This Is Happening

This Is Happening a glimpse into the 21st century

This Is Happening

This Is Happening a glimpse into the 21st century

design by: Mariana Herrera

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Introduction 7 Environment 9 Economy 19 Society 33 Conflict 55 Education 69

Introduction The first years of the 21st century have thus far been marked by the rise of a global economy and consumerism, mistrust in government, deepening global concern over terrorism and an increase in the power of private enterprise.

By illustrating quotes from contemporary politicians and other influential individuals, I aim to show different views and opinions in regards to topics of the environment, economy, society, conflict, and education in the 21st century. It is important to note this is just a small glimpse of the challenges society is facing in the present day and the content of the book does not represent my personal values or beliefs.

Envir

ronWhen populations were small and scattered, their impact was small. With 7 billion people, human activity has an impact on every inch of the world’s surface, every cubic inch of its air and water, and every species that lives on the earth, under the earth or in the sea.

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The shift to a cleaner energy economy won’t happen overnight, it will require tough choices along the way.

But the debate is settled. Climate change is a fact.

—Barack Obama

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Today we’re dumping 70 million tons of global warming pollution into the environment, and tomorrow we will dump more, and there is no effective worldwide response.

—Al Gore

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Before the 20th century, no human had lived through a doubling of the human population.But there are people alive today who have seen it triple.

—National Geographic

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The entire North Polar ice cap is disappearing before our very eyes. It’s been the size of the continental United States for the last 3 million years and now 40 percent is gone and the rest of it is going.

—Al Gore

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Econ

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For or decades, rapid economic growth has been the norm for developed countries.

An educated workforce, a large population boom, major technological advances, and abundant fossil fuels were the key components of growth, generating substantial and broadly distributed increases in standards of living in many countries. We have grown so used to such growth that we inevitably view it as a panacea for a host of economic ills, whether it’s a deep recession or income inequality.

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High levels of inequality are a problem—messing up economic incentives, tilting democracies in favor of powerful interests, and undercutting the ideal that all people are created equal.

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—Bill Gates

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Where globalization means, as it so often does, that the rich and powerful now have new means to further enrich and empower themselves at the cost of the poorer and weaker, we have a responsibility to protest in the name of universal freedom.

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—Nelson Mandela

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We have to choose between a global market driven only by calculations of short-term profit, and one which has a human face.

—Kofi Annan

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The market economy is very good at wealth creation but not perfect at all about wealth distribution.

—Jonathan Sacks

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They talk about the failure of socialism but where is the success of capitalism in Africa, Asia and Latin America?

—Fidel Castro

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Capitalism is against the things that we say we believe in— democracy, freedom of choice, fairness. It’s not about any of those things now. It’s about protecting the wealthy and legalizing greed.

—Michael Moore

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Soci

iety No society can develop without focusing on Respect for the rule of law and human rights.

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Yes, people pull the trigger - but guns are the instrument of death. Gun control is necessary, and delay means more death and horror.

—Eliot Spitzer

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The PC has improved the world in just about every area you can think of...New kinds of entertainment and social media. Access to information and the ability to give a voice people who would never have been heard.

—Bill Gates

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Illegal immigration is crisis for our country. It is an open door for drugs, criminals, and potential terrorists to enter our country.

It is straining our economy, adding costs to our judicial, healthcare, and education systems.

—Timothy Murphy

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Some 21st century cities are centres of rapid industrial grown and wealth creation, often accompanied by harmful waste and pollution. Others are characterised by stagnation, urban decay and rising social exclusion and intolerance.

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­—Ban Ki-moon

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Consuming marijuana is not a fundamental right that should be imposed on the states by the federal government... It’s a choice that states should be allowed to make based on their culture and their values.

—New York Times

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I think what you’re seeing is a profound recognition on the part of the American people that gays and lesbians and transgender persons

are our brothers, our sisters, our children, our friends, our coworkers, and that they’ve got to be treated like every other American.

—Barack Obama

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We told you this would happen, if gay marriage is legalized, then much chaos would follow.

—Bill O’Reilly

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I believe that the rights of women and girls is the unfinished business of the 21st century.

—Hillary Clinton

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More and more leaders around the world are joining the struggle. More and more individuals understand that any abuse of any woman is intolerable.

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—Asha-Rose Migiro

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Of the 20.9 million globally in forced labor, 4.5 million were sexually exploited and 14.2 million were exploited in industries such as construction and agriculture.

—International Labour Organization

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Con

nflict The tragic events of September 11, 2001 did not change everything, but they did emphatically punctuate the end of one era of war and awaken us to the dawning of a new one.

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Terrorism has once again shown it is prepared deliberately to stop at nothing in creating human victims...As never before, it is vital to unite forces of the entire world community against terror.

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—Vladimir Putin

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The real costs of the drug wars includes more than 55,000 Mexicans and tens of thousands of Central Americans killed by drug-fueled violence.

—New York Times

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World military spending has now risen to over $1.2 trillion. This incredible sum represents 2.5 per cent of the global gross domestic product.

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—Ban Ki-moon

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People understand that nuclear weapons cannot be used without indiscriminate effects on civilian populations. Such weapons have no legitimate place in our world.

Their elimination is both morally right and a practical necessity in protecting humanity.

—Ban Ki-moon

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Even today we raise our hand against our brother... We have perfected our weapons, our conscience has fallen asleep, and we have sharpened our ideas to justify ourselves as if it were normal we continue to sow destruction, pain, death.

—Pope Francis

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The number of people around the world forced by conflict to flee their homes has soared past 51 million, the highest number since World War II. —UN Refugee Agency

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Educ

caVast disparities still remain at higher levels of education, particularly in Africa and South Asia, drop-out rates remain high, and worldwide 126 million young people still lack basic reading and writing skills with women accounting for more than 60 per cent.

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In some parts of the world, students are going to school every day. It’s their normal life. But in other part of the world, we are starving for education... it’s like a precious gift.

It’s like a diamond.

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—Malala Yousafzai

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Here’s what racism in the 21st century looks like: An educational system that produces an achievement gap that leaves the average black high school graduate reading at the level of the average white eighth-grader.

—Third Set Perspectives

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215 million are in child labour as a matter of survival.

A world without child labour is possible with the right priorities and policies: quality education, opportunities for young people, decent work for parents, a basic social protection floor for all.

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—Juan Somavia

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Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen.

—New Internationalist Magazine

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