Introduction
Taking a closer look at the world today, there are many problems affecting the society. The global economy, international terrorism, climate change, availability of energy, population growth rate, international wars, increased number of nuclear weapons and poverty are just a few of the top issues that the global citizens are most concerned about. However, the most concerning are poverty and climate change. In the current society, there is a population of nearly 7 billion people in the world where half of them live in poverty. This occurrence is the primary factor causing the severity of the issue. On the other hand, continued release of greenhouse gases has created an environment that cannot sustain the rapid population growth posing a threat to the future survival of human beings. The following report presents a discussion on these problems from their historical contexts and the impact they have had on the world.
Poverty
Global poverty is considered to be the biggest problem in the world today. As previously mentioned, nearly half of the world’s population is considered poor. This means that more than 3.5 billion people are surviving on $2.50 in a day. This occurrence is worse off for others where approximately 1.3 billion people are living on $1.25 in a single day. Nearly a billion children in the world are suffering due to poverty. Reports by UNICEF indicate that nearly 22,000 children die every day due to the effects of poverty (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2013). It is also evident that nearly 80% of the world population is living in a country where the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen. The poorest 40% population in the globe only contribute 5% of the total global income while the top 20% provide 75% of the total world’s economy. In this regard, it is evident that the inequality in the distribution of wealth is a primary factor in the increased level of poverty in the modern society.
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There are a multitude of reasons why poverty is a major issue affecting the society. However, the most important factors to consider are the root causes of the problem of poverty. In this case, some of the major issues that have resulted in increased levels of poverty include a culture of poverty, overpopulation, poor economic trends in a country, low levels of literacy, and feminization of poverty. These are just some of the many issues that are affecting the increase level of poverty in the society. The culture of poverty for instance depicts a state where a particular cycle of poverty is observed among individuals in society who are depicted to have a value system that enables poverty (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2013). This practice is evident where the poor individuals are experiencing strong feelings of helplessness, dependency, marginality and not belonging. In such a society, these populations are less likely to evade the curse of poverty that is more likely to endure for a number of generations.
Another major cause of poverty is the rapid increase of the global population. To put things into perspective one should observe the total population in the world nearly two centuries ago (Arizpe, 2015). In the year 1804, the total world population was estimated to be around a billion people. In the next 100 years, the population had increased to only 2 billion. However, there was a sudden increase where between 1927 and 1959 a period of 32 years there was an increase of another billion people. This is a drastic rise owing to the fact that the Major Depression and the World War II were catastrophic events taking place in these years (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2013). The rate of increasing population is even faster in the latter half of the 20 th Century and the early 21 st Century. In total the number of people has multiplied seven times in the past 200 years ago. This occurrence has caused major stress on the resources available rendering the world incapable of providing to all of its inhabitants (Arizpe, 2015).
Decolonization is yet another cause for the high levels of poverty in the world. From about the 15 th Century European countries set off from their motherlands in search of alternative areas to settle their high populations (Meifa, 2014). This could result in high cases of colonialism where the powerful civilizations of Europe dominated areas like Africa, Asia and the America. In majority of the areas where poverty prevails such as Africa and parts of Asia, independence was achieved in the 20 th Century. In this regard, the countries are still young and majority of them have yet to establish strong political systems (Meifa, 2014). These leadership systems have been significant in creating reforms that are inconsistent with the elimination of poverty. International terrorism has also come up due to unstable political systems. Their existence in the modern society further depletes efforts of eliminating poverty as innocent civilians are put between the villains and the military forces.
Climate Change
Another primary issue affecting the world of today is the rapid change of the environment. The concern for environment has been present for at least the last century or two. Since the discovery of ice ages was discovered in the 19 th Century, populations were concerned that the temperature of the earth was slowly making changes. There has been a significant increase in the global temperature since the early 1940s and the occurrence gets worse towards the end of the 20 th Century (Markowitz & Shariff, 2012). The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that significantly deplete the earth’s o-zone layer while also ensuring the retention of heat has played a major role in the changing climate. The eroded environment has effectively reduced the amount of food that can be produced, the number of natural resources available to sustain the sustain animal, plant and other forms of life, and has significantly increased the risk posed to the health of human life.
There are a number of causes that are depicted to have significant effect on the increased occurrence of climate change. They include global warming, industrial revolution, overpopulation, and natural occurrences that continue to take place (Markowitz, & Shariff, 2012). The issue of global warming is at the core of all climate change. Global warming is usually considered to be synonymous to climate change, but it is different as the occurrence of the former leads to the latter. In this case, global warming identifies significant increase in the temperatures of the earth’s atmosphere. This does not necessarily mean a change in the climate. However, when the incidence is repeated over a longer period it results in the climate change. The rate of global warming has had major effect in the world we live in where high temperatures of the atmosphere have led to drying of the earth surface making it nearly impossible to sustain agricultural practices. This event has led to widespread cases of hunger where 805 million people do not have enough food to eat.
Another historical cause for climate change is industrial revolution. This period in history is considered as the major driver towards the depleted environment. Between 1800s and 1870s was the occurrence of industrial revolution where human activities were depicted to drastically improving transportation, healthcare, and agricultural activities. The society would then experience high levels of greenhouse gas emission that came from the combustion of coal and motor vehicles (Stern & Kaufmann, 2014). In the modern world, the issue is far worse where technology has enabled high levels of manufacturing practices that increases the amount of combustion of these fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases.
Overpopulation which is factor causing climate change is depicted to have come about due to the industrial revolution. In previous centuries, the total population in the world was controlled by the high mortality rate that was present due to epidemics and various communicable diseases (Stern & Kaufmann, 2014). However, industrial revolution brought about better medical care techniques that would lengthen the lives of the stronger persons and reduce the rate of deaths. This practice significantly increases the population of the earth hence the need for more space in for settlement. Deforestation and exhaustion of natural resources lead to a change in the climate.
Conclusion
The above report demonstrates some of the most severe issues that the modern world is currently experiencing. Poverty and climate change have dominated the debates in the political and social platforms. However, there seems to be little change taking place to curb the continued expansion or increase of its occurrence. This report is an integral factor towards increased awareness of the issues surrounding our daily lives. The survival and sustenance of future generations depend on the current society’s ability to provide working solutions. Developing improved practices of curbing poverty will significantly increase the global economy and may provide towards improving the effects of climate change.
References
Acemoglu, D., & Robinson, J. A. (2013). Why nations fail: The origins of power, prosperity, and poverty . New York: Crown Business.
Arizpe, L. (2015). The intellectual history of culture and development institutions. In Culture, Diversity and Heritage: Major Studies (pp. 58-81). Springer International Publishing.
Markowitz, E. M., & Shariff, A. F. (2012). Climate change and moral judgement. Nature Climate Change , 2(4), 243-247.
Meifa, F. (2014). The effects of decolonization in Africa. World Scientific News , 3, 34-30.
Stern, D. I., & Kaufmann, R. K. (2014). Anthropogenic and natural causes of climate change. Climatic change , 122(1-2), 257-269.
