The World in which You Live - Essay Example

One could not say with the utmost conviction that the world is in a much better position right now than it was back then. The world is in a constant state of flux that envelops a number of dilemmas that range from socio-political to technological and natural. The news bombards us of the current happenings in the world. Unfortunately, it cannot be said that it will only get better from this day forth. Sad to say, it may only get worse before things turn for the worst. Disastrous is perhaps the best way to describe the future and adaptability is the best way to fend off terrors and ensure survival.

When Orwell called for international control over nuclear activities back in 1945 and how this had been addressed since then, nothing much had ever really changed. This is why I am admittedly among those who have a pessimistic view of the future. We are as dumbfounded today as we are before of the reality that nuclear warfare may bring. Of course, gone are the days of the Cold War with Russia and the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or USSR had been torn to pieces. The world is still divided according to economic prowess coupled by military sophistication between the rich and the poor.

Day by day this divide is only growing and growing but the growth of China will bring forth a very exciting development. This is something that had been unwittingly mentioned by Orwell, “The haggling as to where the frontiers are to be drawn is still going on, and will continue for some years, and the third of the three super-states--East Asia, dominated by China--is still potential rather than actual” (par. 7). Aside from aspects within the control of man, there is also the natural that proves to be a more pressing problem.

Preparation is the key as there are various threats that proliferate in man’s everyday existence. The incessant disasters that have struck recently are only the beginning of what is in store in the coming years. None of these disasters has caught the attention of the globe more than what’s happening in Japan. The earthquake that shook the Asian economic giant was a floodgate to the subsequent events that unfolded. The earthquake led to the biggest nuclear scare in ages with the leaking of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.

The threat of radiation amplified throughout the region. This is a perfect example of the danger of nature coupled with man’s own callousness. Reports have divulged that the plant was built to withstand only a magnitude 7 earthquake when a magnitude 9 hit the country. This concern was raised as early as 2008 on the G8 meeting in Tokyo. There had also been stories that the Japanese government circumvented a decision from court to shut down base on hazardous possibilities. A statement claims that “Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency believes the reactor is safe and that all safety analyses were appropriately conducted” (Daily Mail Reporter, par. 8-13). A bad sign that if a country as capable as Japan could not follow these protocols then what more with other less financially stable countries.

This is only a previewof the catastrophes that areabot to ensue as the world engages in a climactic turn. Other natural disaster are also at bay and have become more household terms than ever. Decades ago, there were but a few who have experienced tsunamis or climate change or the greenhouse effect and even of diseases such as cancer. Now, these terms are but mundane representations of the so-called evolution that man has created. Annually there are disasters such as volcanic eruptions, tidal waves, hurricanes, typhoons, firestorms and others that loom on every corner of the globe.

What’s worse is that they seem to magnify in scale every time and that they take away more and more property and more and more lives. Other than the force of nature, there is also the force of man that must be dealt with. Crime has become more rampant and heinous. Diplomatic relations are easily severed and more countries are becoming hostile. The nuclear threat is still at bay with the likes of North Korea. Terrorism has blown into a global scale that imposes fear on the most unknowing of subjects.

All of these have a chain effect on the bigger perspective. The unrest in the middle east is sure to cause instability in the source of energy, another dead-end problem. The search for renewable energy is at a stagnant state. Everyday. The population of the world is consuming more than whatourplanet can or has produced to sustain development. “The problem is that the clean fuels of the future--solar and wind power--are not even close to scale: only about 1% of U.S. electricity needs is supplied by the combination of the two” (Stengel, par. 1). With all of these in mind, a pessimistic view of the future is rather improper if not downright wishful thinking.

Though I do not have the same apprehensions with Orwell and his position on the atomic bomb, my worrries are equally significant. Having said all these, we are but on the topmost layer of the problem that the world faces. Yes there are those who are searching for the answers, those who are hard at work looking for solutions and those who are hellbent to maintain the peace. But with the number of these advocates, what are the odds against the billions of others who are not with them. Until that time that everyone takes a part, the future remains a blur.

Bibliography Daily Mail Reporter. Japanese Government was 'Warned that Nuclear Plants Could Not Withstand Quake'. 16 March 2011. 3 April 2011 . Orwell, George. You and the Atomic Bomb. 1945. Stengel, Richard. The Energy Source In OurBackyard. 11 April 2011. 3 April 2011 .