[Back to Challenges]
The Issues
Let's be clear about the nature of the physical challenges we face.
- The Earth:
- Global Climate Change
- Pollution - both chemicals and plastics
- Fresh water - increasing demand and decreasing supply
- The Biosphere:
- Loss of biodiversity
- Mass extinction - both species and genera
- Ocean warming and acidification, leading (amongst other things) to the death of vital coral reefs.
- Species migration - including human migration
- Antibiotic resistance
- Loss of topsoil
- The Human Race
- Overpopulation - and the consequences of ageing populations
- Unrestricted economic growth
- Pandemics, currently the Covid-19 Pandemic
There is a short (under 20 minutes) video by Economics Explained which summarizes many of these issues: MIT Has Predicted that Society Will Collapse in 2040.
The Solutions
These proposals to address the physical world problems are (to a first approximation anyway) all necessary. We can't just pick one and think we have 'done our bit' - we have to do all of them, or the world as we know it does not survive.
- Energy
- Farming (and growing things, generally)
- Water
- Finance
- Manufacturing
- What is manufactured
- Where it is manufactured
- Plastics
- Poisonous chemicals
- Transport
About antibiotic resistance: Study shows small animals use 'stolen' genes from bacteria to protect against infection.