When was the last time you stood under the naked skies and gazed at the stars? How often does this happen to you? Let me guess, not too often? Why?

Among other reasons,our skies have turned into a haze of light. And the stars? We don’t see them anymore, at least not so often.

This is due to Light Pollution – any type of artificial light that shines outward and upward instead of downward, where it is actually needed. One might wonder how could this be pollution and how serious could it be, but it is an increasingly growing problem, whose real consequences we are only beginning to understand.

Nowadays, the night skies over most of the developed world, especially the USA, Europe and Japan, are a cloud of light. In fact, people in about a third of the USA, half of Europe and all of Japan cannot see the Milky Way at night.

Clearly, humans are not nocturnal creatures, but our desire to modify our surroundings and transform the natural state of things is a little frightening. By altering the natural day-night circle, we are changing more than we initially wanted.

Light pollution is greatly affecting animals’ reproduction, feeding and migration.

Birds, for example, react to light as metal to magnet. They tend to gather around light objects and fly in circle around them. This has become an issue, since we have thousands of brightly lit skyscrapers, that attract birds in a flying circle until they drop down with exhaustion. In addition, birds use light and darkness for guidance in their migration. Normally, longer days are associated with opportunity for feeding and longer nights are associated with winter time. When we light up the night sky, we fool the populations of birds into thinking there is a longer day. Consequently, they are able to feed more and reach the needed amount of body fat quicker. Thus, they leave for they migration route sooner than required for their survival. The real problem is that birds would leave before cold weather has set in and come back the following year before the warm weather has created good living conditions for their populations.

Yet another example, of how light pollution affects birds is their singing in unusual times.

Sea turtles also suffer the effects of light pollution. The female sea turtles naturally look for dark beaches to lay their eggs. Their hatchlings are then born with the instinct to move towards the reflective (therefore, brighter) surface of the water. However, the brightly lit cities and/or highways behind the beach line confuse the little hatchlings, who end up traveling towards that brightness and never reach the water, their natural habitat. In Florida, alone, the number of hatchlings that survive decreases with hundreds of thousands each year.

Frogs and toads are species with nighttime breeding rituals. Very often, the ponds and swamps they inhabit are located near bright lit highways or cities, so that these little earthlings never have the darkness necessary for their breeding practices.

Other examples of how our light pollution affects living forms are the many nocturnal creatures that feed in the darkness of the night. For those, it is increasingly difficult to find the darkness, so crucial for their survival. Insects, we all have notices, tend to cluster around streetlights. Therefore, it is increasingly difficult for nocturnal bats to feed and their populations suffer.

While one might not be particularly worried about the life of a frog, or a bat, in this case we are talking about whole populations of specie, whose numbers are decreasing because we have decided to modify the natural world and order of things. Needless to say, change in a single species can initiate a number of other changes in the biosphere. These changes might eventually affect us in a way we would not like. Maybe we ought to consider the big picture. After all, we are earthlings as well and we are also affected by the same natural principles that guide birds and toads.

The change and constant rotation of the day and the night governs our Circadian rhythms. In humans, the Circadian rhythm lasts approximately 24 hours and directs sleep and waking, core body temperature and hormonal levels.

Recent research (Kloog et al.) indicates that excessive exposure to artificial light at night may be a risk factor for breast cancer in women. These studies do not imply causation, only correlation, but they certainly demonstrate there are many things we do not understand yet. Our human species has evolved in a world where a day was followed by a night. All of a sudden, people were forced to work night shifts or simply live amidst the bright neon cities. Who knows how our bodies will react to this sudden change? What are we experimenting with? Is it not ourselves?

I would be an advocate of the bright night if we actually needed the light. Most of the time, however, this is not the case. Often, it is simply useless, aimless lighting! Office buildings with no businesses open during the night certainly do not need all their cubicles brightly lit, do they? The office building right next to my apartment building shines bright 24 hours, every day of the year, without a single soul inside. Who needs all of this light? And why waste all of this electricity? This is not only useless, this is bothering me and all the other people who cannot make their bedrooms dark enough to get a good night’s sleep.

One would think that in these hard times of economic and environmental challenges we would be more cautious not to waste as much energy. Yet, we indulge in our wasteful habits and cast light where we don’t even need it. The International Dark-Sky Association claims that about a third of outdoor lighting is wasted due to ineffective light fixtures. In the USA alone, the annual cost for wasted/ misdirected light costs $10 billion. This is a very simple equation – wasted light is wasted energy and money.

Replacing the fixtures in public spaces with dark-sky-friendly fixtures can surely be a strain on the budget. Between 2002 and 2005 the Canadian city of Calgary has replaced its older, drop-lens streetlights with flat-lens night-sky friendly fixtures (Brad Scriber, Nightlight Savings Time). This enormous project of replacing 37, 000 lights was a major investment. But with $1.7 million in annual energy savings, the project is expected to pay for itself by 2012.

“Of all the pollutions we face, light pollution is perhaps the most easily remedied”

~Verlyn Klinkenborg, The National Geographic

There is a lot we can do!

We can update existing fixtures with new designs that reduce glare and focus light on the ground, instead of outwards and upwards. When buying light fixtures we can look for the light-fixture seal of approval by the International Dark-Sky Association. We can install motion-activated lights for parks, parking lots, building and so on. Switch off the lights when we don’t need them! Try to eliminate aimless lighting! Care! Begin to change our habits and not waste! And step by step we might all be able to see the stars again.

Until then, starry nights will be “rare and exotic skyscapes for many” (Tamie R. Smith). If you would like to plan a dark-sky vacation, these are the spots that offer excellent conditions for stargazing: Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada; Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah; Cherry Springs State Park, Pennsylvania; Acadia National Park, Maine.

That is correct, these days, we need a National Park with its laws and regulations in order to gaze at the stars. I am quite sure, our ancestors did not envision the problems we are having today.

Have a starry night!

It seems that many of the global problems humanity is facing are due to the fact that our  home, Earth, is being overpopulated. Since the Industrial Revolution, the world population has increased its size dramatically. While longevity is on the rise and the overall quality of life has improved significantly, we are far from eradicating hunger, crime, pollution, abuse and neglect. For a large portion of the world population, one or all of the above are a daily reality.

About 963 million people across the world suffer hunger (The Food Secutity Statistics, 2008), which is recognized as the most severe form of poverty (Hunger Report, 2004). This strikingly big number may sound unreal to those of us who have just enjoyed our delicious Starbucks treat. Even worse, we might have been desensitized to numbers ranging in the millions, or even billions, as we see them in the same sentence with bailout, debt, loan, equity, and so forth. In this case however, the number is as real as can be. 963 million people – each of these lives as important and meaningful as the next one. To begin to understand these statistics better, let’s break the numbers down: each day, about 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes (Black, Robert, Morris, Saul, & Jennifer Bryce. “Where and Why Are 10 Million Children Dying Every Year?” 2003). This means, one child perishes every five seconds, due to hunger. The more specific causes for these deaths might be chronic undernourishment, vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which, in turn, lead to heightened susceptibility to illness (Hunger Report, 2004).

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) starts its 2008 Annual Report with the following sentence: “Drugs, crime and terrorism remain three of the greatest threats to the peace, security and well-being of humanity”. Sadly, there is little place to argue the opposite. The number of inmates, in the US alone, is compelling: 2,310,984 (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2008). This is a 0.8% increase from the number of 2007. However, the average annual growth from 2000 until 2007 was 2.4%. This means we have an estimated 509 sentenced prisoners per every 100,000 US residents. The number of female inmates is also rising, with numerous cases of pregnant inmates, whose inborn child never stood a chance of starting a ‘normal’ life.

When issues like these continue to describe our modern reality, i cannot help but wonder: Why do people have children? What is a good reason to have a child?

We addressed these question to students in an Introductory Psychology class. The responses were truly puzzling: “To have someone carry your name”, “To have a part of you stay after you’re gone”, “To keep a guy”, “To make your marriage work” and so on.

I stood there, in disbelief, shocked to hear what these young and smart people identified as the ‘reasons’ to have a child. Are these really good reasons for a commitment of this magnitude? If we are so desperate to have someone carry our name, aren’t we being purely egoistic? If we need to carry our genotype forward, we are certainly guided by evolutionary principles, but is this a good enough reason? If it takes a baby to make any guy stay with you, you might want to wonder if this guy is worth keeping, to begin with. If anything, a baby can be a strain on any happy marriage and is rarely prescribed as a remedial for a bad one. So, are these the right reasons? If college students, who thought about the issue, considered these their reasons, I am petrified to know what other people might say. Or do people even think about it? Has it just become the ‘normal’ thing to do – a routine of sorts – find a relationship, build a home, have children? Is it merely what our society considers appropriate? Is it something we do to feel good about ourselves? I hear parents taking such pride in the fact they have given life to another human being; people who think giving life is enough of itself and fail to look for their flaws when it comes to parenting. Is this mature and is it fair to the little person who is yet to come into this world and become part of the statistics (which statistics, we could not know yet)?

I happen to think that a good reason to have a child is the desire and possibility to raise a person of quality, who will contribute to society and might as well make the world a better place. I don’t find it trendy and I don’t think it’s cute either.  It is a serious matter of life and the greatest of all responsibilities. For this to be a success, one has to have a good game-plan. All of this, of course, has to be backed up by sincere love, commitment and stability. I do not mean to sound grotesque, or oversimplify complicated situations, but I sincerely believe this is an issue that each of us needs to consider very seriously and make a conscious decision. It would be sad, if something wonderful like a child would be something unwanted and unwelcome. As a professor of mine said: Imagine what a different place this world would be, if in order for a woman to conceive, both parents had to hold hands, look each other in the eyes and repeat thee times ‘I want to have a baby. I want to have a baby. I want to have a baby’ (M.J. Grant). What a different place that would be, indeed. Also, I do not think it is simply enough to give life (any living form can do this). More important is what we do to the life we have given. Do we abuse, or empower? Do we nurture, or neglect? Do we practice effective parenting, or do we fail miserably to connect?

Roger McIntire remarks: “We already license pilots, salesmen, scuba divers, plumbers, electricians, teachers, veterinarians, cab drivers, soil testers and television repairmen. … Are our TV sets and toilets more important to us than our children?” We even need marriage licenses! Then, why do we assume that our right to be parents is absolute and why do we take it so lightly? It is not an absolute right, it ought to be a privilege. Roger McIntire suggests further that licensing parents could be as simple as when you turn 18, you get the book and study it or take the course, then you take the written test, and the eye test, and if you pass, you get a beginner’s license, then you do some hands-on child care for maybe six months under the guidance of a licensed parent, and if you pass that part, you get your license, and if you don’t, maybe you try again in a while. We do it for almost anything else, why should this serious matter be any different?

There are millions of people in this world, who suffer starvation, diseases, low quality of life; millions of people who are being killed, abused or otherwise traumatized. If we are going to bring one more such life into the world, we have plenty already – why not try to take care of one of those.

The creation of life is a moral matter and requires serious moral examination, so ask yourself: Why have children?

The movie “The Impact of Global Warming” was a convincing portrayal of the numerous effects that Global warming can have on our planet. Even more, the movie demonstrates that some of the issues are already unfolding, ready to claim their victims. After investigating threatening phenomena from different corners of the world and raising the flags in Africa, Alaska, USA, Ethiopia and Bangladesh, the documentary grasps immediate attention and asks for solutions and alternatives.

Fishing is a central part not only of Alaska’s cultural background, but also of its economy. However, the movie reports that “the times of plenty seems to be over”, especially as far as salmon is concerned. A local fisherman shares with disappointment: “Big fat salmon is gone.” The temperature of the water has risen with 0,6^oC and while this may not seem a lot to us, it is significant for fish in certain regions. This causes the tradition to gradually fade and stands for the economic difficulties as there is reported decline in salmon catch by one tenth.

Still enjoying the beauty and wilderness of Alaska, the crew of this documentary cannot but show us that many areas of the forests are diseased because of the insect Spruce Beetle. Normally, the creature would be seen in much warmer areas, but now, because of the onset of global warming, it is eating Alaska’s forests. Besides, now the insects are capable of reproducing much faster because of the temperatures (which appear to be ultimate for its survival).

Next, the cameras’ focus moves to Montana, US – probably the most untouched and pristine region in the whole United States that is known for having many glaciers. However, many of the glaciers are now lost for good. A retrospect from the last 150 years reveals that about one half of the pure glaciers are now gone. Seeing fewer and fewer glaciers is easily explained by the higher average temperatures, especially in the summer season. Looking at the same photograph points, but in different time periods, one can see the huge ice masses gradually disappearing…A sad fact indeed.

Yet, it is not only the wilderness, but also the highly populated beaches and coastal areas that suffer the effects of global warming. Many areas are at risk of being

severely flooded. In case of a hurricane, the cities get easily under water. In addition to this, there is even more erosion and in more rapid rates. The documentary interviews people whose homes got flooded and almost destroyed. As the movie points out, trillions of dollars in real estate only are at risk, primarily because of the effects of global warming.

Afterward, the movie tells the story of Bangladesh, a highly populated area of mainly farmers and people who have no other place to go. The huge amounts of rainfalls and flooding only add more pain and misery to the life of the poor population that does not have the means to fight the hazards of nature. Of course, while the most highly developed nations are responsible for the emissions of C₂O in the atmosphere, it is the poor nations that have to pay for it first, with the highest of price – human life.

The movie, next, points out that global warming does not only have environmental impacts, but also affects our health, as well as the health of our children, who are the most vulnerable part of the human population. Nowadays we are witnessing an asthma epidemic that claims more and more victims and that seems to be related to pollution and higher amounts of C₂O in the atmosphere. In addition, global warming encourages very dangerous pests and bacteria to conquer more and more new territories. In this way, Etiopia was, quite recently, attacked by a Malaria epidemic. Such cases could be severe, considering that the local population does not have immunity for the disease and has hardly ever expected such an enemy to attack. This, the authors of the movie remind us, is not confined in Africa only, but is a general phenomenon.

The “Impact of Global warming” really makes us realize the fact that global warming is not only universal, but it is also all-inclusive. Just like a cancer on our planet, it affects each and every one of us and is quite capable of reaching every field of human activity and, therefore, should never be underestimated, ignored or denied as the burning issue and main challenge of our time.

Eight Millennium Development Goals cont…

Step Seven: Ensuring Environmental Sustainability

If there is one thing that we should not estimate in dollar value, it is our environment and natural resources that, by definition, are gifts from nature, but are vulnerable and exhaustible as well. Sadly, the World Bank making the equation “No coral reefs = No fish = No income”. Fish is also being attacked by many different enemies: the growing appetite of the growing population of the planet and the polluted water of the World Ocean. Near coral reefs one can see boys with missing limbs – the casualties of home-made bombs to catch fish. In this case, can we easily put our finger on who is the real victim, as fishing is vital in the poor regions of the world. The result of having our oceans polluted is not as simple as “No fish = No income”, because in addition to this, 3 million people die prematurely each year from water borne diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) also reports that 1 million people die, each year, from urban air pollution and respiratory infections; diarrhea and malaria cause almost 20% of the deaths in developing countries.

Environmental issues go hand in hand with producing and consuming energy, and the growing ‘power hunger’ of societies. As oil supplies are almost exhausted and the price of natural gas is increasing, we rely mainly on coal to satisfy our growing demands for energy. In general, coal-burning power plants consume 25 tons of coal each minute, having turbines that produce more than 3 000mega-watts of electric power and sending a vast ocean of steam into the atmosphere. Of course, significant amounts of damaging substances are emitted in the process, including sulfur dioxide (the main cause for acid rains) and mercury. Such plants supply The United States with half its electricity producing as much climate-warming carbon dioxide as America’s trucks, planes, cars and buses combined. Lester Lefkowitz, a journalist for the National Geographic, comments: “America’s taste for bigger houses, along with population growth in the West and air-conditioning-dependent Southeast, will help push up the U.S. appetite for power by a third over the next twenty years. And in the developing world, especially China, electricity needs will rise even faster as factories burgeon and hundreds of millions of people buy their first refrigerators and TVs. Much of that demand is likely to be met with coal (according to data from the Department of Energy).”

Global warming and the Green House Effect are already alarming issues and yet, of all fossil fuels, the most widely used – coal – produces the most carbon dioxide per unit of energy. The most obvious question one may ask is “Isn’t there a way to reduce the amount if C₂O emitted during the burning of coal?” Of course, scientists have already provided a solution for that problem. Julio Friedmann who studies carbon dioxide management at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory explains: “Right now, if you took a plant and slapped a carbon-capture device on it, you’d lose 25 percent of the energy. Needless to mention, few companies will be willing to reduce the amount of energy they produce and even fewer governments will encourage loosing sources of power in the name of Environmental sustainability. Steven Vick, the general manager of the Wabash power plant, in southwestern Indiana, claim to be “The cleanest coal-fired power plant in the world.” Vick explains the company is using a “technology that’s set up for total C₂O removal.” Basically, what this method does is inject carbon dioxide deep underground and seal it away from the atmosphere, so that it can no longer cause any harm. However, many scientists argue that this may still be an enormous threat for people , as we do not know enough about the effect of burying C₂O underground. Yet, William Rosenberg of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government says: “The fact that it’s proved in Indiana and Florida doesn’t mean executives are going to make a billion-dollar bet on it”. As to enforcing laws in order to preserve the environment, U.S. utilities are still allowed to freely emit as much carbon dioxide as they wish. I wonder how this lack of governmental participation is in accordance with The Eight Millennium Developmental Goals, under which The United States signed their approval? And still we have plenty of time to resolve this issue, as with today’s rates of consummation, we have enough amount of coal to last for the next 250 years. In the meantime, people, like journalist Lester Lefkowitz, will continue discussing “The Coal Paradox – We can’t live without it. But can we survive with it?” while owners of coal-burning power plants, like Angeline Protogore, say gratefully “This is why we’re making all the power” when entering their air-conditioned offices.

The more expensive nuclear reactors are the other main source of energy today, but it is also a most controversial issue that has been argued upon in the course of the last twenty years. More than twenty years ago, before dawn on April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl’s Nuclear Power Plant’s number four reactor exploded, becoming one of the most tragic accidents in human history. Thirty people died in the blast, among the fire flames or were exposed to lethal radiation. But this was only the beginning, because the fallout, 400 times more radioactive than the Hiroshima bomb, triggered an epidemic of thyroid cancer in adults and, especially, children. Normally, the disastrous accident also caused enormous economic losses for Ukraine. Although the families of the victims received compensations, no one can make up for the genetic and psychological damage that has been done and that still causes suffering.

People in Pripyat, the nearest to Chernobyl’s reactor town, were evacuated in the same day and given iodine pills, but the population of nearby Belarus did not receive pills for another week. Political agendas kept people from learning the truth about the explosion and the contamination of the region, so children were drinking milk from cows that have been eating the radioactive grass. That is why, the 230 “excessive” deaths in the 1990s from leukemia, other cancers and heart diseases are blamed upon the Chernobyl crisis. The radioactivity was so powerful, that even under the concrete-and-steel sarcophagus, the remnants of the reactor still hold a threat. One may argue that today we are better prepared to meet an accident of any kind accordingly. Many scientists argue that a “nuclear renaissance” will help preserve the environment while meeting our demands for electricity. Charles Petit, a journalist, reminds that members of the Congress support the idea of embracing the atom again. If we do so, and there is another accident, will the administration take all the responsibility? Will it give people iodine pills immediately, or will it wait for a week?

Being attracted by nuclear industry’s pros, many countries rush into building nuclear reactors. France already owes 78 percent of its energy due to nuclear power. India alone has 15 nuclear reactors already at work and eight more are under construction. Baldev Raj, director of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, clearly states his credo: “If you have a way to make electricity, then we say, make as much as you can.” Still, however, no one can advocate a worst case scenario.

The debate seems to be going in circles while global dimming and warming have never been that alarming.

The Eight Millennium Development Goals cont.

For many people The World AIDS Day is everyday

For some of us the World AIDS Day is on 1 December. For many, it is everyday. Since the Human Immunodeficiency Virus was first documented in 1981 it has claimed more than 20 million victims. Today, 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. 95% of these victims are peoples in developing countries, which only proves that socio-economic factors may catalyze the spreading of the virus. In the year 2005 only, 3 million people died from AIDS-related diseases. 14 000 more people are being infected by the virus every day and 6000 of them are younger than 25 years of age. Let us not forget, not even for a moment, that people having AIDS are not merely numbers extracted from the statistics, but people like us who had plans and goals, but now can only hope that they will not get a cold that may be mortal for their weakened immune system. Scientists have not yet developed effective cure for HIV/AIDS and existing medications are too expensive for many of the infected people. Not to mention, lack of education and medical prevention in developing countries often explains why people become infected so often and effective treatment can hardly take place before it is already too late.

Charles Saco from Kibera, Nairobi, used to be a teacher, but lost his job when it became clear that he was HIV-positive. People asked him “Charles – does your body shed scales? What sickness are you suffering from?” However, taking drugs saved Charles from the “death sentence” and now he is able to stand on his feet for hours, feeling stronger. The person who had plans for a teaching career is now happy that he found a job as a social worker – cleaning the rubbish in Kibera. Eventually, he even started working in an HIV clinic where he could help people who are suffering as he did.

The World Bank informs that HIV/AIDS is not only a health problem, but also a “developmental problem, threatening human welfare, socio-economic advances, productivity, social cohesion and even national security”. Obviously, it is important to put a price tag next to the lost lives and the lives to be saved. Talking prices, the United Nations estimated that between $40 and $70 billion additional assistance per year is going to be needed, if we are to ensure the help and medications infected patients in developing countries need.

The Eight Millennium development goals cont.

Step Four: Reducing Child Mortality

Parents, they say, are responsible for the survival of their babies. Parents teach us attachment, symbolize safety and the closest relationship there can be. Even from evolutionary perspective, one is interested in preserving his or her genes and transmitting them to the next generations. Thus, human beings, collectively, are supposed to care about their children and guarantee their survival in order to preserve our kind. The paradox is that we are able to analyze such complicated biological-psychological issues and we run social organizations that circulate billions of dollars around the world in order to grant children in need a life, and yet, the way almost everything else is degressing, gives little hope for the generations to come. Children, being the most vulnerable part of humanity are highly dependent upon the care they receive and the atmosphere they live in.

On one side, we fear that our children face a lot of daily stress, never to have been imagined before, and are forced to live up the enormous expectations we put on their brittle shoulders. Needless to say, children today are the victims of the 24/7 regime. On the other side, 2.3 million children under age of 15 are the victims of HIV/AIDS related disease. 12 million more lives of people at age from 15 to 24 are claimed by the deadly virus. Poor quality of life in countries like India turns malaria and diarrhea into mortal diseases. A fact we thought was changed for good after the Great Plague in England in 1665. On the contrary, more that 700 000 children under the age of 5 still die from diarrhea in India, alone.

Some people assume it is only uncivilized societies that do not care about a child’s life. Those of us who have heard about the abduction of children in Uganda and the ‘lost boys of Sudan’ view that as the monstrous act of savages that can be annihilated by the hand of civilization and progress.

In Uganda, child soldiers who managed to escape their captors are brought to a rehabilitation center in Gulu, where Anna Karih has photographed their life and spoken to one of the boys. The eighteen-years-old John (not his real name), is one of the ex-soldiers, who personally knows how difficult it is to integrate to the community again and try to lead a normal life. After he has been abducted twice, the boy realizes how much he has changed: Before I was abducted I was a happy school boy, I had five sisters and one brother.” Now John and many other boys are happy in the new Gusco center, where they take part in cleaning and cooking. The children also go to group sessions aiming to erase the memories of the abduction, when children watched their friends and siblings being tortured to death. When compared to such cases, our daily stress does not appear that frightening anymore. John considers himself very lucky to be still alive. He remembers how the rebels used to drag him along and beat him while discussing the best way to kill him. “I could only think about running away again. But now they didn’t trust me and they watched me all the time.” He believes his luck showed when he was shot in the hip during a battle, so that the rebels left him behind. This gave him his second chance to have a life, out of the nightmare of abduction.

These boys did not break a leg during a basketball play, they are soldiers shot during battle.

How do many civilized societies try to protect our children? We decide to make a difference by putting children in the army. Since the release of the eight Millennium Developmental goals, many countries got involved in the so called War against Terrorism, which many consider to be the prelude to a Third World War. There is hardly a military conflict in the history of men that did not rely on the vital energy of young people to fuel its operations. The Statistical Information Analysis Division of the Defense Manpower Data Center shows that for the last three years, when we were supposedly working to reduce child mortality, we have the greatest percentage of military deaths of people younger that 22, in The United States only.

The Eight Millennium Development Goals cont.

Step Two: Achieving universal primary education.

In most parts of Europe and America, education is taken for granted and, even worse, children often consider it a method adults have invented to torture them. And while getting education is considered the normal thing to do, one may go through college without fully appreciating how lucky he or she is. You hear college students say “I wonder what I’m still doing here! I can learn so much more in the real world, without writing papers and reading assignments.” Needless to say, that person does not have second thoughts about the millions of people who have never held a pen in their hand and cannot write their name or express themselves in an essay. Probably, we, the lucky ones, who got a diploma, are responsible for those who cannot write a letter to some social organization and cannot complain in writing to their government. Perhaps, education is supposed to help us better understand the suffering of these people. Perhaps, this is responsibility we have to admit and commit to. In complaining that the computer labs in one’s university are somewhat ‘out of date’ let us spare a thought for the people who will never have the chance to learn what a computer is and let us try to build some understanding. In the year 2001, 115 million children in developing countries were out of school. In sub-Saharan Africa only, the percent of children that do not receive education is 42%. Not surprisingly, children from poorer families are even less likely to ever go to school. This leaves us little place to wonder about what chances for success and progress these children have in this highly-competitive world.

In villages in Tanzania, children are suffering too heavy a burden to be concerned with writing homework assignments. From the age of 10, Joyce walked for about 10 hours every night in order to fetch water for her family’s needs, for the day to come. She leaves her village, Uhambingeto, at midnight and returns at about 10 a.m. on the following morning with her burden of 20 liters bucket of water (nearly 22 fluid quarts). Thus, Joyce covers more than 8000 km every year (about 4 970 miles). However, it is wrong to assume we are talking isolated cases. Villagers in Tanzania may not be representative for peoples all over the world, but they surely mean there is something wrong in the order established. The organization of the United Nations has addressed the same problem and has made schools in Tanzania a fact. A fact that gives children there a lot of joy and a way to escape the hard work of their days and feel a part of something greater than working on the fields, perhaps the only fact that will remind them they should have a childhood. At least Joyce’s children will be able to receive primary education.

Recently, in Venezuela, 1.2 million adults were the students of new schools that taught them how to read and write.

In many countries, Pakistan among them, children are important work force. The 14 year old Jabber is one of the child laborers in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city. His job is making construction blocks. The boy who gets up at seven in the morning and works from 8 a.m. until 7 in the evening shares “I don’t like school. I went there once, but never again.” Enduring the hard work all their lives, these adults-to-be have no happy memories of careless childhood, no hopes, or opportunities, but only a few hours of sleep until the next working day.

In yet another part of the globe, Romanian orphans complain they have “nothing to do”. The children explain: “We were not allowed out – and most of the time we were not even allowed to play. It was really boring because there was nothing to do. The staff used to beat us a lot. I think they liked it. Sometimes they would get drunk and then they would hit us really hard. We had a shower once a week, but the carers didn’t want to touch us, so we washed each other. Often we didn’t have any hair (it was shaven off periodically to avoid head lice).” And while this may sound as the horrific description of a concentration camp back in World War II, it is part of Today’s reality.

(Pictures: National Geographic Magazine)

The Eight Millennium Development Goals cont.

Step one: Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger.

A 15 year old dog is doing great! Many children in sub-Saharan Africa do not survive to be 15.

While extreme poverty is inconceivable for many parts of the world, reports of the United Nations show that it is the grotesque reality for more that 1 billion people, relying on less that $1 a day to meet their daily needs. In the same time, thoughts about “extreme poverty” are far, far away from the daily concerns of Liza Mobini, 29. The former cheer leader has her cell phone loading pictures of Gigi, her dog, dressed as a princess for Halloween and as an angel for Christmas. And while Gigi spends a “yappy hour” at a boutique, lack of food seriously threatens children’s physical and mental development in many corners of the world.

In this reality of growing socio-economic issues, many people in San Francisco have invented a way to escape boredom and feel useful in the same time by arranging massages for their dogs, worth $75 an hour and taking the cute furry creatures to acupuncturists. Liza confesses something about her favorite Gigi: “Honestly, she has a better wardrobe than I do”. Ambassadors of the goodwill associations confess in their reports that more than a quarter of children under age of 5 in developing countries are malnutritioned.

Recently, communities have discussed a particular point of Darwin’s theory – it appears that, in our reality, survival is not granted to the fittest, but, moreover, to the richest. The tendency is that rich people and countries are becoming even richer while “the very poor are getting pooper.” The latter is part of The United Nations’ report of 2005. Reports of the World Bank for 2005 show that 59 countries have low-income economies and 54 more have low-middle-income economies. 55 countries are said to have high-income economies. The important thing to point out is that 48 countries from sub-Saharan Africa and 8 from South Asia are not among the low-income economies, but are placed in a different category that stands for extreme poverty and total lack of functioning economy. Keeping the statistics in mind might prevent you from getting angry next time you see that your favorite CD or DVD has a huge scratch upon it. We are reminded every day that we need to spare our minds of negativism and that being angry adds a few wrinkles on the skin. And while people are preoccupied with such concerns, we are blinded for the more global picture. The paradox is that in a modern world of Globalization and concern for others, self-help books that teach us how to become our own best friend are best-sellers.

Humanity is waking up to unite and work for achieving a better future for all of us. In the year 2000 the organization of the United Nations came up with “The eight Millennium Developmental Goals” to guide us in out actions in the near future. This blueprint has been agreed to by the world’s leading developmental institutions and all countries. The target date of this Brave Project is the year 2015.

The eight Millennium Development Goals are:

1. To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.

2. To achieve universal primary education.

3. To promote gender equality and to empower women.

4. To reduce child mortality.

5. To improve maternal health.

6. To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

7. To ensure environmental sustainability.

8. To develop a global partnership for development.

Kofi Annan, the Secretary-general of the United Nation, prompted people that “we must start now. And we must more than double global development assistance over the next few years. Nothing less will help us achieve the Goals.” Nine years have passed since the goals have been clearly formulated. However, does it happen that we ask ourselves “How much did we achieve?” and “Where will we be in 2015?” The 2005 report of the United Nations states that poverty is falling and progress has been made against hunger. Also, efforts have been made to make sure that children in sub-Saharan Africa, Southern Asia and Oceania are receiving “a high-quality education”. The report reads “the gender gap is closing” and “death rates in children under age 5 are dropping”. Yet another thing we have to be extremely proud of is that “some progress has been made in reducing maternal deaths in developing countries, but not in the countries where giving birth is most risky.” As to Goal 6 in the plan for development, it is stated that yet “there is no cure for AIDS, and prevention efforts must be intensified in every region of the world if the target is to be reached.” In ensuring environmental sustainability we did not have huge success, as “most countries have committed to the principles of sustainable development. But this has not resulted in sufficient progress to reverse the loss of the world’s environmental resources. Achieving the goal will require greater attention”. The mere fact that there is “The United Nations Millennium Declaration” is enough to show we have already developed some global partnership that we can feel proud of. Nine years have passed, and all we have are vague statements that have only one message – we need not lose all hope yet, someone, out there, is working on those issues; someone out there probably cares, so that humanity may eventually face 2015 with pride – we have achieved the Millennium Development Goals.

After all, we have six more years until the onset of the target-date and, we all know, anything may happen in six years. Setting highly challenging goals for oneself is, undoubtedly, motivating, but when the subject of consideration is millions of people all over the world we need to be a little more realistic, rather than romantically-ambitious. Are our good intentions just another paradox in our times?

Let us track our progress…