Human Overpopulation

Human overpopulation has been a problem ever since the birth of the Industrial Revolution in 1760. After that the human population have increase more in the nearest 200 years than it have in about 11 thousand years.

"During the 20th century alone, the population in the world has grown from 1.65 billion to 6 billion."

Humans are increasing in an incredibly fast rate. There are many reasons to why such an increase is possible: decline in death rate, better medical facilities, more hands to overcome poverty... This tremendous increase in the human population has have huge effects on many aspect of life like: depletion of natural resources, conflicts and wars, rise in unemployment, degradation of environment...

Still, many people considered overpopulation is a myth, or not even a problem. A New York Times op-ed written by Erle C. Ellis said that "Overpopulation Is Not the Problem". In this article, the author is saying that:
1. Natural conditions have never been a factor in sustaining humanity. We have always alter the ecosystem to sustain population.
2. There is no such thing is a "human-carrying capacity". Increasing land productivity using existing technologies can boost global supplies and even land for nature

This article spawn numerous disagreement from numerous source. One of which is a Huffington Post article called "Overpopulation Is Still A Problem" by Alon Tal. In this article, Alon is talking about Erle C. Ellis false views about overpopulation. Alon's points are:
1. Advanced technology can't help people overcome the lack of food and natural resources due to increasing population
2. Overpopulation cause the extinction of many species
3. Public policies that can reduce overpopulation

Personally, i think overpopulation is a huge problem in the world. Just thinking about the day when food and resources aren't available for everyone anymore, and everyone have to fight for it, scared me. Earth is currently the only home that we known. So it's our duty to protect that home from intense depletion of natural resources and degradation of environment.

And to do that the first thing we should do is to reduce the rate of increasing population. Many countries are using numerous population control policies, from aware everybody about the danger of overpopulation, to charge people for having more than two kids. Everyone is recognizing the threat of overpopulation, and they are trying their best in controlling it. If we can reduce the rate of increase, it would be a big help to everyone. But if we let overpopulation out of control, soon there won't be anywhere else for people to live, and everyday will be a battle to see who will get food.

Overpopulation: http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-of-overpopulation.php
Current World Population and Statistics: http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/
Overpopulation is Not The Problem: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/14/opinion/overpopulation-is-not-the-problem.html?_r=0
Overpopulation Is Still The Problem: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alon-tal/overpopulation-is-still-t_b_3990646.html

Basic Human Needs

Human, just like any other living things, have basic needs. Some are vital for a human being, like the need for food, water, air, rest... Some aren't crucial but are still necessary for a person to actually live, like the need for companionship, love, caring... No matter who you are, where you're from, what age you are, what gender you are, you and me, WE ARE ALL HUMAN. And as human, we have basic needs that we want to fulfill in order to have a good and happy life.

Now i know some of you will think "but this place is about world issues, not human needs". Yes, that is true! But think about it. Why do conflicts even occur in the first place? It's because human's needs have been interfere with. So by understanding the basics of human needs, we can learn more about why issues in the world happened.

First of all, what are our basic needs?  Well,there are theories discussing what basic human needs are. I'm going to show you guys two theories about basic human needs that I really like as examples.

The first one is Maslow's hierarchy of needs, proposed by Abraham Manslow in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation". This chart has 5 different levels. The first 4 levels are basic needs while the last, self-actualization, are growth needs. A human must first fulfill the lower level before progress to the next one. Once these needs have been reasonably fulfill, a person may be able to reach the highest level. Every person is capable of reaching the highest level. Unfortunately, the progress is often disrupted by failing to satisfy lower levels.

The second one is John W. Burton's theory of basic human needs, based on his 1979 book " Deviance, Terrorism and War: The Process of Solving Unsolved Social and Political Problems". This theory, in Burton's view, is for understanding the sources of conflicts and designing conflict resolution processes.


Based on these two theories, we can have a clearer, more understandable view of world issues. An example of this is about the conflict in Iraq in my previous blog. What is the cause of this conflict? It started because the ISIS wanted everyone to follow their religion, which is Islam. Then the cause of this conflict is religious identity. John Burton's theory makes it easier for us to find out about causes to a conflict and therefore a way to solve it.

Another example maybe Africa. Have you ever wonder why Africans are usually poor? It's because they are still struggle to get food and clean water everyday, while also have to deal with dangerous diseases around them. Based on Manslow's hierarchy of needs, these people are still on level 1 and 2. And since they are still struggling at the low levels, they can't reach higher levels, where those needs can help them get a better life.

All I'm trying to say here is, all humans have basic needs. To fulfill these needs is to have a happier and better life. Sometimes during this process there may be disruptions. And it's these disruptions that cause many issues in the world.But once these issues are solved, everything usually becomes better. So by understanding these basic human needs, we can have a much clearer view of how conflicts are created and, more importantly, to know how to create a resolution.

Most Important World Issues?

          What is the most important issue in the world? Up until yesterday, I couldn't decide on which one I'm going to choose.Then as i watched the news today, i heard something that is just heart-shattering. 80 Iraqis were killed by the IS (Islamic State) militants in the village of Kawju (also spell Kocho) in northern Iraq. Many women and children were abducted to an unknown location. The cause of this conflict is because of the different in religious beliefs between the IS militants and the people of Kocho. 

"Before carrying out the massacre in Kawju village, IS fighters reportedly told men to convert to Islam or die." - BBC News

""He told me that the Islamic State had spent five days trying to persuade villagers to convert to Islam and that a long lecture was delivered about the subject today," said the villager. " - BBC News

          There are many important issues in the world, each and every one of them affects the lives of many people. Economic crisis affects people's living condition, diseases affects people's health, while conflicts like the one mention above affects people's safety. Religious conflicts have been around for hundreds of years. It's all start because of the different beliefs among each other. A Christian may believe in one thing, but an Islam may believe in another thing. When these beliefs cross each other, it spawns arguments between religions that sometimes ended in religious war. These wars are very dangerous because some people would do anything to defend their beliefs. It's those beliefs that gave those people the willingness to do anything in their power, even killing other people, so that they can prove that their beliefs are right. Innocent lives were lost because of these religion-fanatics. And more, it spawn an outrage in other countries as they see these kinds of action is inhuman and therefore must be stop.  This usually leads to attempts to stop the conflict, either through negotiations or military force.

 
          So because of the difference in beliefs, wars between people of a nation and even between nations are created. People's lives are endangered, as they don't know if one day they are going to be kill in their own home just because they belief in something that other people don't. To me, religious conflict is one of the most important issue in the world. It spawns fast, has a wide range of effect, creates terrorists and murderers, and can take a long time before the conflict can be resolve.

          So how can we as normal people be a part of the solution? One thing we can do is try to help the people who are suffering from religious conflicts through charity. Many people have to fled from their home in Iraq because of the conflict that is going on. Because of this, many people are really in need of outside help. By giving what we don't need to charity or non-profit organization, we can help these people to live their lives. By doing this, we are showing those people that there are still people in the world who can help, who will help you to get by. By doing this, we are giving these people hope.

Get involve right now and help those in need:
http://www.unicef.org.uk/UNICEFs-Work/Emergencies/iraq/
http://www.warchild.org.uk/what-we-do/iraq

A News Map

Here is our class's first project. A map that shows recent world news in places all around the world. Hope you enjoy!

Welcome

Hello everyone, my name is Jaden and welcome to my first-ever blog. I created this blog as a place for people to come and talk about all the issues that are appearing on the news and to see if we can,maybe, try to solve problems all over the world. Even though this is suppose to be a homework assignment for my 21st Century Issues class, i still hope that one day this blog will attract an audience big enough to bring changes to the world. I don't know if anyone is going to actually like this blog. But I'll try my best to create a place that hopefully will bring people from all around the world together for a great cause of solving world problems. Maybe this  will be the start of something wonderful, or maybe it will suck, badly. Who knows? Only time will tell us the answer. Until then, welcome to the World Issues Society.