To be
honest, I don’t believe it’s possible to choose just one issue that will
necessarily be a priority over others. However, for the sake of the assignment
and lack of a research component, the topic I immediately think of and can
speak about best would be the role of energy and natural resources.
Energy,
specifically for the US, is a matter that is the source of many global issues.
It directly affects our economy, foreign affairs and the environment. The
second half of the 20th century seemed to be historically driven at certain
times by the effects of oil prices, wars in the Middle East, and the beginning
of a spike in population that the economy may not be able to keep up with. These
issues will certainly all remain affective throughout the remainder of the 21st
century.
Developed
countries consume a ton of energy. In a modern world, we constantly have power
strips and extension cords lining the walls of our houses, keep the A/C on, and
fill up on gas over once a week. Most of us are not even conscious of the money
we are wasting until prices rise at the gas station or we start breaking down
our utility bills. Resources are an important aspect of trade, and are a huge
export for many countries, whether it is fossil fuels or something as simple as
wood. When fuel prices go up, especially to drastic levels, we see our economy
suffer, partially since many consumers don’t know how to respond or adjust
quickly. It’s important to advance energy alternatives because any energy
crisis or shortage causes a chain reaction increasing the costs of transportation
and production. Finding successful energy alternatives is an issue not only the
US, but the entire world, will face. We have seen drastic improvement in the
last few decades with growing technology and research, and now I think it is
mostly a matter of application, development and practice.
Another way
that energy affects the world is where it is geographically and who owns and
who wants it. Again, oil has been the cause of many recent wars and foreign
policy obstacles. The events that immediately come to mind are the OPEC gas
crisis in the US in the 70’s, the Gulf War, and the US- Saudi relationship,
strained by our dependency on oil. It’s a dirty battle, and the question of
self-sufficiency and cutting our dependence on foreign oil seems to make a direct
case against globalization. It already seems that we are, however, working
together with other nations to find solutions and we have shared in cultural
changes to start solving this problem.
Finally,
one recurring issue that has come up in our readings has been the environment.
In class, we discussed the plant that had been moved to India and the concept
of “bottoming out” to remain competitive. It is incredibly important to find a
way to sustain energy and natural resources, while also reducing emissions and
dangerous chemical/ toxic waste, particularly in areas of human population. The
state of our environment is a controversy that will affect not only the health
of our planet but also the health of individuals. As the population increases,
we are slowly losing space, and I remember a statistic from a high school class
that discussed population growth (if it keeps increasing at this rate) as a potentially
huge issue for us in the next fifty years. This is based on consumption, energy,
health, food shortages, and other natural resources such as land and the supply
of clean water.
Our society
today would completely shut down if we had to return to a world without power.
Transportation, production and technology have all become so crucial to the
success of our economy. Energy and natural resources will be a huge issue in
the next century, as we will need to truly consider energy substitutes and
conservation of all natural resources. Ideally, with much discussion, we could
find some global initiative that would put all or most nations on the same page
about this issue.
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