“Russian opposition politician Boris Nemstov brutally murdered near Kremlin”, “French cartoonist Charlie Hebdo and 12 others murdered in Paris office”, “ISIS burns Jordanian pilot alive”. These were the screaming headlines in leading newspapers around the world recently. Such acts of violence seem a regular occurrence nowadays. Will there ever be peace on earth? Why is the world we live in such a violent place? In 15 years’ time, I will no longer be young. One change I would like to see taking place is for the world to be more peaceful. Other changes I would be eager to see is a greener environment with more sustainable practices as well as the eradication of poverty.
Is World peace an illusion? Or can it be achieved one fine day? There seems to be conflict everywhere. Everybody is fighting over something and everything. Iraq invaded Kuwait for their oil in 1990. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. All these large-scale conflicts have a high death toll and the impact is disastrous. Hopefully, in 15 years’ time, countries can settle the disputes between them peacefully, without any need for aggression. Can we ever stop this attitude of getting “an eye for an eye”? If this practice goes on, we run the risk of the making the whole world blind, because fighting will only bring harm upon many around us. I feel that if people or countries are so competitive and calculative, going to war over just a small conflict, it will make our world miserable. In wars where soldiers and civilians die, there can be no victor. Even if a country wins a war, it can only do so with the lives of its precious soldiers and at times, even civilians. Its economy will suffer as the resources spent to fight could have been put to more productive use like the construction of infrastructure or healthcare. If only the whole world can co-operate and work together, sharing their resources and lending a helping hand to countries with a weaker economy, the world will become a much better place to live in, and the cold and depressing headlines of war and destruction will be replaced with more heart-warming articles. So instead of the constant blast of our Asian countries squabbling over the Spratly islands in the South China Sea, wouldn’t it be more pleasant to read a headline along the lines of “China, Japan, Vietnam, Phillipines and Malaysia come to an agreement to jointly develop the Spratlys” or “Arab-Israeli conflict comes to an end”. May there be peace on earth. It may sound wishful, but that’s what I would like to see.
Another change I would like to see is for the world to turn greener. Global warming is increasing rapidly and organisms that cannot withstand the heat will die. Global warming is a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons CFCs, and other pollutants. One and a half acres of forest is cut down every second. Just think- by the time you finish reading this essay, 450 acres of forest might have been destroyed. We depend on trees for oxygen. If we cut down forests at such a rapid rate, this will result in an imbalance where the carbon dioxide level will increase and we will be fighting for oxygen. It is said that there are more than 121 natural remedies in the rainforest which can be used as medicine. The cure to cancer might be hidden in the depths of the dense rainforest that we had just cut down. Furthermore, deforestation leads to global warming, which results in many fascinating creatures, some yet to be discovered, being pushed to extinction or the brink of extinction. Imagine, in 15 years’ time, we can only rely on books and pictures to illustrate to our children what a common bird like a pigeon looks like, and what a tree is. I dread the thought of the how many other birds might go the way of the dodo in 15 years’ time, their population completely wiped out due to man’s destruction on the environment. Together, we can all work to improve the state of this world by playing our part in keeping the environment clean and green, because every little bit counts. I would like to see a green environment with the condition of the ozone layer improving, with everybody taking a more active role in recycling. Perhaps we could have more greenery along the roads and more parks to create a fresher, cleaner and greener environment, instead of the current situation where forests are being chopped down at a drastic rate. Also, the recent finding of shale gas in the United States has increased the supply of carbon fuel. However, carbon fuel is limited in supply and we will run out of it one day. Renewable energy like solar, wind and hydro energy on the other hand will never run out and will not destroy the ozone layer. I hope to see further development in these areas.
Last but not least, I hope that 15 years in the future, the situation of world poverty will be eradicated. Poverty is the state of condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support. Current statistics show that almost half of the world, over 3 billion people- live on less than $2.50 a day. Almost 2 in 3 people lack access to clean water. My heart shatters to smithereens knowing that practically all the children in sub-Saharan Africa go to bed every night with empty stomachs. In fact this point is in a way related to my second one about green environment. If a small-scale farmer in Indonesia living below the poverty line struggles to feed his family, would he be concerned about his slash and burn method of land clearing affecting the ozone layer? Hopefully, the rich-poor divide can be lessened and wealthier individuals or corporations can help to make a difference. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is one such organisation that has the noble aims of enhancing healthcare and reducing extreme poverty globally. It is set up by Bill Gates the founder of Microsoft and his wife, Melinda, and also benefits from patronage of his ultra-wealthy friend Warren Buffett who gave generously in support. “There are some men who lift the age they inhabit, till all men walk on higher ground in that lifetime” by Maxwell Anderson. We need more wealthy people with such noble aspirations to help to improve the current situation of world poverty.
In a nutshell, I hope that in the distant future, I will be fortunate enough to witness the above positive changes taking place in our world - world peace, a greener environment and eradication of poverty. It will make the world we live in a much nicer and warmer place and also leave a beautiful place free of pollution and a warm community for the generations to come.