Wow, I wrote my own blog response separately because of my computer problems and it's amazing to me how similar our answers to this difficult question are! Does it mean that since the three of us all blogged about similar things this issue of the environment really is the most important issue of world politics? Maybe, maybe not, but it definitely proves what a powerful influence the environment has on the youth of our country! Ok, here's my first blog entry... ever!
The Question: What is the most important issue of world politics today?
My Answer: It’s hard to believe that such an extreme question can be answered with any sort of authority or if it can even be answered at all. Since there are so many issues that the world faces and so many people who face different pressing issues, it rather boils down to one’s own personal opinion. For example the Palestinians and Israelis might say that hands down the most important issue is religion while those afflicted with AIDS in African countries might say that healthcare is the greatest concern while our fellow United States citizens scrounging for food might say poverty is the truly the most significant issue.
However, these concerns are mostly immediate rather than permanent. The most important issue of world politics today is simply the world… we need to take care of our world or else there will be no people to worry about these other problems because we as humans will cease to exist! And from this environmental problem comes the sub-issue of oil. Our generation has grown up in a society that is just obsessed with this magical, mysterious substance…and for good reason. People are dependent on oil for just about every function in modern life. Why is this? Because leaders of governments across the world are caught in these complex webs that involve alliances and enemies all based around purchasing and selling oil. Most decisions made by world leaders involve how the country will benefit from oil because it is so vital to the economy. From a poor economy, the before mentioned issues of poverty and inadequate healthcare and religious tension will intensify.
It is because of the worldwide dependency on oil that it is imperative to find new energy sources ASAP. The first priority, above any other problems that we humans face, is (or should be) to take care of the planet that we so often take for granted. Instead of battling with foreign countries about who gets what amount of oil or arguing within our own country about where drilling should take place, the focus needs to shift. Politicians, scientists, inventors, and anyone else with the capacity to think outside the oil tank need to come together and create new energy sources. The planet is the absolute most important issue that world politics could ever face and, unfortunately, it is the greatest issue that we are facing today.
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3 comments:
Even if we try to develop alternative fueled cars like ethanol, we run up against another obstacle. When you take into account that we have a population of 300 million and that we have cars that need to be refilled with fuel every 1 1/2 weeks, you find that we are sacrificing more corn fields for energy while the human population is being deprived of it. So the question is do we stop using ethanol and let our environment and economy suffer or do we use ethanol and let food prices skyrocket?
Well Nate, I don't think that ethanol is really our only energy alternative...there are all sorts of ways of producing energy that is not made by burning biological materials (as with ethanol). Some of these options include:
Solar power-solar panels
Wind Power-requires wind turbines/mills
Water Power-dams, other options that I know very little about
Many of these technologies need further development before they can come to fruition on an industrial scale, but I don't see that developing other energy options will necessarily be harmful to our economy. Furthermore, since the economy seems to be your main interest, I have heard about there being all sorts of arising jobs to be had in the green collar field (probably working to harvest these forms of energy or develop new technologies).
On a side note...I think my mother, who is a clinical laboratory scientist, told me something about a new technology in development that she had heard about, that involves taking waste (like the trash that is polluting our planet) and genetically altering the bacteria in it so that the trash changes into some sort of ethanol like source. I don't really know much about it...
*I found a link that discusses these different energy options and implementing them into your home
http://www.energyalternatives.ca/content/Categories/MicroHydroInfo.asp
Another Haiku (this part is for Emily):
Yes we all agree
our planet is an issue
for world politics
haha my haikus are so trite!
I'll try my own haiku:
"Green collar jobs" sound
Like an opportunity
but lack specifics
Maybe I haven't looked in the right places, but for all the talk about a "green economy" that would revitalize American, I haven't seen any substantial plans as to exactly where these new jobs (or the market for them) are going to be, and exactly how they'll affect the country. It seems to me like nothing but politically motivated optimism and a clever turn of phrase.
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