Will The World Starve Essays - Population, Environmental Issues

Will the World Starve? Looking out a window upon a barren desert, a dry wasteland unfolds as a carpet to nowhere. Abandoned cities dot the horizon, as the ruins speak volumes to the once populated extravagance of a country which lived on wealth and opportunity. The vision just described is not one out of a Hollywood movie script, but one that is not only possible but probable. Currently, the world population numbers over six billion, with China alone cradling over one-sixth of the world's total population. With the world population increasing at a rate of one hundred million a year, the numbers are expected to hit ten billion by the end of 2040. Most scientists agree that the maximum number of people that the earth can sustain is fifteen billion, leaving the earth in a quandary before the end of the twenty-first century when the total world population is expected to reach a staggering sixteen to eighteen billion. The consumption of the world's natural resources due to this exponential growth could result in worldwide famine, a complete breakdown in the world market, uncontrollable outbreaks of disease, and widespread crime and disorder. Currently, the ratio of land which can be used for agricultural endeavors is estimated to be one in nine acres. The world's produce producer is only a small sliver of a total land mass apple pie sliced into nine equal, yet tiny slices and as the amount of soil suitable for agriculture dwindles, the slice with which the world relies on continues to shrink. Considering the little amount of available farmland, it should be expected that there would be more of an effort to conserve this vital resource, but unfortunately the issue has not yet risen to a level of global importance. The amount of fertile topsoil is becoming more and more unusable for agriculture. Water, used for the irrigation of the world's life giving crops, contains naturally dissolved minerals and over time the minerals from the irrigated water supply collect in the topsoil. After many years of constantly farming a particular region, the soil begins to become less and less fertile. This process, known as salinization, has affected many of the farms around the world. Once this process is complete, the soil becomes totally useless for any kind of farming. Over long periods of time, salinization, combined with the erosion of the topsoil due to wind and rain, starts to cause the world's farmlands to exponentially dissipate. Ethiopia is a prime example of how salinization, combined with overgrazing and erosion, has affected every aspect of the economy. Food shortages, lack of domestic trade products, and low incomes for farmers and agricultural workers are all bi-products of a land ravaged by overuse and abuse. With the people scrambling to find a quick fix solution to this problem that has been building for decades, the economy along with the people's only domestic food source, is slipping further and further into a seemingly unrecoverable disaster. The earth's industry is expected to produce enough manufactured materials to support the world's current six billion people. The list of finished products includes food (from agriculture), clothes and all other luxuries which most of the world has become accustomed. If most scientists are correct, the maximum capacity of which the world can sustain is estimated to be fifteen billion people. Maximum capacity is described as the amount of people that can be sustained without causing a complete breakdown in society. Numerous scientists have speculated that many of the world's natural resources used to support current life such as clean water and air, gasoline, oil, and even coal will almost be completely depleted up by the end of the century. With decimated natural resources, a lack of topsoil, and a completely over-populated planet, anthropologists have agreed that the end of the century, if not before, will culminate in a complete breakdown of industry in the world market. With this extinction of resources looming, it is obvious that new methods of energy and topsoil conservation need to be discovered. Speculation has been made that it is too late to turn back the dependence which humans have developed for natural resources. How can anyone be expected to turn away from their gas-powered cars and their electric houses? If, however, the current rate of consumption continues, then there is no doubt what the future will hold. Since 1950 half of the world's trees have been cut down and every day six square acres of rain forest are lost to the hum of a

NASA Not Ready for Safe Manned Mars Mission

NASA Not Ready for Safe Manned Mars Mission NASA lacks the â€Å"right stuff† to deal with the dangers involved in sending humans to Mars and bringing them back – alive according to the space agency’s own Office of Inspector General (IG). In his 48-page report, NASA inspector general Paul K. Martin stated that NASA â€Å"faces significant challenges† in protecting Mars mission crews, and that it is being too â€Å"optimistic† in projecting its timetable for responding to the risks. As a result, Mars-bound humans â€Å"may have to accept a higher level of risk than those who fly International Space Station missions.† Now planned for the 2030s, NASA’s first human mission to Mars will be fraught with new dangers such as deep space radiation, increased cancer risk, impaired vision, negative effects of extended space travel on human behavior and performance. Reality check: By the 2030s, there will still be no warp drives, transporters, replicators or other â€Å"Star Trek† wonders to help our Mars-bound astronauts get there faster and stay alive longer. In fact, as IG Martin notes, they might even run out of food. Running out of Food? Yes, even basic nutrition could become a big problem, according to the report, because: A mission to Mars and back will take at least 3 years, but the current maximum shelf life for NASA’s prepackaged foods is only 1.5 years.The vehicle carrying astronauts to Mars and back will probably be far smaller than the International Space Station, providing significantly less room for food storage.Periodic resupply missions carrying more food, like those currently serving the Space Station, will not be possible.Finally, NASA scientists do not know how deep space radiation will affect the quality, shelf life and nutritional value of food. While NASA is investigating resupply alternatives, including actually growing food in the Mars spacecraft, the IG stated, â€Å"Despite 35 years of experience with space flight and research in this area, NASA food scientists continue to face challenges from crew member weight loss, dehydration, and reduced appetite that can result in nutrient deficiencies both during and post mission.† Dangers and Costs of Dealing with Them Not Known While NASA has developed ways to deal with most of the risks of travel in low Earth orbit, many of the added risks associated with long duration space travel – like trips to Mars and back are not yet fully understood. In addition, taxpayers, IG Martin also found that NASA cannot accurately project the true costs of creating ways to deal with the Mars mission risks. In fact, the ability of NASA to pay for a manned Mars mission, safe or not, is questionable given its shrinking share of the annual federal budget, which Congress has shown no signs of enlarging any time soon. â€Å"NASA has taken positive steps to address the human health and performance risks inherent in space travel,† Martin wrote, adding, â€Å"Long duration missions will likely expose crews to health and human performance risks for which NASA has limited effective countermeasures. †¦ Accordingly, the astronauts chosen to make at least the initial forays into deep space may have to accept a higher level of risk than those who fly International Space Station missions.† A ‘Culture of Silos’ Dragging NASA Down In his report, IG Martin contends that NASA’s scientists and engineers are held back by their tendency to work in what he called a â€Å"culture of silos,† in which technical teams work and collaborate only with specialists within their own areas of expertise. In other words, not enough research data is being shared. â€Å"We found multiple examples of work taking place on health and human performance risks that suffered from such communication silos,† Martin wrote. According to the report, NASA’s has so far failed to give its astronaut life safety community a designated representative to work with the engineering, safety, and mission planning communities to ensure that issues of astronaut health and physical performance are fully and properly considered. IG Found Some Progress, But†¦ IG Martin did find that NASA had been taking some steps to lessen the risks of the Mars mission including a new Mars rover, set for launch in 2020, that will be able to extract and collect oxygen from thin Martian atmosphere and ways to grow food in the almost sterile Martian soil. However, Martin concluded that NASA must speed up its work on astronaut safety in order to meet its established manned Mars mission goals and timetables.