Species Extinction
Today, human activities are causing a massive extinction of species, the full implications of which are barely understood. Commercial fishing’s increasing size and scope threaten to empty of the ocean of fish within several decades. Modern agricultural practices strip the Earth of its thin layer of topsoil through water and wind erosion, destroying this precious micro ecosystem that takes centuries to form and supports all life on land. Furthermore, bee populations are plummeting, and over 70% of our food is pollinated by bees; if bee populations fall too far, our food supplies will be seriously threatened
Radical Islam/Terrorism The destabilization of modern civilization by terroristic attacks carried out upon civilian populations. This modern day problem is an assault upon the ideals and expression of freedom, and has the potential to convert free societies into police states.
War Civil wars in small, poor countries cause untold suffering, and half of them are renewed flare-ups of recent conflicts. A single conflict can cost $250 billion or more, takes many years to recover from and can block all other humanitarian interventions. A large scale war in current times has the potential to destroy modern civilization as we know it.
Malnutrition and Hunger Despite significant reductions in income poverty in recent years, under nutrition remain widespread. Recent estimates from UNICEF (2006) are that “one out of every four children under five – or 146 million children in the developing world – is underweight for his or her age”, and that “each year, under nutrition contributes to the deaths of about 5.6 million children under the age of five”.
Global Water Crisis Water – the essential ingredient for life on this planet – is becoming an increasingly scarce resource. According to the World Bank and World Health Organization, 2 billion people lack access to clean water and 1 billion people do not have enough to even meet their daily needs. Every day an increasing amount of pollution seeps into rivers and lakes making them toxic to humans, and underground aquifers – our most significant sources of water – are being depleted at an alarming rate. If current trends continue more and more useable water will be lost while the world population continues to grow larger and larger.
Global Population Growth
The world is currently growing at a rate of 79,000,000 people per year – more than ever before – and as more time passes that number will rapidly increase. The world population is predicted to be over 10 billion in 40 years, and will become greater and greater as the ever-growing human species continues to breed.
Global Warming
Due to the steady stream of attention this issue has gotten in the last few years, many believe global warming is the preeminent danger to human civilization today. It is believed that the rising global temperature threatens to create catastrophic weather systems, crop failures, disease outbreaks, and water shortages worldwide. Global warming advocates say emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane are trapping heat within the Earths’ atmosphere, slowly increasing the overall temperature. These emissions are the byproduct of our modern way of life, and to halt them would require a voluntary shift in the very structure of our society, a move unprecedented in human history. Advocates also believe to take no action against global warming would be to alter the very chemical composition of our planet. They believe life on Earth evolved over hundreds of millions of years to survive within very specific conditions, and any change in those conditions will breed a myriad of disasters.
