Grand Challenges

All the biggest challenges of our time are transnational: mass migration, growing wealth inequality, [inflation,] the onset of ecological Armageddon. It's arguable that the politics of the nation state have become at best irrelevant, and at worst a hindrance, to tackling such global challenges. The outlook is grim. Democracy and Truth, A Short History: Sophia Rosenfeld

as we stumble into the Anthropocene we are failing to deal with grand challenges.

Our most challenging problems are trans-national. National governments can’t deal with them alone. Without collective action the future doesn’t look good.

Nations, particularly powerful right wing ones, close and fortify borders to stop migration, keep migrants in hostile environments, build up weapons of mass destruction, and threaten civilization ending war. Right wing government - self-serving, corrupt, lawless, religious, misinformed, incompetent, the primary cause of great wars. Examples: Putin, Netenyahu, Hitler, other 'heroic' conquerors. They are armed and hard to remove.

NATO, a mutual defense agreement, is protection against rogue, invasive States.

Population is devouring the earth. Self serving religions suppress discussion of the problem and want to force it to increase. Religion preaches science denial, misinformation, indoctrination, conspiracies, discrimination, and regularly results in violent extremism, terrorism as seen on 9/11 or on abortion clinics.

Global migration will be unstoppable as growing parts of the planet become too hot to be inhabitable, rising sea levels flood major coastal cities, wars continue.

To regulate the economy, international institutions are a must because some corporations are larger and more powerful than many countries. Unconstrained capitalism leads to extreme wealth disparities, authoritarianism, and political turmoil.

Extreme Poverty is a consequence of extreme wealth disparities. Capitalism naturally misallocates, produces oligarchs, leaving many without the basics.

"...Systemic risk in the financial system can be remedied by the taxpayer, but no one will come to the rescue if the environment is destroyed. That it must be destroyed is close to an institutional imperative.” Noam Chomsky

Fossil fuel addiction boosting CO2 must continue in order to feed 10 billion people. Global warming is inevitable as CO2 exceeds safe levels.

Storms will be more destructive and more costly.

Forest destruction, uncontrollable fires are destroying carbon sinks.

Water shortages result from groundwater depletion, disappearance of glaciers.

Desertification will destroy formerly fertile cropland resulting in food shortages.

Damage to ocean life will further reduce edible fish. Acidification and warming will reduce coral reefs and shell fish. Rising sea levels will flood coastal cities.

Expanding cities will consume farmland and forests. Shanty Towns will house many of the displaced.

Famine will be exacerbated by crop loss.

Global migration will be unstoppable as growing parts of the planet become too hot to be habitable, rising sea levels flood major coastal cities.

Pandemics become more frequent as dread diseases migrate. Bioweapons could do us in.

Runaway technology, AI, autonomous weapons, other experiments will pose risks to humanity.

Right wing government protects the status quo, obstructs solutions at all levels. Inability to change locked-in culture may bring a New Dark Age.

Environment collapse appears inevitable.