Stuff That's Gonna Screw Us Over

Sticking to the negative sentiments, I've been meaning to write about this - stuff that we're doing that's gonna screw us over sooner or later. I dunno, I have this compulsion to tell the world that we're not exactly being the best we can be to each other and the planet, plants and animals. We easily ignore the world around us in our pursuit of material wealth. There are others who ignore the world around them because they are struggling to survive. So here goes:

1. Deforestation - the more trees we cut down, the less leaves there are to transform the carbon dioxide we emit into oxygen. More CO2, more heat, more melting of the caps, waters get warmer, corals die (which means even less oxygen around), we suffocate some time later. Like I mentioned before, the UN should declare war on Brazil if anymore of the Amazon gets cut down.

2. Overfishing - we take too much from the Earth without giving it time to replenish. Maybe because there are too many people around. (I know people who think wars are a good way of keeping the population down. Ahem.) We fish too much and cod and tuna stocks are depleting like there's no tomorrow. Maybe true for the fish.

3. Pollution - despite all the lessons that the west has learned about how we just fark up the environment, the information and mostly importantly the consequences aren't being shared. Factories in China, India, Indonesis and other large but poor countries are simply dumping waste back to the land and seas. People in small towns in China are already dying of odd cancers from drinking polluted water for years. We need to seriously safeguard the enviroment against degradation we can prevent.

4. Unequal distribution of wealth - Nice concept Karl Marx had but even the most communist of regimes are facing the inevitabilites of economics. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. It's said 30% of the world's population has 70% of the world's wealth. The problem with the wealthy is that they tend to indulge in the excesses. It's said there's enough food thrown out in the US annually to feed the world's starving. The other problem with the wealthy is that they want more - more cars, bigger homes, fancier clothes - all of which strain resources further. The nasty future scenario happens when the poor gang up to rob the rich. Anarchy and revolution. 1917 again?

5. China - 1.4 billion people switched on. The same number who thought the world for them was fair now have to deal with problem 4. Also, they will want more of everything now - cars, TVs, mobile phones, pizzas, wine etc. More strain. The price of oil, steel and grains has gone up primarily because of Chinese demand. And because everyone wants to make a buck in the world's factory, you get people who will do anything for that dollar. Like add melamime to milk powder, make dolls with lead paint, baos with newspaper fillings. It's scary. Expect political trouble there too. Money begets a greater desire for free will and less control. Things are moving too fast for the Chinese. There may not be time to deal with the consequences.

6. Africa - I think the only time Africa was stable was before the Europeans decided to carve it up for themselves. (Did you know there was a meeting of European powers to decide who got what in Africa? Read this.) The whole place is just perfectly insane. Mass murder in Rwanda that no one did anything about. Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe that gets you $40million in local currency to one USD. Kids used as slaves to look for diamonds in Sierra Leone. Fundamentalists kidnapping tourists in Egypt. Seems like power rests with whoever has the AK47. Libya is looking normal now.

7. Plastic bags - The damn thing doesn't go away. And the NTUC cashier seems to dish out plastic bags like their free. They look puzzled when I refuse them. Someone needs to invent cheap, biodegradable bags and styrofoam replacements. There's enough garbage around.

8. Russia - Big, loaded with money and flexing muscles. It's changed a lot since the Iron Curtain collapsed and now there's even talk of reinstating the monarchy. Like in China, the change was been rapid and perhaps more vicious. Russia supplies Europe with quite a bit of its gas. Shutting that lifeline off is now a leverage that Russis has. Already, Russia is fanning flames in Georgia, sending NATO into a frenzy. They also sent long range bombers across the Atlantic to meet up with their Venezuela friends, not to mention asserting claims across the North Pole. Best to keep an eye out on what the Russians are thinking.

9. Energy sources, the lack thereof - Oil runs the world now. And it runs out in about 50 years. There's natural gas to tide us through but that will go too. So should Singapore go nuclear? Set up a solar panel island or a wind farm station in the South China Sea? Electricity prices went up by 20% on 1 Oct so it's high time we thought about how we are going to sustaining our power hungry ways. The other important thing to put money into is batteries. They will be the future.

10. I was thinking there'd be a number 10. Like one problem for each finger on a normal set of hands. Maybe Hip Hop is a problem. Or drugs. Parents not being home for their kids is a problem. Kids not being home for their aged parents is a problem too. Sigh. Time for bed. Pleasant dreams.