Challenges For The Twenty First Century

Challenges of the Twenty-first Century

The Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust Holds Biennial International Conferences In Her Memory To Discuss Causes And Ideas Dear To Her Heart. The First Was Held In January 1987 In New Delhi Under The Title Towards New Beginnings, The Second In January 1989 On The Theme The Making Of An Earth Citizen, And The Third In November 1991 On Challenges Of The Twenty First Century. All The Three Conferences Have Been Interrelated, One Deriving From The Other.The Proceedings Of These Conferences, With Suitable Editing, Are Published For The Benefit And Use Of Thinkers, Scientists, Policy-Makers, Social Activists And World Bodies Including Governments. The Present Volume Contains The Deliberations Of The Third Conference.The Challenges We Face Today Are Simply Galore. The Decline And Fall Of Empires Old And New In This Century; The Assertion Of Self-Determination And Independence By Large And Small Groups Of People; The Devastation Wrought By World Wars, Local Wars And Internecine Strife; The Creation And Demolition Of Ententes, Blocs And Walls; The Exhilarating Spectacle Of Yesterdays Implacable Foes Becoming Todays Eager Friends; The Accumulation Of Armaments Of Fearful Lethality; The Sunrise And Sunset Of Much Acclaimed Revolutions; The Disillusionment Over Ideologies, Doctrines And Dogmas, Particularly That Of State-Directed Economic Management; The Uncheckable March Of Consumerism; The Prevalence Of Hunger And Destitution Amidst World-Wide Plenty; The Fission Of The Atom And Excursions Into Outer Space; The Communication Explosion Creating Illusions Of Omnipresence And Omniscience; The Conquest Of Old, Familiar Diseases And Epidemics But The Rise Of The Ailments Of Progress; The Alarming Spread Of Planetary Pollution And The Remorseless Exploitation Of Nature Owing To The Growing Number Of Human Beings With Growing Appetites; The Collapse Of Faith And Spiritual Tranquility Going Hand In Hand With The Rise Of Fundamentalism All These Demand Earnest Thinking About The Ways In Which Human Beings And Other Living Species Can Endure On Earth And Live In Harmony And Nope, Freedom And Worthwhileness.

Global Environmental Challenges of the Twenty-First Century

The most serious environmental problems of the twenty-first century have the potential to alter the course of life on this planet. Global warming, toxic waste, water and air pollution, acid rain, and shrinking energy supplies are frightening challenges that may threaten our future if we do not face up to them. Global Environmental Challenges provides important information and gives us hope about the environment. This book first helps us to grasp these difficulties, then shows us the choices we can make. How long to leave a light on, whether to take the car, the train, or bicycle to work, whether to recycle or throw away, whether to vote to curb continued suburban sprawl-all of these decisions can make a difference. This collection of some of the best essays and articles on the environment comes from a variety of sources, including journals, magazines, websites of ecological/conservation organizations, and other publications. Five major sections investigate the interaction of population growth, consumption, and environment; the emerging crisis in freshwater around the globe; global climate and atmosphere (including global warming); biodiversity loss; and the concept of sustainable development-using natural resources to place future human development on a sustainable path. The final section on sustainable development reveals how we can take action. As individuals, we can make a difference readily and easily without making huge personal sacrifices. As societies, we can work together in a global community of interest to sustain the earth. This valuable resource offers readers a better understanding of our environmental problems and presents solutions to improving the health of the planet.

The China Challenge in the Twenty-first Century