Social and Environmental Challenges

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Social and Environmental Challenges
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Objectives

• Explain the causes and effects of global poverty,
  disasters, and disease.
• Analyze whether the basic human rights of people
  around the world are being upheld.
• Discuss the environmental challenges that have
  resulted from industrial development.

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Terms and People

• tsunami very large, damaging wave caused by an
  earthquake or very strong wind
• epidemic a disease that spreads rapidly
• famine when large numbers of people in a region
  or country face death by starvation
• refugee a person who is forced to move because
  of poverty, war, natural disaster, or persecution

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Terms and People (continued)

• acid rain a form of pollution in which toxic
  chemicals in the air fall to Earth as rain, snow,
  or hail
• deforestation destruction of forest land
• erosion the wearing away of land
• global warming the rise of the Earths surface
  temperature over time

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How do poverty, disease, and environmental
challenges affect people around the world today?
Globalization has brought poverty, disease,
environmental threats, and human rights abuses to
the attention of the world. As people work to
solve these problems, they have learned that many
of them need to be addressed on a global level.
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Though some progress has been made in reducing
global poverty, the gap between rich and poor
nations is growing.

• Developing nations have so much debt that they
  have no money to improve life for their people.
• Political upheavals, war, and bad planning also
  block efforts to reduce poverty.
• Rapid population growth has strained resources
  and made it harder to provide basic services.

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GDP is one way to measure a nations wealth.
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They encourage poor nations to limit their
population growth, and ask rich nations to
forgive the debts of poor nations.
Organizations such as the World Bank believe that
ending poverty is key to global peace.
Three billion people in the world live on less
than 2 per day. One billion cannot read or
write. Hunger is an issue for 790 million.
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One critical issue in developing countries is
access to safe water.
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Natural disasters strike all over the world and
cause destruction, death, and disease.

• A tsunami swept over the islands and coasts of
  the Indian Ocean in 2004, killing 160,000.
• In 2010, an earthquake devastated Haiti, one of
  the worlds poorest nations. Over 300,000 people
  were killed and a million made homeless.
• In addition to the immediate suffering, natural
  disasters can wreck local economies.
• However, globalization has meant that news and
  aid travel more quickly.

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Migration and travel have contributed to the
rapid spread of disease.
An epidemic of HIV/AIDS began in the 1980s.
Treating and preventing AIDS has become a global
priority.
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• Food is often not distributed to those who need
  it most.
• Both natural disasters and war have caused
  widespread famine.
• Civil wars in Sudan and Ethiopia in the 1970s and
  1980s led to famines that required the efforts of
  international aid groups.

Hunger is a major threat for millions of people
around the globe.
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Globalization has led to greater movement of
people around the globe.
Some of those who migrate are refugees forced to
move due to war, disaster, or persecution.
Millions of migrants go to Europe, North America,
and Asia each year. While some people in
developed countries welcome the newcomers, others
fear that immigrants will take away jobs.
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A global womens movement has worked for decades
to secure equality and rights for women.

• According to a report to the UN, women perform
  two thirds of all working hours but receive only
  one tenth of the worlds income.
• The UN and other groups monitor the human rights
  of women. They also condemn violence against
  women.

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Children suffer abuses around the world, and many
work instead of attending school.

• Ensuring a childs right to life, liberty, and
  education has been difficult in the face of war,
  poverty, and AIDS.
• Developed nations and human rights groups are
  working to end child labor and abuse.

A nine-year-old worker in a brick factory in India
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Land has been forcibly taken from indigenous
people in the name of development.

• Though the UN has worked to protect the rights of
  indigenous people, few have been able to maintain
  a traditional way of life.
• Many Indians have died of diseases.
• Mayan villagers were targeted by the government
  in Guatemalas civil war.

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Economic development has raised concerns about
damage to the environment.

• Gases from factories produced acid rain.
• Pollution from nuclear plant disasters sparked
  debate on how to safely use this technology.
• Oil spills polluted waterways.
• Expanding human settlement endangered many
  species of animals.
• Deforestation led to soil erosion.

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Global warming has led to debate about how to
protect the environment without hindering
economic development.