Michael Myles

The planet’s biggest problem and how we can solve it. Earth is the third of the nine eight planets in the solar system. Okay, so we know all about that but now we need to know the biggest problems that plague the planet. Earth has a lot of problems which all revolve around mankind. PROBLEMS Poverty Poverty is the extreme condition where necessary means (mostly money) to meet basic needs such as food clothing and shelter are scarce or insufficient. Poverty is simply the absence of money or the lack of an adequate amount of money. If you cannot afford the basic necessities of life, then you obviously will not be able to afford education. Even with the availability of free education by government schools in some countries, there are still a substantial number of people who just can’t afford to let their children get complete education. Illiteracy Illiteracy is the incapability to read and write. This is usually due to the lack of education i.e. a person who did not or has not attended school is an illiterate. However, Literacy and Illiteracy is not merely inclusive of just education or going to school. An illiterate could have gone to school but is a victim of ignorance as he/she lacks knowledge. Therefore, if you lack knowledge in a particular field, you are an illiterate in respects to that particular specialization. This is a very unfortunate problem that mostly stems from the effects of poverty. Literacy improves the economy and standards of living in countries. Bribery & Corruption Corruption is a criminal and unscrupulous attitude exhibited by those in authority. It is when those in high power misuse their power in order to fraudulently extort money and property. Bribery goes hand in hand with Corruption, as it is the act of accepting money from someone in order to perform an action which you normally would not (and should not). Corrupt leaders do not show transparency and honesty neither do they show accountability. In a country like Nigeria, tagged as one of the most corrupt countries in the world in part due to the infamous “Nigerian Prince” scam, corruption is mostly down to the fact that the leaders are corrupt. As it is one of the richest countries in Africa, politicians give promises upon promises during election campaigns and take advantage of the fragility of the citizens who just want a better life and higher standard of living. The leaders (candidates for leadership positions) sweet talk them into believing their numerous lies and when they are voted in, they do next to nothing. When their term in office is about to be over, they do one or two things to make it seem like their administration was successful so as to get votes. But all the same, if there is a new leader elected, the same thing happens over and over. These are just schemes to embezzle money and the attractiveness and power of the title but it has nothing to do with actually taking the nation forward. Laziness of youth and adults due to the advancement of ICT Due to the technological advancements of recent, Youth have been too lazy to do anything and are usually stuck on their phones and other gadgets. They therefore neglect their basic duties due to their addiction. Not only youth have become lazy but adults have also joined in in the laziness “contest”. They fail to spend quality time with their friends while parents neglect their parental responsibilities and fail to check on and keep track of their children. While, admittedly, Technology is beneficial and does make everything much easier but its effects on our socio-physical life (our social life which is physical and does not include the virtual life social media is) is very concerning. Technology has its virtues and vices and while the use of technology is a virtue, the overuse and abuse is the apparent vice. As they say, “Too much of anything is bad”, and this case is no different. Global warming Global warming, also known as Climate Change is an enormous threat and the biggest problem that plagues the earth as it affects our environment. It is the increasing climatic change of the earth that rapidly increases the earth’s temperature which leads to the form of heat which in turn melts the ice in the polar caps. This increases the water levels and causes flooding in some other places. Overpopulation Overpopulation, as the name goes, is when there are too many people. It is the condition whereby the existing number of people exceeds the Earth’s capacity to contain them. Due to the vast amount of people in the world, Overpopulation causes environmental pollution, starvation, malnutrition, global warming, extreme consumption of fossil fuels such as Crude Oil, Petroleum, Coal, Natural Gas etc, making demand higher than supply. While China is the world’s most populated country, new index has recorded that Singapore is the most overpopulated country in the world. Pollution Pollution is the contamination of the environment which can cause unfavorable conditions. The 3 main types of air pollution include Air Pollution, Water Pollution, Soil/Land Pollution. Air Pollution is when air quality degrades due to the presence of harmful substances such as smoke. This can lead to as far as illness or death of a human being. Water Pollution is when a body of water is contaminated either by microorganisms or chemicals making the water toxic and the quality degraded. Soil/Land Pollution is the deterioration of land due to waste and misuse of land by humans. Deforestation Deforestation is one of the major causes of Global warming. It is the removal and elimination of trees and other forest lands for non-forest utilization. Deforestation causes the loss of biodiversity. It reduces the albedo which then causes heat. It affect soil and water. Decrease in Oxygen and increase in Carbon dioxide. SOLUTONS There is no one way to solve global warming but it can be reduced to a minimum and effectively stopped by different means. There Reduction of water waste. Save Water! Reduction of food waste. Reduction of gaseous emissions. Reforestation and Afforestation. Recycling.