Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
active involvement of
all
scientists in these matters, championing the process of ro-
bust scientific study. All scientists should be urged to contribute to raising levels of
public knowledge on these threats to civilization, and engage in a massive education
effort to popularize the principles in this Memorandum.
We know what need to be done. We cannot wait until it is too late.
We cannot wait until what we value most is lost.
What is stated in this Memorandum is extremely important and worth paying great
attention to by all.
4
Dilemma of Living in a Partially-Globalized World
Although we have witnessed the globalization of human society during the last few
decades, the process is only half complete, and because of this, we are suffering
from the consequences. Owing to highly-developed transportation and communi-
cation technologies, our world is relatively shrunken than it once was, and it ap-
pears that the concept of global village is slowly taking root as a number of human
activities, most notably in the economic sphere, become globalized. The spread of
disease around the world is another example. With thousands of airplanes daily
crossing oceans and continents, loaded with people and goods, disease causing bac-
teria, viruses, and other microbes certainly will not be confined to specific loca-
tions. Similarly, environmental problems such as the depletion of the ozone layer
by chlorofluorocarbons, and global warming trends caused by greenhouse gases,
are problems that must be addressed on a global scale. On the other hand, in spite
of the increased international collaboration in the areas of science and technology,
high-tech based economic competition is still largely carried out on a national basis.
Currently, in the partially globalized world, it is quite clear that only those people
who are able to stage their activities on a global scale are benefiting enormously.
For that reason it is not surprising that we will have to tackle such problems as the
widening gap between rich and poor, both among countries and people in a country,
nor that threats to solve problems by military force have not disappeared. These
problems might be avoided if the entire world were to become “one community”.
We should also realize that, though the globalization of the world economy is
driving us toward a borderless society, it will not reduce the differences among
peoples in various regions overnight. The establishment of a new, common global
culture, together with more effective ways of communicating among all peoples,
will certainly take time. The differences among cultural heritages, languages, and
religions that make this world so rich and colorful will not, and should not, be made
to disappear. As the world shrinks in relative terms, and contact between peoples
becomes more frequent, whether or not the difference in civilization are likely to
cause an inevitable crash (as suggested by the well-known scholar Huntington),
would seem to be entirely dependent on how well people around the world learn
to communicate and to understand, appreciate, and respect cultural heritage. To
