Challenges the World Faces

Each one of us endeavours to ensure a safer and better world to our children. However, in our attempt to grow rapidly, our activities and practices have an impact on our planet which is not conducive for a sustainable livelihood. There are numerous and complex challenges confronting us today which need to be addressed on a priority basis.
We have polluted the atmosphere, contaminated the soil and water and destroyed the habitats of several species leading to their extinction. Climate change is now a accepted reality. As per scientists, the global average temperatures have already increased by 0.8oC and if we continue with our current emission patterns we will continue to have rising sea levels and reseeding coastlines. Countries need to integrate their efforts and look beyond political boundaries and work towards solutions that will bring change.
The entire gamut of threats that confront us today is not restricted to the environment but spreads across several sectors. Each country needs to identify areas which cause environmental degradation, poverty, loss of life due to war and civil strife, religious fanaticism and use all their knowledge and resources to promote education, social security, healthcare, disaster management, nuclear disarmament and efforts to resolve conflicts through dialogue. We need to educate our children to love each other and be appreciative of the other regional faiths and cultural values. Fuelled by economic growth and development, industrialisation and expansion, increasing population and rising tendency of urban migration, the global energy demand has increased dramatically and this trend expected to continue over the next several decades. At the current rate of consumption patterns, the fossil fuel reserves will be soon exhausted. There is an urgent need to identify and develop technologies to tap the renewable sources of energy.
The biggest challenge that we face today is that we fail to look beyond our immediate boundaries. The