‘grow’ our own resources.
Moving on from there, we went on to tackle the crisis of a rapidly growing population. Basically, focusing on the notion of bringing people from rural areas into developed cities with better sanitation, healthcare and education services. Moving away farmlands that were past down from generation to generation in hopes of creating a better life for the rural masses. But what struck me with this idea was the fact that most cities today are already overcrowded and teeming with corruption, crime and increasing poverty. Will moving these rural people from their homes into these cities be the best idea? I can see how an urban environment would be better for the future with better facilities etc. but the fact is, countries with large rural populations usually have cities that do not provide adequate, safe living environments. Largely, this dilemma stems from the instability of the government body. But I may be wrong.
Another topic of interest brought up in this session was the Green Revolution. It was amazing to me as to how developing countries were able to adapt and accept such a large scale movement and how focused the countries involved were in planning and executing this effort. I guess when it comes to the survival of their nation; the people and the government will be very proactive in ensuring it comes to fruition. But what about the survival of this planet? When will it be the time of the Energy Revolution or Earth Revolution – where countries all over the world channel their collective efforts in making green energy the energy of choice. Although much has been done in terms of harnessing renewable energy, we are still heavily dependant on fossil fuels for our industries and power. Most of the world has not tapped the potential behind renewable energy due to the high costs and their own limited capabilities. The Green Revolution, however, was so successful because everyone tried to play a role in it. If only such efforts were paid to the Energy Revolution, then we would've solved that crisis by now.
One of the best discussions we've had in sessions so far was brought up this week. We discussed whether making food available to every part of the global was going to cure the issue of world hunger. This was based on the hypothetical notion that we were able to grow enough food to supply the world with. Many interesting points were raised and I felt that having the supply was just one of the efforts in curing this global epidemic. We also have to take into account the social and political state of things. If a country is ravaged by internal strife and instability, teaching these nations to grow their own food would be tough. Furthermore, with growing poverty rates all over the world, people won’t necessarily be concerned with farming sustainable food. This was one of the more well-discussed issues in sessions so far.
Personal rating for this session: 9.177/10
Off to further musings,
James G14
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