To understand how the global problems are interconnected, it is important to carefully study each of them. Humanity of the modern world faces the most difficult tasks. Some issues really threaten our existence, however, as well as all life on the "green" planet.
What are called global problems?
Why is the topic of the interconnection of global problems constantly raised at scientific conferences, at UN meetings? Apparently, the previous century became a kind of breaking point in world history into “before” and “after”. Not so long ago, humanity lost confidence in an immortal existence. And even nature seems to be hinting with its massive cataclysms that sooner or later you will have to pay too high a price for the desire to conquer it indefinitely and get the maximum benefit to the detriment of it.
The interconnection of global problems of our time is a mechanism consisting of individual elements - threats hanging over humanity, and working clearly against life on Earth.
Unlike natural catastrophes and natural disasters, which are of a temporary passing nature, this chain of dangers has an incomparable scale and concerns the future of an entire civilization. The global problems of mankind affect the destinies and interests of all segments of the population, leading to significant socio-economic losses, and therefore their solution requires close cooperation of interstate importance, the efforts of all countries, nations and nationalities.
Classification of global urgent issues
Scientists who have explored this topic have presented the world with different understandings of global problems and the relationship between them. They are endowed with inconsistency and disproportion, uncharacteristic for the full life of a modern person. The threats hanging over the world are usually classified as follows:
- International social difficulties. Here we are talking about such an example of the interconnection of global problems of our time as militarization in most countries and an increase in the arms race, which in some cases leads to war, slowing down the formation of states with developing economies.
- Problems of a humanitarian nature. These include the global demographic boom, difficulties in overcoming hunger and incurable diseases, cultural and ethnic issues.
- The result of the negative impact of society on the world. Relevant today can be called the problems of a low level of environmental protection, food production,scarcity of natural resources, etc.
How global problems are connected: obvious examples
Give examples of the interconnection of global problems. Puzzled? You don't have to be a great scientist to do this. You should start with the most burning problem of interaction between man and the world.
As you know, until the middle of the last century, the causes of ecological chaos were considered natural phenomena of nature, i.e. natural disasters. At the moment, no one doubts that irresponsible human management is to blame, which, in turn, has led to widespread pollution, not limited locally, but affecting the entire globe.
Another example of the interconnection of global problems can be called the intersection of the demographic crisis with global indicators of food security due to the growing growth of the world's population. The number of inhabitants of the planet is increasing every year in a stable progression, which inevitably leads to pressure on natural potential, negative anthropogenic development of the natural environment, but is not accompanied by an increase in the food base. Thus, the increase in population, as a rule, falls on developing countries with the lowest cultural and economic level.
You can continue the interconnection of global problems of our time with the next "link" - the development of spacespace. Considering how young the industry is, it has made significant progress over a half-century period. One way or another, humanity keeps a steady course towards the prospect of extracting alien resources in order to make up for the shortage of terrestrial reserves. However, the problem lies in the financial inaccessibility of the study of outer space. To date, spending money on research in this industry is beyond the reach of most states.
War as the cause of the global world crisis
The above three examples of the interconnection of global problems of our time are not the only ones. No less acute are the issues of war and peace. The confrontation of interstate interests often acquires total features: the number of casu alties, crazy financial costs and the destruction of material support. The general damage from the escalation of numerous conflicts, the active phase of hostilities in the last century forced mankind to make a sharp scientific and technological leap forward. However, progress and the establishment of an industrial society gave rise to other negative consequences. The inability to economically competently manage natural resources, the unjustified increase in their spending led to the backwardness of individual states, while other, more successful countries worked to improve weapons production.
The arms race, despite the relative easing of global tension, has enormous negative consequences, impoverishingthe world economy, constantly provoking aggressive attacks on the international arena of individual countries, levels the culture of spirituality and militarizes political thinking. The desire of individual states to increase their defensive power led to the fact that by the mid-80s, the world's nuclear potential had reached a hundredfold excess of the total firepower of weapons used by all parties during the Second World War.
Interdependence of demographic and social goals
It is impossible not to mention one more element in the chain of interconnection of global problems - overcoming the backwardness of developing countries. It's no secret: every fifth inhabitant of the earth is starving. Again returning to the problem of disappearing resources, which are consumed by the number of earthlings increasing every year. As a rule, an increase in the birth rate occurs in economically poorly developed countries. It is enough to imagine this situation a little differently. What would happen if all representatives of modern humanity would have a high standard of living? Unfortunately, our planet would not have survived long ago. One of the ways to solve the problem should be to limit the birth rate while reducing mortality rates, accompanied by an increase in the quality of life.
In this context, discord in social relations joins the interconnection of global problems of mankind. Due to the high importance of religious beliefs in most modern states, the restrictionbirth rate, implying, in particular, the absence of a ban on artificial termination of pregnancy, de facto becomes an inactive and unpopular measure in society. Most religious teachings promote and encourage large families. Today, however, only a few countries in Western Europe and North America are able to give "large" families social guarantees to the extent necessary for a full-fledged life. Otherwise, primitive forms of farming (community), illiteracy, lack of education, bad manners, the presence of chronic diseases and the absence of any real prospects “win”.
Practically all examples of the interconnection of global problems intersect with each other within the framework of the social system of relations "man-society" and the plane "man-nature-man". So, in order to overcome the difficulties of providing raw materials, it is supposed to make decisions based on the rational use of energy sources used, including the reserves of the World Ocean. To remove the barriers that impede the development of scientific and technological progress, it is not enough to pay attention only to the material and production segment in the state economy. Since the low indicators of human potential are the result of imperfections in the systems of education, he alth care and culture, the contribution to their development can be considered the first step for the successful formation of the scientific and technical sphere.
At the same time, it is possible to give examples of the relationship between global problems for a long time. Each of the above prerequisites for totalself-destruction of the modern world can be viewed from a different angle, which will help to find completely different causal relationships, and hence more effective solutions. Perhaps, at first glance, the relationship between global environmental problems and the lag in the economic development of some states will seem absurd or completely non-existent. But still, finding evidence of its relevance is not so difficult.
Advanced and underdeveloped countries: what are the challenges?
To begin with, it is worth paying attention to some patterns. Thus, the division of labor within the world economy is implemented according to the scheme in such a way that it is promising, rapidly developing urbanized countries that are endowed with the role of leading industrial centers. States with a low standard of living "by default" take on the functions of the periphery, aimed at providing the agricultural raw material segment.
And what comes out of all this? Stronger and more confidently standing powers find legal (in accordance with international law) ways to use the resources of underdeveloped economic countries, thereby blocking the latter's path to self-development and formation, increasing economic performance and financial independence.
Poverty and hunger as a result of external public debt
In addition, the conditions of the population boom are forcing countries with low living standards to seek financial assistance from international financial institutions. Large loanstime after time they tightened the knot of bondage around the borrowers' necks more tightly. To date, the problem of external long-term modern states is acquiring global features: 1.25 trillion dollars is the debt of the powers of the so-called "third world".
- starving more than 700 million;
- twice as many people who do not have access to he alth care;
- Almost 1.5 billion people live below the extreme poverty line.
Economic stability and financial solvency of the state is inversely proportional to the amount of external debt. On the example of the Russian Federation, the global nature of the problem can be easily traced: over the past few years, debt to creditor countries has tripled - from $50 billion to $150 billion.
Scale of potential environmental threat
Against the backdrop of rampant industrialization around the world, the problem of ecology has become radically aggravated. The reason for this is the predominant approach to material production. The creation of the most powerful enterprises in a particular industrial branch still entails the manufacture of one or more consumer goods, while the rest, being obscene or impossible to store, is destroyed.
Scientists call the current situation "environmental heart attack". More than three examples of the interrelationship of global problems originate from this:
- Of the total mass of raw materials mined by man, only a few percent are used for their intended purpose and are of practical importance. The rest is garbage, waste that is sent back to the environment, but already in a modified, unacceptable and alien form for nature. Given that global industrial production is doubling every decade, the level of pollution of the planet will become critical in the near future.
- In the process of recycling such waste over the past 200 years, almost 200 billion tons of carbon dioxide have entered the atmosphere. The permissible concentration of a substance is increasing at an unprecedented pace, which has led to a change in the composition of the air envelope and the formation of the so-called greenhouse effect.
- In turn, the climate "cap" of carbon dioxide has caused a global increase in temperature. Its consequence is the melting of Arctic and Antarctic ice. Global warming will lead to the fact that the air temperature will increase by several degrees Celsius in 70-80 years.
- Changing the temperature regime, in accordance with the elementary laws of physics, will lead to an increase in precipitation. Thus, scientists predict that the level of the World Ocean will rise by 65 cm, hiding entire megacities and billions of lives under its waters.
- Emissions of other chemical compounds into the atmosphere lead toreduction in the thickness of the ozone layer. As you know, this atmospheric shell plays the role of a kind of filter, retaining ultraviolet rays. Otherwise, i.e., with the thinning of the ozone layer, the human body is threatened by the negative effects of solar radiation, which implies an increase in the number of oncological diseases, pathologies of the heart and blood vessels, genetic abnormalities and a decrease in life expectancy.
AIDS and drug addiction: youth trouble
Awareness of the interconnection of global problems in the world ecology is horrifying. But, unfortunately, the list of potential threats to human existence does not end there. What is AIDS worth! The disease keeps the entire world community in fear, and not only because of the loss of an actual human resource - the disease is striking in its geography. The interconnection of the global problem with drug addiction is obvious: a favorable environment for the spread of this "evil" cripple the lives and he alth of millions of people. The term "drug addiction" among many modern residents is associated with a large-scale catastrophe that has befallen entire generations.
If only there was no nuclear war
However, not a single disease, not a single substance can be compared with the danger to humans that nuclear weapons carry. The full-scale interconnection of the global problems described above is incomparable with the irreversible consequences of the Third World War. Thermonuclear impact of even an insignificant fraction of the arsenal accumulated to datesuperpowers hello to the final destruction of the planet.
That is why the prevention of the use of nuclear weapons is the primary task of mankind. Only a peaceful compromise that does not involve the use of nuclear weapons will make it possible to find solutions to other global problems within the framework of close international cooperation.
