Biggest Problem Facing Humanity

[Moar Boosters]

I'm going to have to vote for toast falling butter side down.

[Dispatcher]

Not exactly correct... You can't talk about cultures in this aspect. You need to use "societies".

I'd bet that defining the differences between the two would be difficult.

The worst impact comes from developing societies such as the West during the 19th and 20th century when all that burned coal and released artificial toxic chemicals were used to lift the society from the gutters of poverty. Now most of the West is heading to the policy of sustainability. It's still a long way ahead, but it started. At this moment the West is still struggling with makeshift solutions such as using false-green stuff (produced in China using a ****load of coal and toxic stuff), but the progress is on the way.

Thus you support the idea that humanity, though part of the "problem", is also part of the solution. Very good.

Don't fool yourself into thinking that primitive cultures were benign.

I haven't. I knew it was a generalization, but I'm sure there are valid examples.

I just got through reading an article about mass extinction and how some of that may relate to Sol's orbit around the galaxy (and thus through the galactic arms). In the past it was thought the sun was more exposed to supernovae between the arms, but this article puts forth the case that being in an arm increases the likelihood of comets tumbling out of the Oort cloud at us.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/10/02/3857090.htm

[lajoswinkler]

I do not agree. The notion of the dark ages became popular during the enlightenment, but nowadays scholars and scientists are realising that it was not the retarded age we think it was. There was a lot going on back then.

Of course there was a lot going on. The fact is that the amount of the good stuff going on was very low and amount of bad stuff was very high, compared to other periods.

It was truly the dark ages in Europe and no modern revisionism can change that.

[Camacha]

Of course there was a lot going on. The fact is that the amount of the good stuff going on was very low and amount of bad stuff was very high, compared to other periods.

That is the traditional view, but it does not seem to hold up scientifically. There was a definite influence of religion, but that did not mean other progress was halted. It is just that the enlightenment came afterwards and people at the time felt compelled to look down on that earlier, in their eyes more primitive age.

It was truly the dark ages in Europe and no modern revisionism can change that.

It is changing and will be changing Be prepared. You say it like it is bad to have better insights into what actually happened.

[-Velocity-]

I just got through reading an article about mass extinction and how some of that may relate to Sol's orbit around the galaxy (and thus through the galactic arms). In the past it was thought the sun was more exposed to supernovae between the arms, but this article puts forth the case that being in an arm increases the likelihood of comets tumbling out of the Oort cloud at us.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/10/02/3857090.htm

I'll check the article out, but I thought that the Sun orbited at a distance where the spiral arm density waves travel at about the same speed as a star in a circular orbit? Wasn't that like, half the idea behind the "galactic habitable zone" concept (the other half being high enough metalicy for terrestrial planets)?

[andrewas]

To be honest, this problem is rapidly disappearing. There are many online courses you can follow for free, in your own tempo and on the subjects you like. As soon as poorer countries have internet access, they can benefit from this. The knowledge gap is becoming a lot smaller than it once was.

Amongst people who care to learn, yes. Most of the people I know are only interested in football teams or stupid celebrities. Anything real, and they aren't interested.

[Drunken Hobo]

Ignorance. And those who exploit people's ignorance. Pretty much every other problem can be traced back to this. Education is the only cure, be very wary of any group that tries to restrict access to knowledge.

Thankfully with the internet, that's becoming impossible. That's why I regard it as mankind's greatest invention, unlikely ever to be surpassed.

[Diche Bach]

+1 for overpopulation. It is the elephant in the room that is either the root cause or the biggest contributor to all of our other problems. Yet none of our politicians wants to address or even acknowledge the problem, mostly because the actual solutions (including worldwide birth control and sex education campaigns) go against "family values" and religious dogma.

The demographers project that the total number of humans will plateau at 9 to 11 billion in about 2050. After 2070 projections are for it to drop back to around 8.5 billion and stay there.

I agree that too many people is the upstream cause of many real and hypothesized global problems. Who knows if we can coexist with the natural ecology of Earth at even our current numbers, much less the increased number of us over the next 35 years and beyond. Certainly it would seem that fewer humans would be better for those who were alive = less competition and for the natural ecologies. However, the only ethical way for this to occur is for more and more people to choose to live their lives without reproducing. Many people globally now live this way, and they are I think to be applauded when it is done out of choice. Moreover, many people do not make particularly good parents. Unhealthy relationships between parents and offspring account for a huge proportion of the problems in the world. With those points laid out, at least superficially, I would say that, the most pressing problem on Earth today is the complete lack of seriousness when it comes to childrearing. "Serious" is not the right word, but it is about the best I can think of. We simply do not take childrearing seriously. Way too many people do it by accident, or on a whim, people do it to manipulate other people, people do it because they cannot think of anything better to do with their lives. People who just simply do not have the maturity, resilience, compassion, patience, etc., to excel at parenting do it. Reproducing is the single most important thing one will do or not do, and if you do reproduce, parenting is by far and away the most important thing in your life from that point onwards. These two points should be axiomatic but they are not.

So I would say that, that is the most serious problem: virtually no cultures on Earth as yet, "take reproduction and parenting seriously" from an ecological standpoint.

Please note: I am not suggesting that anyone's opportunity to have children much less their biological capacity to have children should ever be infringed. What I'm saying is that, our cultures should do a better job of socializing us (via our parents, peers and communities) to regard parenting not as an 'automatic' or 'no big deal' but as a very important thing. By the time we reach puberty we should all have a sense that either (a) I am not sure I have the skill and devotion to be an exceptional parent, and as such I will be waiting, and perhaps never reproducing, or ( I am sure I have the skill and devotion to be an exceptional parent, and I am on my way toward devoting my life to that calling.

[lajoswinkler]

That is the traditional view, but it does not seem to hold up scientifically. There was a definite influence of religion, but that did not mean other progress was halted. It is just that the enlightenment came afterwards and people at the time felt compelled to look down on that earlier, in their eyes more primitive age.

It is changing and will be changing Be prepared. You say it like it is bad to have better insights into what actually happened.

I'll go straight to the point - are you a Christian apologetic with an agenda?

[Apotheosist]

I've read through all of the replies so far, they make for very interesting reading indeed.

I've made a list of all the problems people have suggested. I have 25 points. Obviously I don't count the repeated ones. Overpopulation, stupidity, and ourselves seem to be the most popular ones

I was thinking, maybe I should add a poll onto this thread with all the main problems so far mentioned, so people can vote which they think is the biggest one and we will all be able to see the results. What do you guys think?

[PakledHostage]

What I'm saying is that, our cultures should do a better job of socializing us (via our parents, peers and communities) to regard parenting not as an 'automatic' or 'no big deal' but as a very important thing. By the time we reach puberty we should all have a sense that either (a) I am not sure I have the skill and devotion to be an exceptional parent, and as such I will be waiting, and perhaps never reproducing, or ( I am sure I have the skill and devotion to be an exceptional parent, and I am on my way toward devoting my life to that calling.

While it is a noble idea, we'd never be able to get the "go forth and multiply" crowd to buy into it... And it makes me think of the opening sequence in Idiocracy.

[Omicron314]

Apathy. Too many times have I been told to stop worrying about a specific problem because I won't be alive to see the consequences, or it's not my job, surely other people will take care of it.

Honestly, this kind of thinking will get us all killed. We need to work together to solve our problems as a species for the benefit of all.

[magnemoe]

Well that was full of happiness and sunshine.

I'm hesitant to consider the looming oil disaster as, well, disastrous. When the oil industry collapses and fossil fuels run dry, which will happen, I can't help but feel like all it will do is turn us to create a new industry in its place. Maybe we'll turn to alternate types of mogas like kerosine or avgas for combustion as petroleum resources fade. Note that the collapse of the oil industry won't happen on the 2nd Tuesday of October and catch everyone by surprise. It'll be a gradual collapse that will see to the gradual rise of gas prices and the reduction of oil infrastructure and manufacturing. As industry jobs are lost and oil prices exceed affordable rates, it will make alternative industries less expensive than oil, and they'll begin to take hold.

While none of us can see the future, it's hard to say definitively that we're in for "centuries of hell". People have been saying that for centuries, and it's never come to fruition. If anything, life has become a lot better over the centuries despite the complexities we continue to throw into our society as a result.

When oil becomes rarer price goes up, this makes other options become more interesting. At 120-140$/ barrel synthetic oli from coal or gas becomes economical. Gas can be used directly and works pretty well however electrical cars and hybrids will probably become common before this because they are more environmental friendly and has the possibility to be cheaper to run.

On the other hand US oil production is increasing.

[Spartwo]

Humanity..

[Dispatcher]

I'll check the article out, but I thought that the Sun orbited at a distance where the spiral arm density waves travel at about the same speed as a star in a circular orbit? Wasn't that like, half the idea behind the "galactic habitable zone" concept (the other half being high enough metalicy for terrestrial planets)?

Yes, the ideas I have read essentially posit that Sol has tended to spend most of its time within galactic arms, rather than between them, however it still crosses those voids. I still think the galactic hab zone is a valid idea. Solstation is a good site for that kind of info. As for metallicity, tau Ceti is relatively metal poor, but there are strong indications that it has planets (and the PHL at Arecibo accepts the data as true), and tC 4 is considered to be a super terran.

Back on topic, yes siree, Earth and humanity are facing problems.

Edited October 8, 2013 by Dispatcher
Getting back on topic.

[Camacha]

Amongst people who care to learn, yes. Most of the people I know are only interested in football teams or stupid celebrities. Anything real, and they aren't interested.

Surround yourself with different people The rest will be sorted out by evolution in the long run.

I'll go straight to the point - are you a Christian apologetic with an agenda?

Yes, and I love spamming these forums that are full of scientific heretics

Let's stick to the facts without resorting to ad hominems, shall we?

Edited October 8, 2013 by Camacha

[Diche Bach]

Ah a fellow heretic. Good!

[Nuke]

lack of nuclear wars. we need to do something about that.

[Seret]

Air travel will disappear. Trucking will disappear and since most stuff in the US is shipped by truck, that'll have pretty large consequences. Overseas shipping, diesel-electric trains, etc.

That's not really how it will work. Over time oil will become more expensive, but it won't become totally unavailable. It'll just become uneconomic to access what does remain. Even if the cost of crude oil becomes preclusive, there are other chemical routes that will be exploitable to bridge the gap while retaining the same or similar engine technology, such as coal to oil, or biofuels. The transition will give industry enough time to adapt their power plants to entirely new fuels if required. Things like transport are fundamental to the economy, they simply won't be allowed to go away. They might have to change, prices might go up or down, there will be disruption and change, but they won't disappear.

Edited October 8, 2013 by Seret

[nuclearpower13]

I honestly believe its religion . For those that live in the United States Congress and most of the Republican party is composed of right wing bible thumper nut cases. These are the people that control our education system, funding for NASA, funding for research into vaccines to cure deceases, and passing laws that contradict our constitution. We need to get religion out of our political system.

[check]

I'm going to say cheap Sustainable Energy, as producing that would solve or significantly reduce many of the other problems.

[ZedNova]

I'm with jbowon, Overpopulation isn't a problem. ( Yet )

Although there is cause for concern, i think we need to focus on other matters first. Like Education and Alternate clean fuel sources for my F-150.

[SargeRho]

I honestly believe its religion . For those that live in the United States Congress and most of the Republican party is composed of right wing bible thumper nut cases. These are the people that control our education system, funding for NASA, funding for research into vaccines to cure deceases, and passing laws that contradict our constitution. We need to get religion out of our political system.

Funfact about the GOP: Science hast most of the time been funded more under Republican administations than under the Democrats. I don't like either parties tho.

[-Velocity-]

I'm with jbowon, Overpopulation isn't a problem. ( Yet )

Although there is cause for concern, i think we need to focus on other matters first. Like Education and Alternate clean fuel sources for my F-150.

And, once again, overpopulation is not just about running out of food or natural resources. Clean energy wouldn't be such an urgent problem if we only had like 1/5th the current population, and hence, 1/5th the current pollution. Overpopulation = pollution + destruction of forests/land for farmland/housing. We bemoan invasive species and try to fight their spread, when we are by far the worst invasive species on the planet. I'm not saying we shouldn't live on every continent, I'm saying we should live responsibly, in better controlled numbers with better environmental stewardship. We're not like some dumb pythons invading the Everglades; we're smart enough to know better, but too damn apathetic to care.

Honestly, if we don't get our act together, we deserve to be wiped out. Hopefully, one day another intelligent race would arise on Earth and learn from our mistakes. At least they'd have a hard time finding enough left over oil and coal to !@#$ up the atmosphere. However, even if we were to totally wreck the environment, it's unlikely the human species would become extinct. Humans are the most adaptable animals on the planet, and the most adaptable animals are always the ones to survive the mass extinctions.

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I'm actually surprised how few mentions of nuclear weapons there are. The nuclear threat still hangs over our heads today, it's greatly reduced but it's still there, and given enough time, a nuclear war is very likely to break out. But maybe the threat of nuclear war can be filed under the heading of "human stupidity", since it is ultimately stupid humans who press the button.

Again though, I find the possibility of a nuclear war completely driving humans to extinction unlikely.

Edited October 8, 2013 by |Velocity|

[PakledHostage]

I'm not saying we shouldn't live on every continent, I'm saying we should live responsibly, in better controlled numbers with better environmental stewardship. We're not like some dumb pythons invading the Everglades; we're smart enough to know better, but too damn apathetic to care.

I would add "too self interested to care". Look at the justifications people use for driving their F150s. For taking "adventure" cruises to the Galapagos and Antarctica. For caving. Even in the absence of religious ideology that encourages exploitation of the planet's resources, people almost always place their own self interests ahead of the greater good. That's probably human instinct, but one of the most unique things about us is that we have the capacity to override our instincts with reason if we're willing to make the effort.