Storm Clouds BrewingEven though the housing crisis is safely contained, the decade beginning in 2010 reveals a world increasing beset by persistent problems. Some, like global warming, could be reduced with coordinated, resolute action. This doesn't happen. Individual countries all have reasons why they can't make meaningful reductions in dependence upon fossil fuels. Oil consumption continues to rise, but so too does coal usage, which is far dirtier. Use of nuclear reactors is also slowly rising, punctuated by the meltdown of reactors in Japan, after getting hit by an earthquake-induced tsunami tidal wave. In America, factory farming and opioid drug use are growing. Meanwhile, a slow-burning fuse is lit in the Ukraine, when Russia suddenly grabs part of the country, in violation of international law. This ignites a smoldering border war that will erupt into a full blaze a decade later. |
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'Cleanup on Aisle Five' The vulnerability of oceans to oil spills first becomes an issue back in 1989, when an oil tanker runs aground off the coast of Alaska. The cleanup of the nearby coastal area takes three years, and costs $2 billion. But oil spills turn out to be just one component of ocean pollution related to modern industrial life. Floating plastic containers, fish nets and other discarded items never go away. They just collect into bigger and bigger floating islands of trash. One, in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii, is twice as large as the state of Texas. Even on land, discarded plastic and electronics are a growing problem, with no good solution. Supposedly 'recycled' plastic is often actually just shipped to Asia, to be dumped in a landfill there. | |||||||||
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Surplus Structures Another creeping problem affects virtually every city east of the Mississippi River. Declining population. This used to be only a northern issue, but southern urban areas are also now affected. The basic problem is a continuing shift of population out of city centers, and into surrounding suburban areas, where schools are better and streets cleaner. Nothing kills a neighborhood faster than vacant buildings, which attract graffiti. City governments are so stretched just providing basic services that there is no money for urban renewal, even if it worked. Once a mall is abandoned, there's no one to go in and clean it up. It just sits there, empty. | |||||||||
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Crowded Conditions Another trend which is generating concern is the now widely-accepted practice of what is called 'factory farming.' This is what you get when corporations move into the business of raising livestock. As always, efficiency rules, and the most efficient way to raise animals is in huge enclosures, which can be managed by just a few people. Environmentalists are opposed to this on ethical grounds, as it crams together creatures in a glaringly unnatural way. But cramped livestock enclosures also require the liberal use of antibiotics, given to all animals, so that disease doesn't spread. There is real concern that this will lead to these antibiotics losing their effectiveness. There are few replacements. | |||||||||
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Take Your Meds An issue that hits closer to home is the growing concern related to over-use of opium-related drugs. These are developed to help patients dealing with chronic pain, many of whom quickly become addicted. The leading product is actually a time-release version of heroin, which is pushed on gullible doctors by an army of pretty young sales reps. The company claims that the likelihood of addiction is close to zero, but this is a wild misrepresentation of the actual medical risk. Regardless, sales begin spiking dramatically around 2008, about the same time that the housing bubble is bursting. Deaths from opioid overdose are now roughly equal to those caused by motor vehicles, and also to those caused by guns. | |||||||||
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Super-Size That? Perhaps even more worrisome is America's raging obesity epidemic, which is affecting all age groups, including schoolchildren. This is resulting in a spike in diabetes, which is now the seventh-leading cause of death in America. The death rate is two-thirds the rate of death by stroke, and twice the rate for both the flu and pneumonia. Many blame the growing obesity problem on fast food and sweetened sodas. This is supported by data showing that diabetes rates are highest in North America, Europe and Central Asia, but far lower in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. In any case, America is now leading the world, by a large margin, in diabetes cases as a percentage of total population. | |||||||||