BLOG POST #20 - How I will affect change

     I will start by trying to realize that my small contributions will matter. It’s very easy to see so many huge issues and feel like change is impossible, like nothing will ever improve. I need to remember the boy with the starfish and realize that what I do to help, no matter how small, will make a difference. For example, for the last two years I’ve helped out with an organization called Spread the Love that makes sandwiches for homeless shelters. It was just a couple hours that I spent making sandwiches with friends. Though I know I did not solve hunger in Hamilton, I did something that made a small difference to a small group of people. It is my goal to continue to do these small acts of good. If enough people begin to think like me, then perhaps our world’s problems can be solved by massive involvement. Maybe what the world needs is not for a few people to do a lot, but for everyone to do a little bit.

     I also would like to continue running charity events. This year I ran a dodgeball tournament that raised $800 for a charity called Listen to the Children. This charity constantly sends necessary supplies over to Sierra Leone. I believe that the chances to run charity events such as these will only grow as I grow older. University can be a great outlet for creative fundraising ideas. 

     Finally, I will never stop learning about what is going on in our world. The second I become ignorant, then I stop being a useful global citizen. I will do my best to watch the news, research, and discuss world issues. This way I can remain an informed citizen and spread awareness to others why could also make a difference. Also this way I will be able to defend my own views. If I have an opinion of something that differs from the norm, I want to have the facts and knowledge to stand up for my beliefs. This is also a very important part of being an informed global citizen. 

BLOG POST #19 - Canada's Biggest Threat in 50 Years

     I think that Canada’s biggest problem in the next 50 years will be associated with water shortages. Even today we see countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and hot climates like Australia facing real problem when it comes to water. Our class had an excellent discussion about this topic. The point was brought up that maybe humans are inhabiting places that we really shouldn’t be. The only reason that places like Africa are even habitable is because of technological advances. One only has to look at the incredibly sparse wildlife to see that barren desert wasn’t meant to sustain large populations. Unfortunately countries in Sub-Saharan Africa tend to have extremely large populations in relation to their size. Though it is not feasible for millions of people to just get up and move from their homes in these environments without water, it is something that we as a species need to take into consideration. Perhaps more should be done to control the birth rate in geographic areas where water is scarce. These are the sorts of things that will affect our international population in 50 years time. 

     Now the reason I said this would be Canada’s main problem is not because we’ll run out of water, but because we have so much of it! This will put a massive strain on our government to give our water away to other countries because the UN considers water a basic human right. This is where things get interesting. Canada has recently declared that it does not recognize water as a basic right. That means our government views it as a type of commodity. This will create enormous tension between Canada, the UN, and any countries that are in need of water.

     Another problem exists in the transport. Simply filling a boat with freshwater and sending it over to Africa is not a very good solution as massive amounts of fossil fuels are burned on the journey. If we choose to give our water away, then we need to find a better solution that doesn’t involve the further contribution to the greenhouse effect. It will be very interesting to see how Canada’s government reacts in 50 years time when water shortages increase and the need for water has reached record levels. 

BLOG POST #18 - What I have Learned

     I’ve learned that I can’t stand looking at a problem from just one angle. Many times people will agree with something, or preach something simply because it is widely accepted. It bothers me how it is looked down upon in today’s society to bring up controversial topics for fear of offending others? I think this is ridiculous and can severely limit learning. For example, in a discussion about racism I was genuinely curious about the benefits of racial profiling. I was curious as to whether it was totally based in irrational fear or if there was a certain logical benefit to it. I did not feel comfortable just asking this question. I had to preface my question with a long speech about how I don’t actually believe in what I’m about to ask. The questions one asks and their beliefs should have no connections. For example, why should water be considered a basic human right and not a resource that Canada has in abundance and we should treat as so. I should be able to ask this question without being looked down upon as inhumane, for it is just a question. I have discovered that I believe that any question, and I mean ANY question asked for an inquisitive reason is acceptable. Unless one’s intentions in asking are malicious, then go ahead and ask away. Taboo’s of certain questions do nothing but contribute to sometimes prejudiced and assumption based popular opinion. If all questions are accepted and treated as equal, then our students will be able to learn about different sides of problems. Once they possess this knowledge of the “other side of the coin” then they will be better suited to solve many of the problems that our world faces because they will be able to attack the problems from different angles. 

     I’ve also learned that I sometimes need to control my emotions in a debate. Sometimes I get so worked up in the point I’m trying to make that I do the exact opposite of what I earlier stated and only follow one line of thinking out of pride. I’ve learned that to fully understand issues I sometimes will need to remove myself emotionally from the discussion and take a completely unbiased stance. 

BLOG POST #17 - Three Most Important Issues

     The three most important issues that I have learned about during this course are Declining biodiversity, poverty, the Arab-Israeli conflict. 

     Declining biodiversity is such an important issue because its not having a very noticeable effect on our world to the common civilian. Regular people see trees and grass and assume that our world is fine, when in reality thousands of species are becoming extinct every year. Each extinction creates ripple effects that spread all throughout an ecosystem. All organisms are inter-connected and humans are destroying the checks and balances that exist within ecosystems. Humans need to realize that we need to start changing our ways now. Currently were at a point where declining biodiversity isn’t really affecting our day to day lives. However if we continue down this path, our world could become a barren wasteland devoid of life. 

     Poverty is so important because it’s such a cross cutting issue. Poverty is the root cause of plenty of other world issues. An impoverished nation is a nation where the government can exploit it’s citizens. Corruption is able to run rampant through governments and the cycle of poverty continues. If the world can find a solution to poverty then we will see the improvement of many other world issues. 

     The Arab-Israeli conflict is so important to our world because of what it could lead to. Particularly the current situation with Iran. Iran has been trying to become a nuclear power for many years now, and they’re finally getting close. This doesn’t sit very well with the United States, Israel and many other NATO countries as Iran’s government is not very stable. By creating a nuclear weapon Iran is in violation of the UN’s nuclear non-proliferation treaty. To get around this they are claiming that they are enriching uranium for peaceful purposes. If Iran acquires a nuclear weapon it is extremely likely that Israel will declare war. This would probably pull the United States in as well and many other Arab nations that sympathize with Iran. The conflict could escalate if countries like Russia or China decided to get involved. If this conflict is not solved soon then the world may see a WWIII.

BLOG POST #16 - ISU Presentations

     I can honestly say I really enjoyed all of my peers ISU presentations. It was incredible to see first off all the different issues our world currently faces, and also how everyone has slightly different opinions and ideas about them. For example, though it is pretty much a general consensus that lack of access to clean water is an issue, there were some excellent debates as to how this issue should be approached. Is desalination the right path? Should we invest our money in building wells, or funding innovations for better technologies? Is it even Canada’s duty to share our water? Is water a basic human right? All of these question sparked excellent debate. And this is just one topic. We heard from presenters that talked about climate change, armed conflict, disparity, and energy and all held unique debates and discussions. I believe that this is the most important thing that I learned during these presentations. That there are always more ways than you think to approach a given problem. Sometimes one will get caught up so much in one path that they will totally disregard a different way of thinking or an alternate way to achieving a solution. 

     Something else that I took from all the presentations is that there are almost an overwhelming amount of issues that plague our world. With the sheer number of problems I believe it is very easy to get bogged down and think that they can’t all be solved so nothing should be tried. It is wrong to assume that because a massive problem seems unsolvable that effort still shouldn’t be made. I love the story about the boy and the star fish. A boy is on a beach with thousands of starfish who have washed up on shore and who will surely die. An adult walks by and sees the child throwing starfish one by one into the ocean. He stops and asks the boy why he is throwing the starfish as it will be impossible for his to throw everyone of them back. The boy responds by throwing another while exclaiming “It mattered to that one”. What we can take from this story is that just because you are not solving a huge global issue, does not mean that you are not making a difference. We need to stop thinking of charities and organizations as THE solution. For example building a well in Africa won’t solve the water shortage problem, not even close. But to that particular village, it is the difference between life and death. Problems need to be looked at from a micro point of view. If enough micro problems are solved then eventually the macro problem’s solution will come. 

BLOG POST #15 - Austerity

     This year France held its presidential elections. The two front runners were incumbent Nicholas Sarkozy and challenger Francois Hollande. These two candidates represent the two main parties in French government being The Union for a Popular Movement and The Socialist Party respectively. The UMP being politically centre-right and the Socialist Party being centre-left. Sarkozy lost out on serving a second term in office by a very small margin of approximately 51% to 49% of the popular vote in the second round of the election between just the two candidates. 

     This puts France in a very interesting position both politically and economically. First of all any decision made by France is extremely important to the entire Eurozone, especially countries like Greece and Portugal who are suffering economically. This is because France and Germany are the two largest economies in the Eurozone and are the two front running countries in trying to solve Europe’s debt crisis. This new government will create a very interesting contrast as Germany is advocating austerity measures while Hollande and France’s new government opposes it. Being slightly to the political left, the Socialist Party is all for decreasing disparity and the continuance of government programs. They intend to do this by increased taxation of the rich and corporations while simultaneously creating thousands of government sponsored jobs. This is different from what Germany is currently doing, which is cutting government spending on social programs to lower the debt. 

     Though France’s economy is comparatively strong and large, it still has massive foreign debt. I believe that France should continue with measures of austerity to lower the debt before they worry about the expansion of social government programs. There is much skepticism that Hollande will be able to keep many of the promises made in his campaign. How when France has massive foreign debt will the government be able to increase spending on social programs, is the main question. This leads me to believe that his anti-austerity platform is merely a political scheme to get him elected to office. While austerity measures are largely unpopular to the general public, they are necessary to pull the Eurozone out of its debt. Hollande has capitalized on the public’s dislike of austerity to get himself elected to office. I believe over the next couple of months we will see Hollande go back on many of the promises made in his campaign. 

     Greece also held presidential elections where we saw an anti-austerity government elected. This only furthers my belief that it is merely a political scam, because austerity measures are even more unpopular in Greece then they are in France. 

BLOG POST #14 - Biodiversity

     Biodiversity is the variety of organisms that exist in a given ecosystem. It serves as an excellent indicator of how healthy an ecosystem is. If there are many species present then the ecosystem is healthy. This is because organisms all interact with one another in a very complex way. The prosperity of one may have an effect on five other species. For example, if a predators such as foxes start to decline then this will have a massive effect on the rest of the ecosystem. Every animal that the fox preyed on will flourish, which could in turn affect other species that were connected with the fox’s prey. 

     Over the past 150 years biodiversity has been rapidly declining. This is due to a variety of reasons, most prominently industrialization and urbanization. The industrial revolution occurred from 1750 to 1850. This set the stage for our world’s rapid industrialization that has spelt disaster for countless ecosystems. One huge problem associated with industrialization is pollution. Large factories often have toxic chemicals or toxic fumes that are not always disposed of properly. If introduced into an ecosystem, the ecosystem will change in a way that is not natural and that nature is not set up to deal with. The pollution will kill off organisms in a way where they can’t make a natural rebound. I’ll explain this point a little better. A completely natural ecosystem is filled with checks and balances. Say a predator population starts to decline. This will allow the populations of any organism that the predator preyed to increase. This increase will not occur indefinitely however, as lack of resources and disease due to the increase in population will soon bring the numbers back in check. Problems begin occurring when animals die off for unnatural reasons such as pollution. Perhaps dumping in a lake completely eliminates one species of fish. This species is now extinct and all checks and balances associated with its survival or overrun. This effect will ripple and be felt by the entire ecosystem. Urbanization is also a major problem in terms of habitat destruction. As I said before there are tons of checks and balances associated with the animal populations. These checks and balances only work when in the proper natural environment. Organisms in an ecosystem are constantly interacting with their environment. They can’t do this if their environment is now a set of new housing complexes. 

     Humans need to learn how to better coexist with our environment. We need to find a better balance so we can become a part of our ecosystems instead of a huge negative influence. We need to look into greener technology such as wind energy and solar power. This can be helped along by government subsidies for going green and stricter penalties for pollution. In terms of urbanization it is possible to expand without completely leveling an ecosystem. There should be stricter regulations put in place on what areas should be allowed to be developed and things such as how many trees are allowed to be cut down. As well governments should protect more natural areas to ensure that biodiversity doesn’t continue to plummet. Finally we must ensure that our current generation is educated on the importance of biodiversity. This way when all of us grow up we will be more informed on how to combat declining biodiversity and will be able to live in a way that is more conscious of our surrounding environment.