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EMILIO AGUINALDO COLLEGE - MANILA

Worksheet #1

Moran, Ma. Victoria Maxime

Pasilona, Darrianne Messier

12 HUMSS 2

Submitted to: Miss Aida Quilapio

A.Y. 2023 - 2024

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In his blog, “JAMES MARTIN: The Meaning of the 21st Century.” Dr James Martin
(2014) has listed the following mega problems. According to him, these problems are
multinational. All countries participate, to varying degrees, in causing most of the problems.
None of these could be solved by one country, all countries should participate in addressing the
problems.

Directions: Read the mega problems listed and figure out if those are really happening. Rate
those according to the following range: 5 as most likely to happen and 1 as not likely to happen.
Then, answer the questions in Exercise 1. Share your answer with your seatmate.

1. Global warming results in severe climate change. It will upset the basic control
mechanisms of planet Earth. (5)
2. Excessive population growth results in 8.9 billion people, with an overwhelming demand
for consumer goods and carbon – based energy, more than what the mother earth can
contain. (5)
3. Water shortages. Farmers will not have the water essential for food growing. There will
be chaos over water. (4)
4. Destruction of life in the oceans (5)
5. Mass famine in ill – organized countries result in the high cost of grains which harms the
Third world (4)
6. The spread of desert soil is being eroded. Barren lands are spreading in areas that used
to have good soil and grassland. (3)
7. Infectious pandemics could spread at unstoppable rates, as they have in the past, but
now with the capability to kill enormous numbers of people. (2)
8. Extreme poverty. Two to three billion people live in extreme poverty, with lack of
sanitation. (5)
9. Growth of shanty cities with extreme violence and poverty are growing in many parts of
the world. (4)
10. Unstoppable global migrations (4)
11. Non – state actors with extreme weapons. Nuclear or biological weapons are becoming
easier to build by terrorist organizations, political groups or individuals who are not acting
for a given state. (2)
12. Violent religious extremism results in large number of suicide terrorists, and religious war
between Muslims and Christians. (4)
13. Runaway computer intelligence results in machines becoming more intelligent at
electronic speed. (5)
14. War that could end civilization results in today’s vast number of nuclear weapons and
new biological weapons which could end civilization. (3)

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15. Risk to homo sapiens existence led to wiping out homo sapiens. The combination of
risks gives a relatively high probability of not surviving the century. (2)
16. New Dark age turns to intolerable poverty and outrageous wealth, starvation, mass
terrorism with nuclear/biological weapons, world war, deliberate pandemics and religious
insanity may espouse the worldwide pattern of unending hatred and violence. (3)

BY PAIR ACTIVITY: Answer the following questions:

1. In the list of mega problems, which do you think are most likely to happen? Which are
not?

Answer:

Considering the aforementioned list of mega problems, although all of it are several
significant challenges that needs attention to be addressed, the problems that are most likely to
occur are disastrous climate change caused by global warming, excessive population growth,
destruction of life in the oceans, extreme poverty with lack of sanitation, and the overflowing
computer intelligence. Prioritizing these issues and creating feasible solutions are essential to
reducing their effects and stopping them from getting out of hand and guaranteeing a
sustainable and just future for all particularly the issue of excessive population growth as it is a
factor in contributing to the widespread issues like poverty due to the increased consumption of
resources and some economic impacts. Overall, these mega problems require immediate
attention on both a personal and a global scale for the reason that if it continues to be ignored,
and knowing that it is already a very long term issue, these could potentially have a catastrophic
impact on both our planet and lifestyle.

Based on our evaluation of the list of mega problems, we believe that all of these 16
scenarios are plausible and could potentially become unavoidable in the absence of societal
awareness and the right information. On the other hand, the ‘Nuclear or biological weapons are
becoming easier to build by terrorist organizations, political groups or individuals who are not
acting for a given state,’ and ‘infectious pandemics could spread at unstoppable rates, as they
have in the past, but now with the capability to kill enormous numbers of people,’ are the mega

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problems that we consider that are not most likely to happen in the present or near future.
Starting with nuclear weapons, it is actually prohibited to use this according to the The Treaty on
the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Additionally, there is a Mutual assured destruction
(MAD) in the usage of nuclear weapons wherein if a country agrees to attack the opposing
party, the opposing side shall also attack them, hence, it would cause them both a complete
annihilation. Moreover, in infectious diseases, we believe that in this day and age, our society
has advanced to the point that these infectious diseases have already been studied for the past
years by various institutions or scientists, and it could easily be tracked or prevented.

2. What are the possible consequences if those will happen?

Answer:

The possible consequence if global warming occurs, specially in climate change, is that
this not only affects the way of living of the people but also the nature itself, the nature who
gives us daily needs in our lives. It might also affect the resources that a basic need for us to
live such as water and plants. This also affects the lives of every animal especially in the wild.
Extreme weather can cause high floods, landslides, more severe storms and it might destroy
the homes in the community. This does not harm the animal and human beings but also the
biodiversity of the Earth.

The positive outcomes for excessive population growth is the lack of ability to provide and
the limited resources that we have and also it could lead into poverty and child labor due to lack
of education and the accessibility of facilities, school as an example. This may lead to
overexploitation and possible shortages of basic needs. The pollution in terms of millions of
transportation overcrowded traffics and energy consumption.

Once the destruction of life in the ocean occurs it is a threat for us for not having enough
resources and also the habitat of the creature under the sea. It is also a threat for living
creatures that may disrupt their food chain. If nature has a significant importance in our life that

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gives us fresh air, the sea has a vital role in our life also, this is where we find food that is
healthy in protein. This is not only a threat for other animals but also a threat for fishermans who
will be more affected, where they get their income to sustain and provide for their family.

The possible result for extreme poverty with lack of sanitation is being prone to disease
or sickness, it id a possible threat for a community, this may also a burden for attending in class
due to an illness or disease of an individual, it hinders the educational nor work attainment that
limits the economical growth of the society. In addition, destruction of the natural environment
brought on by resource contamination. Not having a knowledge what is the proper way of
sanitizing may also be due to lack of access in healthcare facilities and school.

We can't deny the fact that computer intelligence is one of the problems that hinders our
own creativity. Therefore, computer intelligence has an advantage and disadvantage, although
computer intelligence makes our life easier and convenient for us, there are a lot of
disadvantages. It can be a threat for replacing a job worker that the computer intelligence can
do too, it is more prone to misinformation, grooming for minors and blackmailing or invading a
security of a user or someone's data privacy. In terms of school, there are students who rely on
artificial intelligence rather than their own idea, this leads to being over used and not knowing
where and when is the right time to use it.

Altogether considering the 5 mega problems we rate, analyze and choose there are the

issues that are possible to happen, this can be a menace in our society that affects every

individual, living creatures and our environment. It has a significant impact that can change our

lives. The global warming that affects our Earth, the excessive population that leads to poverty,

the destruction of life in the ocean that limits our resources in food, the extreme poverty with

lack of sanitation that impacts our physical and mental health and the computer intelligence that

hinders our creativity these ar eall connected, that has a possible consequence whether it is a

bad or good outcome.

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3. Why do you think those would happen?

Answer:

The 16 listed mega problems imply that they all have consequences which can entail
serious threats not only on the earth, but most importantly in our lives as an existing individual
here. If we, humans, only prioritize gaining knowledge and have social awareness, maybe we
could lessen these issues by starting with reflecting on ourselves, mainly actions because these
mega problems did not come from nothing, it started with us, so we are also the one to end this.
There are several potential causes for these issues to arise.

Starting with global warming, the severe changes in temperatures right now are mainly
because of human activities which includes burning of fossil fuels and releasing large amounts
of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere which is the reason for the slowly melting of glaciers
which causes sea level rise. It is also most likely to happen because these human activities are
still ongoing and the government still has no alternative solutions and most countries heavily
rely on fossil fuels.

Secondly, the excessive growth of population is an economic societal problem wherein it

is already happening due to the fact that most people living in marginalized areas are shifting in
the centralized areas to support and provide for them or their families. Also, one of the existing
societal issues under this one is the lack of sex education for young adults or teenagers who
became a young parent.

Thirdly, the destruction of life in the oceans, first of all, this issue is very prevalent as
most Filipinos or other countries are heavily reliant on fishing as their main source of income,
however, nothing is wrong with this as this is a part of the food cycle. Also, global warming
which leads to severe climate change and the destruction of life in the ocean is highly
interconnected along with the pollution as it affects one another.

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Next is extreme poverty with lack of sanitation which is highly connected as well to the
excessive growth of population. This has a high chance of arising especially in the Philippines,
since there is something lacking in the government which causes Filipinos to have scarcity in
terms of their basic needs, particularly houses or any infrastructure, the reason why a lot of
squatter areas are also being built inside the country. Additionally, there are little to no health
services that could actually help these people in improving their lives and most importantly, their
lack of access to education is what contributes the most for this issue to arise.

Lastly, the rise of computer intelligence producing machines that are high-tech and too
advanced is already prevalent in the country as the rates of plagiarism, cybersecurity,
blackmailing, online security, scamming, and many more issues under these goes higher day by
day. However, on the positive side, it helps people to connect with one another or at helps us as
this mega problem is more convenient in our generation knowing that we are already in the
information or digital age. But most people usually abuse this kind of machine to the fact that
they are more dependent on it and one of the most perfect examples of this is a broadcaster
being replaced by a computer generated broadcaster which also means that it poses threats for
the opportunities in our fellow citizens.

In conclusion, the 16 megaproblems on the list have important ramifications that

seriously jeopardize human life as well as the ecosystem. These problems are not new; rather,
they are the result of human behavior. The issues of extreme poverty with poor sanitation,
excessive population increase, marine life loss, global warming, and the development of
computer intelligence creating machines are interrelated and urgently need to be addressed. To
decrease these problems, people must place a high priority on learning new things and being
more socially conscious. In order to avoid early pregnancies, governments must also develop
alternative measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions, improve access to basic necessities,
and regulate the use of new technologies. As the consequences of not doing anything might be
catastrophic for future generations, we should already take the first steps and create an action
as this won’t only benefit them, but also ourselves.

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