• Question: What do think is the next big challenge for mankind. For me before it was going into space so where to next for humanity? For me it is eradicating poverty and world hunger as we cannot advance as a whole as a species unless these things are gone.

    Asked by kangster to Lyn, Katy, Paul, PB, Ruth on 20 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Peter Balfe

      Peter Balfe answered on 20 Jun 2013:

      We are rapidly approaching a post-oil world and in the next 100 years energy shortages will become the single biggest challenge we face. It will be hard to feed the planet without tractors, it will be hard to travel without fuel.

      On the bright side, with luck by 2113 we’ll be reading about many of today’s infectious diseases in history books.

    • Photo: Katy Brown

      Katy Brown answered on 20 Jun 2013:

      I think the next big step would be to eradicate lots of common, dangerous but preventable diseases, using a combination of research into vaccines and treatments and education about prevention. Diseases have been eradicated before, for example a very serious disease called smallpox used to kill two million people every year, but due to vaccination it has not been seen at all since 1977. Another infectious disease, polio, which has caused paralysis and death for hundreds of years, is now close to elimination too.

    • Photo: Ee Lyn Lim

      Ee Lyn Lim answered on 21 Jun 2013:

      I think you are quite right, world hunger is a huge question mark hanging over our heads. If we keep producing food at the rate we are going, and we keep eating as much as we are eating, it will only be a few more decades before we simply won’t have enough food to feed everyone. Something quite fundamental will need to change about the way we produce and consume food, or we’ll be in big trouble before your grandchildren are born.

      But as Peter quite rightly said, the food question is linked to the energy question, which is another one we need to solve. My personal feeling is that nuclear power will be the energy source for the future, but there still needs to be a lot of improvements done before it can be used safely throughout the world.

    • Photo: Paul Waines

      Paul Waines answered on 25 Jun 2013:

      Finding an alternative to fossil fuels, on which we have become so dependent, is vital. Unfortunately I do not think that poverty and world hunger will ever be truly eradicated, but do believe that many diseases existing today will one day be cured.

Comments