Know more about current issues affecting my generation and our future

gcdjxdj

Something to dance about. They were supposed to be the model for progress in that region, and it would have been too sad (for them and others) if the violence kept on.

And of course, got to give Annan credit for his efforts. He sounded frustrated a couple of days ago, but things somehow worked out.

in what people eat is interesting, but the disparity in the amount they can spend on it (from the same source) makes one think… (it goes from $1.23 to $500 a week for different sample families)

I’m afraid the inequality may lead to a serious conflict…

According to this:

“A third of the world’s countries are now water stressed as one in five people (1.1 billion) in the world have no access to safe water and 2.6 billion lack adequate sanitation. 3,900 children die every day from water borne diseases. Due to overpopulation in several regions of the world, the safe water supply is inadequate as of the year 2006 (and decades prior). Current forecasts are that two thirds of the planet will have insufficient water by 2025. This is likely to lead to international confrontation as more than 260 river systems supply two or more countries with no agreed mechanism to share the resource. Water consumption per capital in North America and Western Europe is between 20 to 30 times more than in sub Saharan Africa. Much of the world’s water systems are also aging and in need of major infrastructure improvements.”

It would be a major step backwards in civilization if confrontations for the basic needs (in particular, water) take place. It looks like mismanagement in exploiting water supplies has some part in the crisis, but I’m not sure what the extent of it is, or how the pattern can be changed.

Some related links:
World Water CouncilAn overview from BBC

I came across an interesting effort by a group of people to build a low-cost laptop for widespread use in education. They’re trying to include the basic features (including wireless access) in a $100 laptop. These laptops will be then distributed among children, and will be one of primary sources for them to receive information or to communicate. I think they’re right about calling it a revolution in education.

More information can be found at their website

I followed a link from one of sehnsucht’s entries, and looks like I have a huge ecological footprint:

CATEGORY__ACRESFOOD_____5.2
MOBILITY___2
SHELTER____5.7
GOODS/SERVICES_6.9
TOTAL FOOTPRINT__20

IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 24 ACRES PER PERSON. WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON. IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 4.4 PLANETS.

I tried putting the numbers from 5 years ago, and it came out to be almost half of this. It’s a shame :(

There was a talk a couple of days ago that I missed. Just a short sentence overheard was shocking enough: “800,000 victims per year”. According to US Dept. of Health & Human Services:

“Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery. Victims of human trafficking are young children, teenagers, men and women. Approximately 800,000 to 900,000 victims annually are trafficked across international borders world wide, and between 18,000 and 20,000 of those victims are trafficked into the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of State. Victims of human trafficking are subjected to force, fraud, or coercion, for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labor.”

*There is no stop button in the race for human re-engineering *

Excerpt from the article:

“The Washington Post journalist and author of Radical Evolution, Joel Garreau, argues that we are at a pivotal point in human development. Having directed our technological ingenuity on the world around us, human beings are now turning it on to their own bodies and minds. From here on in, we will have the tools to engineer our own evolution.

To the real enthusiasts – they call themselves transhumanists – humanity is on the point of being liberated from its biology. In their advocacy of our “technological rights”, they believe that human beings are on the brink of a huge leap in development, leaving behind the sick, quarrelsome, weak, fallible creatures we have been up to now. We will be, as their slogan goes, “better than well”.

This is the prospect that horrifies the so-called ‘bio-conservatives’ such as Francis Fukuyama, who argues that transhumanism is the most dangerous ideology of our time. There are plenty who share his concerns, pointing out that the implications for human rights, indeed for our understanding of what it is to be human, are huge. What place will equality have in this brave new world? What place will privacy have when brain imaging can read our thoughts and transcranial magnetic stimulation can manipulate our thoughts? What powers over our brains will the state demand in the war against terror?”

~ Madeleine Bunting
Monday January 30, 2006
The Guardian

MindHacks.org

The Dalai Lama was a controversial speaker at the annual Society For Neuroscience’s meeting. Research conducted by the neuroscientist Richard Davidson with the support of the Dalai Lama has shown visible changes in the brains of monks who have done several hours of meditation over their lifespans. From the article in Wired:

“The monks had responded to the request to meditate on compassion by generating remarkable brain waves. Perhaps these signals indicated that the meditators had attained an intensely compassionate state of mind. If so, then maybe compassion could be exercised like a muscle; with the right training, people could bulk up their empathy. And if meditation could enhance the brain’s ability to produce “attention and affective processes” – emotions, in the technical language of Davidson’s study – it might also be used to modify maladaptive emotional responses like depression.”
. . .
“Such research is just beginning. Experiments that will follow novices through months of intensive training – the only way to test whether meditation actually changes the brain – are starting up at UC San Francisco and UC Davis. Meditation research is blossoming at a dozen universities, including Harvard and Princeton.”

I feel like before I can understand how current issues affect my generation, I should have a better understanding of who my generation is and the age we are living in.

About a year ago I had an astrology report done. Reading it today I found that it had some interesting things to say about my generation:

..............................................................

The Subconscious and Emotional Drive of Your Age Group
Pluto in Libra:

You are part of a 12 year group of people who are deeply interested in personal relationships. Your age group has a deeply-rooted yearning to see people relating and communicating with each other effectively and harmoniously. There is little egotism and a willingness to hear the other person’s side of the story and a readiness to compromise and arbitrate different points of view. In fact, the need for harmonious, peaceful relationships is so strong that there is a tendency to overlook real differences and to focus only on the similarities in an attempt to bring different parties into harmony with each other.

Interest in psychology and sociology is high in your age group. There is a tremendous heightening of awareness of social skills. Your age group will experiment with different marriage styles, family relationships, and even business relationships in an attempt to bring fair treatment and effective communication between people. Interest and appreciation for other cultures is also strong, and your age group will work hard to preserve and support the cultural heritage of all ethnic groups.

Your strong yearning for equitable and harmonious relationships is also reflected in major advancements in trade agreements, arms control, and international cooperation that are designed and implemented by your generation. These agreements and policies foster a much safer and more cooperative environment for all, although there is also a tendency for greedy individuals to take advantage of the conciliatory atmosphere and twist situations to their own ends.

In short, you are part of a generation of individuals who are deeply interested in other people; you are a humanistic and humanitarian group. You will struggle and experiment with personal relationships, and forge new models for how people can relate as friends, family members, and members of nations as well.

.............................................................

Is this true for my generation? (I was born in 1977) Or could this be applied to all generations? Or is this just silliness?