Though there are many issues facing the world today, there are some that are much more pressing than others. And whether that be problems involving education of a certain group or simply the general welfare of humanity, they all contribute to the overall theme of ‘changing with the times’. I did some research on this topic and I found a few sources arguing different aspects with varying degrees of how they affect the world as a whole.
I found this website which simply gives a list of the top world problems as of today, which include bio-security, climate change, and factory farming involving the processing of animals. Delving deeper into the section involving climate change, I found an interesting quote that claimed:
“According to current estimates, unmitigated greenhouse emissions are likely to lead to global temperature increases of 2.6ºC to 4.8ºC by 2100. If this happened, there’d likely be significant humanitarian harms, including more severe weather, food crises, and the spread of infectious diseases which would disproportionately affect the world’s worst off.”
Now although this statistic may fairly vague in the repercussions of greenhouse gases, it is fair to say that this is a rather terrifying thought to ponder on. Increasing the world temperature by almost 5 degrees Celsius seems incomprehensible, but at the rate we are going, this is not far off in the distance.
I also discovered an article from BBC that also considers problem on a global scale and enter into detail about the various ways in which our world can be led into demise. It talks of themes such as the ‘global economy’ and global warming in a manner that I also found quite intriguing:
“On the other hand, we could also be on the brink of disaster. The economies and industries that have given us unprecedented wealth and well-being have come at enormous cost to the planet. As a result of our actions, half of all species alive today could disappear over the next century – an irreplaceable network of life that sustains our own existence by sequestering carbon and producing oxygen, among myriad other subtle effects. Global warming could make crowded parts of the world uninhabitable – or at least unable to produce the food that we need.”
I’d like to hear what others think about this topic, and what other problems face the world today that weren’t referenced in any of these sources.
Dear Billy :
I am in strong agreement with your post, “What are the biggest issues facing the world today?,” because it is truly terrifying how the issue of climate changing is escalating rapidly. I believe its impacts would alter our world as we know it and be further disruptive than any other issue we have going on currently.
One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is: “ Increasing the world temperature by almost 5 degrees Celsius seems incomprehensible, but at the rate we are going, this is not far off in the distance.” I think this is true because much of the world doesn’t understand how devastating these conditions can be for us.
Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next, because your insight on this issue tells me that you care very deeply about the future and betterment of our world. This is an issue that interests me as well, so hopefully we can all learn together.
Jade
Billy, this is a great article because it goes to show that we need to fight climate change like it is a war. I think that there isn’t enough focus on this topic, especially with how the president is pushing it aside and denying its existence. I wasn’t aware of the statistic that the global temperature will increase so much within the next hundred years if we don’t do something about it. Thank you for your article Billy I look forwards to more.
Billy, I think that the mentions of climate change and issues like that are some of the more pressing issues facing our world. For one those things will make up how we will live for the rest of time and it is very important to keep our planet as nice as it is can be because we do not really have another. I also think that some of the political issues faced by our world like the rising tensions between north korea and the USA is another issue that could end up pushing our world into areas that we really should not be in. I also think that its important to look at the political issues our world faces along with the threats faced from the climate change we are seeing around the world.