Global issues

Over 900 animal species have gone extinct since the year 1500, and many more are threatened with extinction.

Extinction means that an entire animal species dies. For instance, the Dodo bird, a flightless bird that used to live on the island of Mauritius, went extinct in the 18th century because of overhunting by humans.

Please have a look at the graph below and discuss what you see with your teacher.

For years researchers argued about the "Nature vs Nurture" question. Is a person talented because they were born that way, or did people and circumstances in their environment cause them to develop certain skills?

While this question stays open, there is little doubt that living conditions do matter. Could Steve Jobs have created Apple if he was born in a village in Africa? How much new technology or how many groundbreaking discoveries are we losing because talented children in poor areas don't have access to adequate education?

Please have a look at the graph below and discuss what you see with your teacher.

The Conversation, a publication that promotes academic debate, posits that not only do many people across advanced economies have no idea that the world is becoming a much better place, but they actually think the opposite. This is no wonder, when the news focuses on reporting catastrophes, terrorist attacks, wars and famines. These subjects simply make for more exciting coverage than stories about how more than 300,000 people a day get access to electricity and clean water for the first time.

The Conversation states that globalization has helped lift hundreds of millions of people above the global poverty line.

Take a look at the three graphs below and discuss their meaning with your teacher.

A deadly 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit Afghanistan on June 22. So far, more than 1000 people have been reported dead, and at least another 1500 have been injured. This is a humanitarian disaster that requires aid.

People in remote areas have to dig through the rubble with their bare hands, hoping to find people under the destroyed buildings. In addition, recent rains have damaged many roads making access even more difficult. Afghanistan has already experienced multiple humanitarian crises in recent months. This has caused shortages. 95% of households do not have enough food and the health system is not functioning properly.

Worldwide, democracy and global freedom have been declining since 2006. The COVID-19 pandemic made things worse, with many leaders choosing to use authoritarian measures to contain the virus. It was difficult for the opposition to protest the measures because they weren't allowed to gather in groups.

But the trend towards dictatorship began long before the pandemic. The decline is not just happening in nations with authoritarian governments, but even long-standing democracies have suffered. In 2020, nearly 75% of the world’s population lived in a country where democracy deteriorated. The United States, which has long stood as an icon of democratic values, is becoming so divided that the government can barely function. The 2020 election results were challenged, ending up in an attack on the Capitol building itself.

Look at this graph from Freedom House showing the democracy gap since 2005. Interpret and discuss it with your teacher.

Our world is unequal. The distribution of the vaccines shows that. Rich countries have more doses than they need, while poor countries can’t buy enough. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says that this situation is slowing global economic recovery. Economists predict that low-income countries will lose at least $38 billion of their GDP in 2021 because of low vaccination rates. 

Low vaccination rates also put a lot of pressure on the healthcare systems of poor countries. Hospitals can’t treat other illnesses because of Covid.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization said that “Vaccine inequity is the world's biggest obstacle to ending this pandemic and recovering from COVID-19”.

Please have a look at the chart below and discuss it with your teacher.

CNN reports that according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), providing a single dose of a future coronavirus vaccine to all 7.8 billion people in the world will require the use of 8,000 Boeing 747 cargo aircraft, and that planning needs to begin now.

IATA's director general and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac, said in a public statement that "safely delivering Covid-19 vaccines will be the mission of the century for the global air cargo industry."

There are multiple vaccines being tested in human trials simultaneously around the world. Once a vaccine is approved for use, licensing and large-scale manufacturing will take place. However, without proper planning, these vaccines won't be able to fly the skies.

The Japan Times published an opinion piece arguing that the issue of people hoarding surgical masks has served to show people’s true nature. It notes that the outbreak has resulted in the spread of fake news and racism, and some unscrupulous people have been reselling face masks and even toilet paper at highly inflated prices on sites such as Mercari.

The author says that social media has also become a tool for shaming those engaged in bad behavior in Japan. Sites such as Twitter have made it simpler to spread footage of morally dubious activity. For instance, users uncovered truly ridiculous posts, including one in which 35 packs of masks were being sold for ¥75,000 by someone who claimed to have risked their health getting them.

The 2019 Nobel Prize in chemistry has been awarded to three scientists who played a large role in developing lithium-ion batteries: Stanley Whittingham of the U.K., American John Goodenough (at 97, the oldest Nobel laureate ever), and Japan’s Akira Yoshino. Whittingham created the first functional lithium-ion battery in the 1970s, then Goodenough increased its capacity two-fold over the next 10 years. Finally, Yoshino removed the pure lithium, making it much safer to use.

Lithium-ion batteries are indispensable in today’s world, used in everything from cellphones to cordless power tools to electric cars. Rechargeable and able to store large amounts of energy, they have revolutionized electronics. As the Nobel Committee put it, "...this year’s chemistry laureates have laid the foundation of a wireless, fossil fuel-free society."