Global Risks Report 2

1. Fragile Societies under Pressure
Question: How do economic inequality and climate change put pressure on society?
- "Widening income inequality is associated with lower and more fragile economic growth, which reduces the scope to meet rising social expectations in emerging markets." 
- "While inequality and unemployment contribute to social instability, social instability in turn impacts negatively on equality, employment and wealth creation. The multi-directional cause-and-effect relationship makes it harder to address the related risks."
- "Its expected impact on the ability to grow food and access water could prompt sudden and uncontrolled population migrations, putting additional pressure on receiving countries."

2. Growing Worries about Conflict
Question: How do geopolitical risks create other risks?
- "The risk of the failure of national governance and state collapse or crisis can increase in areas where current state boundaries do not necessarily reflect popular self-identification."

3. Economic Risks: Out of the spotlight? 
Question: What are the new risks rising in 2105?
- "The risks of a failure of a major financial mechanism or institution and fiscal crises are perceived as equally impactful and likely as in last year’s report, yet other risks, such as water crises, interstate conflict and the failure of climate-change adaptation, have taken centre stage."

4. Environment - High Concern, Little Progress
Question: How do environmental problems get worse in 2015?
- "Both water crises and failure of climate-change adaptation are also perceived as more likely and impactful than average."
- "Overfishing, deforestation and the inadequate management of sensitive ecosystems such as coral reefs are increasing the stress on food and water systems."

5. Technological: Back to the Future
Question: How do advantages of technology create new problems?
- "Analytics on large and disparate data sources can drive breakthrough insights but also raise questions about expectations of privacy and the fair and appropriate use of data about individuals. Security risks are also intensified. "
- "The feedback loops between risks and the fact that they are also driven by underlying trends raise their complexity and make it more difficult to control individual risks."

6. Preparedness at Regional Level is Different
Question: How are regions prepared to handle their problems?
- "High structural unemployment or underemployment is seen as the risk for which Europe is least prepared, followed by large-scale involuntary migration and profound social instability."
- "North America identifies failure/shortfall of critical infrastructure, large-scale cyber attacks and failure of climate-change adaptation as the three risks for which it is least prepared."
- "Sub-Saharan Africa is considered least prepared for infectious diseases and unemployment."
- "Many regions, including Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa, also include profound social instability among the risks they are least prepared for."
- "East Asia and the Pacific is perceived as least prepared for interstate conflict and failure of urban planning [and] man-made environmental catastrophes. "
- "Failure of urban planning is among the first three risks in East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South Asia."

Global Risks Report

We are living in a world full of risks. 3 infographics below suggest risks in different areas that we need to worried about. Impact is the size of effect, or "How damaging will it be?". Likehood is the probability, or "By how much chance will it happen?".

According to this infographic, the spread of infectious diseases increased in 2015; an example would be Ebola. Water and food are lacking. Social instability happens less frequently. Impact of failure of urban planning significantly decreases.

According to this infographic, catastrophes and extreme weather events strike less severely but more often. Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse need to be treated more seriously. Failure of adaptation happens more often.

According to this infographic, critical information infrastructure breakdown and cyber attack have become more critical problems in the modern society. Also, data fraud or theft happens more likely.

These 3 areas, even though they seem to be separated, are closely connected. Environmental problem and social problem are twisted together in a cycle: One is both cause and result of the other. The chaos in societal will spread into the Internet: some people use technology as a negative way to solve their social needs. 

For the reason stated above, environmental and social problems should be solved first. They are all real problems and need to be addressed. They need to be solved!

Motivation

Why am I even writing this? Why do I have to sign in and type these words until my finger muscles go fatigued when I just ditch this and go watch TV? What motivated me?

It's a long story (but not really). I am student of an international school. This blog is a portion of my social class and counted as a major grade that significantly determine whether I pass or fail. Now that is motivation!

I make myself look like a carefree student who come to class everyday just to sit in a corner and watch Youtube all day, right?

"That student" is "motivated" and probably struggling to get this blog out to save his grade. What is the nature of motivation anyway? "Motivation" is an external force or eternal force that causes people to behave in a certain way, such as getting a lazy student's butt on a chair and making him write a blog about motivation.

There are many theories about motivation, such as Maslow's Hierarchy Theory, Herzberg Theory, Alderfer's ERG Theory, etc. These theories are different, and each has its own flaws. However, in general, these theories state that motivation is generated from the desire of satisfaction and avoidance of punishment.

There are some exception to these theories. One of them is the ascetic's lifestyle of the monks. They keep the lower-order needs at minimum level and strive for higher-order needs.

There are issues around the world that can be analyzed based on the principles of motivation.

The first issue is ignorance. Understanding problems about the world is very important. However, having enough food is even more important. Take people in Africa for example: Because they are poor, they give their 100% effort to find food for survival, so there is no time left for "self-actualization". Who care about pollution if you have no food to eat? Who care about energy conservation if you have no water to drink? Solving for physical need, we solve the ignorance.

The second issue is war. People fight each other for reasons. No matter how beautiful people describe those reasons to be, those reasons are simple, food and power.  Rich nations start war for power and resources. Poor people stand up fight against the emperor for prosperity. If people have what they NEED, will war still happen? Yes, they fight for what they WANT. There is always motivation to start a war. Greed is unlimited.

The third issue is about motivation itself. When people have everything, they stay satisfied and don't work for better things. For example, money spoils children. Kids born in rich families have the tendency toward entertainment rather than education. They are easier to get spoiled than are poor kids. They are seduced and distracted by so many things. They lack motivation to become a better person. As a result, they end up in failure.The solution for this is self-motivation. Things around us always change, and we have no control. The only thing we can control is our mind. Mentally pushing ourselves forward is a great way to keep moving forward.

Motivation is both good and bad, depending on different situations. It is each person's jobs to suppress the bad motivation and enhance the good one. About the "Youtube" student, he probably needs to stay motivated. *Here comes the evil smile*

Pollution

Pollution is the presence of poisonous substance. There are many types of pollution. This blog will primarily focus on air, water, and light pollution.

Air pollution is the presence of solid and gas particles that are harmful to organisms inhabiting. Pollutants come from car, factories, and agriculture. Air pollution increases chance of health problems (such as lung and hearth diseases), foster global warming, depletes ozone layer, and destroying habitat. Solutions to air pollution may include use public transportation, emphasize clean energy sources, and conserve energy.

Water pollution is the presence of substances and objects that contaminate water bodies. Caused by sewage, industrial waste, and radioactive leakage, water pollution affects human health and the whole ecosystem. Water pollution can be eased by not dumping trash into water and using environment-friendly cleaning technology.

Light pollution is the presence of excessive or misdirected artificial light. Light pollution disrupts ecosystem, harms many species including human, and wastes energy. Light pollution can be reduced by using right amount of light at the right place and time, using energy efficient bulbs, and shielding lights properly.

Pollution is very serious and need to be solved!

Challenges in 21st Century

We're living in a world that is a lot better than the world of 50, 100, or 1000 years ago. Development of technologies, policies, perspective, etc. has changed our lives dramatically. It's "development", so our lives are supposed to be better, aren't they?

Well, we have less diseases, due to the development of medicine. Our lives are more convenient, due to the development of transportation, communication, etc. But, are our lives really better? The more we have, the more we are tired to. Everyday, we are worried about a lot of things. Money, family, relationship, respect, etc. You name it! Our internal selves is the same as those in 17th century, or even further in the past. We are scared of what we don't know, desirous of what we don't have, and worried of what we have. Every second, our mind is fully of thoughts, either positive or negative.

 So how can we free ourselves from those things? Can we just through everything and live in a forest like ancient people? Then we still have to worried about food, safety, etc.

Since there is always danger from the external environment, the answer is actually inside. MEDITATION. It's a way that we can refresh our mind from our problems.

Live a happy life!

Biodiversity

What is biodiversity? Let's analyze the word itself. "Bio" means life, creature, or organisms. "Diversity" means variety, or the state of being different. Together, "biodiversity" is the variety of life, or organisms.

The definition of "life" is quite vague and depends on different perspective. Through the lense of biology, "life" has these following characteristics:
- Organisms are composed of cells, the smallest units of life.
- Living organims have to use energy.
- Living organims can grow and reproduce.
- Living organims respond to stimuli and adapt to enviroment.

With these characteristics, organisms are divided into deeper levels (Genetic Biodiversity)
The first group is Prokaryotes (cells that do not have nucleus or membrane-bounded organelles). This group consists of 2 domains, Bacteria and Archea.
The second group is Eukaryotes (cells that have one or more nucleus and membrane-bounded organelles). This group has a domain called Eukarya.
Eukarya is further divided into smaller phyla based on biodiversity.
The first phylum is Fungi, consists of organisms such as molds, mushrooms, etc.
The second phylum is Plantae, consists of plants. Plantae is further divided into Bryophyte, Seedless Plants, Gymnosperm, and Angiosperm.
The third phylum is Animalia, including animals. Animalia is divided into Poferia, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Platyhelminthes, Annelida, Mollusca, Anthropoda, Nematoda, Echinodermata, and Chordata.
The fourth phylum is Protista, which is the trash bin of Taxonomy, home of organisms that do not belong to Fungi, Plantae, or Animalia.

Biodiversity does not just appear on Taxonomy but also appear based on geography. In different locations with different characteristics, there are different organisms living (Ecological Biodiversity). For example, in desert, animals (such as caracal, ostrich) and plants (such as cactus) have to develop physical charactistic to prevent water loss and survive in harsh dry conditions. Meanwhile, arctic animals (such as arctic wolf and polar bear) develop thick coat of skin and fur to fight against the coldness. This is called adaptation.

Biodiversity plays an important role in survival of organims, including humans. Like a chain of life, if one or many species extinct, other species, directly or indirectly dependent on those species, will be affected, throwing nature out of balance. For example, snakes eat rats. If humans kill all the snakes, rats will be allowed to reproduce without being eaten. Rats will eat other smaller organisms, forcing that those organisms to extinction.

Biodiversity is bio (life) itself!

G7

"Group of Seven" (G7) is a group of ministers and governors from economically advanced countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdoms, and United States.

G7 was originally G6 ("Group of Six). Founded in 1975, G6 consisted of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdoms, and United States. In 1976, Canada became the seventh member. Later, in 1998, under term of President Yeltsin, Russia joined the group, which changed into "Group of Eight" (G8). In 2014, because of the annexation of Crimea, Russia was forced to leave G8, which now becomes G7 again.

G7 functions following key principles of freedom and human rights, democracy and the rule of law, prosperity and sustainable development.

G7/G8 tries to solve problems of Africa (debt relief, humanitarian, and fighting malaria), climate (green energy - nuclear energy), Peace in Middle East, Counter-terrorism, Nonproliferation, Trading, Global Economy and Oil, etc.

Is G7/G8 even necessary? Should the world economy rely on strongest countries' economies? When specific countries leading the whole world, there will be unfairness, to some degree. Leaders will try to make their countries stronger and more stable. However, if no one leads the world economy, countries follow their own rules, there will be chaos. Putting pros and cons on scale, I, personally, prefer the presence of G7/G8.

There is information about China and India joining G7/G8. There are both good side and bad side. While developing countries joining G7/G8 will make G7/G8 decisions for objective, too many members will also cause controversy. 

Nuclear Energy

World energy need is getting serious right now. When widely used energy sources like coal or fossil fuel are no longer sustainable, people turn to another source - Nuclear energy.

Nuclear energy is the energy produced during nuclear fission or fusion, coming from uranium. 

Because of the characristics of nuclear energy production, no carbon dioxide is released, and a lot of energy is produced.

Nuclear energy production compared to other sources

However, there are always to sides of a coin. Nuclear energy production costs a lot of money. Uranium is very hard to find, also takes thousands years to return to neutral state. There are also known and unknown risks of radiation.

Let's take Japan for example. Nuclear plants provides a lot of energy for the country and reduces air pollution. However, in March 2011, following huge earthquake, a tsunami destroyed Fukushima Daiichi reactors. Harmful radioactive chemicals were released to environment. Area around reactors were seriously contaminated. Are the risks worth the benefits?

Personally, I think we should keep using conventional energy sources until technology provides a better way to store and process nuclear waste. It's a long run...

Clean Water

Humans, like any other living animals, have essential needs to survive. One of the most important needs is drinking water. How clean must be drinking water be? How clean must water be in order to be consumed safely by human? There is no definite solution for "clean water". Therefore, the only way to define "clean water" is by defining "unclean water".

"Unclean water" or polluted water is water that contains contaminants, including chemicals, particles, and bacteria. Polluted water is not safe for cooking, drinking, cleaning, bathing, and other daily uses. Polluted is not just simply dirty, but it is deadly. Polluted water does not only affect humans, but also harm other organism. First, polluted water poisons aquatic animals and terrestrial ones, including human, that drink polluted water. Once the smaller species at the base of the food chain are affected, the whole food chain is disrupted. Disruption with food will lead diseases in human eventually. Sooner or later, humans will become victims of our own actions.

We, intentionally or unintentionally, cause  water pollution and scarcity of clean water through sewage, septic tanks, waste dumping, underground and on-water leakage, industrial production, etc.

As a result of global warming, the need of clean water is critical. For example, a serious drought has been in California since 2011. Area of clean water has been decreasing significantly. (Photo) Beside trying to save water as much as possible  with regulation and police force, people in California are finding another supplies. They use a desalination facility to turn seawater into drinking water (Source).

However, desalination alone is not the solution because it is so expensive. There must be other long-term acts:
- Educate to change consumption and lifestyle.
- Recycle waste water appropriately.
- Improve irrigation and agricultural practices.
- Address pollution.

Save water. Save future.

Ocean Ecology

We, human, live on land. However, land is only about one third of the whole world surface area. The rest is water. There are more creature living on this world beside terrestrial ones. There is a part of the world that human do not fully understand. That part is marine ecosystem. 

Marine ecosystem include oceans,  salt marshes, intertidal zones, estuaries, lagoons, mangroves, coral reefs, the deep sea, and the sea floor. Discovered only 5% with human technology, marine ecosystem is the home of many known and unknown creatures, including plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria. It's "estimated" that there is about 1 million species. Oceans, like any water bodies, contribute greatly to climate change.

Humans get a lot of benefits from marine ecosystem, especially seas and oceans. The first and most obvious things are fish. Fisheries today provide about 16% of world's human dietary protein source. The second one is shipping and transporting. The third one is tourism. (Source: MarineBio) Together, all these things lead to economic development, with jobs, sales, salaries, etc. 

With that being said, humans, as always, are not every appreciative. We are destroying the marine ecosystem. We over-fish, not allowing resources to replenish. As fishing technology develops with nets and electricity, we are more destructive. 20,000 porpoises die in the nets of salmon fishermen in Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. (Source: YPTE). We pollute the water with oils and wastes. These poisons will contaminate the water and harm the marine organisms. There is also acid acidification created by carbon dioxide, which weakens shells of marine creature. 

This situation needs to be stopped. Here are what "some" people are trying to do: The Marine Conservation Institute tries to increase protected marine areas, some people try to encourage to stop using nets, some other try to clean up the oil mess with these methods, etc. Here are what you can do:
- Join and Support Organizations (Ex: WWF).
- Choose sustainable seafood (Here is a tool - Seafood Watch).
Respect the ocean!

 

Gender Equality

"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!"

- Maya Angelou

Gender equality, in the context of modern day, has never been stressed enough. Gender equality states that women and men have equal value and should be treated equally. "Equally", neither more or less.

Gender inequality has been a serious problem around the world, especially in Eastern countries. According to Gender Index Organization,

1. In 2007, 34% of Vietnamese women report experiencing at least one type of domestic violence in their lifetime.

2. Vietnam male/female sex ratio at birth in 2013 is 1.12. There are some abortion due to boy bias.

It is a long-existing tradition in Eastern countries that boy is better than girl. This "tradition" brings a lot of inequality to women. "Not publicly," they are usually treated as lower class, receive lower salary and less rights.

At a broad view, gender inequality affects the whole society.

1. In economy: gender inequality limits the amount of money women can get. 

2. In education: literacy rate is lower for women, which is not fair.

3. In politics: there are less women politicians, making politics somehow biased.

4. In society: women sometimes receive a lot of sexual harassment and stereotypes.

Women's potential not fully used, we can never improve society with limited perspective.

Is there any solution for gender inequality beside laws and media? Can women just stand up and say "We are equal!"? That's what feminist are doing. Is it affective? To some degree. However, there are corners that neither laws nor feminists can reach, the dark corner in every little family. There is currently no absolute solution except laws and promotion for inequality...

Smoking

"When it looks like I may live longer than five minutes, I'll drop cigarettes like a hot potato."

Patrick Swayze

Tobacco has a long history. Originating in America about 600 - 900 A.D., tobacco was spread by Europeans. At first, tobacco was used for religious and medical purposes. However, during 1600s, tobacco become cash crop in North America. The bloom of tobacco business took place around 1800s. 

What is actually a cigarette?
Cigarette is a small roll of tobacco, having different strength and taste depending on tobacco leaf. 

Cigarettesa are deadly dangerous.

1. At least 69 of 4,000 chemicals found in tobacco cause cancers.

2. Most common disease caused by cigarettes are respitory and cardiovascular diseases.

3. Smoking can effect other people around smokers (secondhand smoke).

4. Smoking costs more than just cigarette money.

If cirgarettes are so dangerous, why do people still smoke?

In cigarettes, there is a addictive substance called nicotine. When nicotine is absorbed in your bloodstream, it reaches your brain in 10 seconds, causing brain to release adrenaline and creating a buzz of energy. This buzz fades away very quickly, leaving your body tired. This feeling encourages you to smoke again. Since your body builds up nicotine tolerance, you will need to smoke more for the buzz.

What are the solutions?
1. If you are not a smoker, STAY AWAY FROM SMOKING FROM THE FIRST PLACE. "It is always better to prepare and prevent than it is to repair and repent."
2. If you are a smoker, you can follow these following steps: (Source: Live Strong)
- Setting the stage to quit: gradually prepare your mind (about 5 days) and clean your stuffs that have tobacco smell.
- Control cravings: either by medication or hynopsis.
- Prevent a relapse: exercise, meditate, hang out with friends, and throw away the idea of "just one cigarette only".

Domestic Violence

“Has he ever trapped you in a room and not let you out?Has he ever raised a fist as if he were going to hit you?Has he ever thrown an object that hit you or nearly did?Has he ever held you down or grabbed you to restrain you?Has he ever shoved, poked, or grabbed you?Has he ever threatened to hurt you?If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then we can stop wondering whether he’ll ever be violent; he already has been.”

― Lundy Bancroft

Does this poem sound familiar to you? Have you ever seen anyone acting like "he" in the poem? Have YOU ever acted like "he" in the poem?

Domestic violence has been serious problem for a long time. According to United States Department of Justice, domestic violence is "a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner." In simpler words, it is domestic violence when you see a family member harming another family member. Domestic violence can be either physical, sexual, economic, emotional, or psychological. 

What are effects of domestic violence? I don't know... What happen to your body when I hit you? Scratch, bruise, cut? What happen to your mind when I threaten you? Fear, depression? The effects of domestic violence are far beyond obvious! 

So why, why would a husband want to hurt his wife? Why would a parent want to hurt his/her own child? There are many factors. Internal factors include but do not limit to anger, low esteem, jealousy, and eagerness to control. External factors include but do not limit to stress, economic difficulty, illnesses.

How can YOU solve this problem? 

If you are the violent one, well, your only job is getting your **** together.

Unfortunately, it is not that simple if you are the victim. Since domestic violence occurs within a family, it is a sensitive topic to talk about. However, for your one good, you need to reach out for help, call authorized people and report your problems.

If you belong to lucky part of the world who don't have to deal with domestic violence directly, you should protect the victim, and organize a good community to prevent domestic violence in the first place.

“Never let a man put his hands on you without your permission.” 

― Melda Beaty 

Orphanage Visit

It's a blessing to be able to help others. We, the members of 21 Issues Class, fortunately had that blessing. On Saturday, the eighth day of February, we visited 2 orphanages and 3 old people's home.
Of course, nothing can be done without preparation. Getting the donation is an first essential step. The process started at the beginning of term 2, which was about November. We had small calls instead of one big call. Firstly, we called for money donation competition between houses. The rule was donating for the LOSING house. So, with the aggressive competitive nature, members of houses donated a lot to the house they hated. It was a slightly evil plan, but for greater purposes. The second call was for food, for example, canned food.
After getting donation, we needed to contact the local organization. We contacted some places and asked for some helps (especially from Ms. Van Anh). Finally, we ended up with a list of 5 places.
8:00 AM, Saturday, 8 February 2015, I arrived at school. Mr. and Mrs. Swanson had already been there with some students. We started loading food on the waiting school bus. I hated morning hard work, but it was for greater purposes.
We drove to the first Orphanage on Hai Ba Trung Street - Thao Dan Orphanage. The kids were really friendly. They were probably used to visits like this. We sang, danced, and played games. In the second orphanage, we had a chance to see the kids' sleeping place. The twisting stair leading to sleeping place had very high steps. I wondered how little kids could use it. Probably they had to. There were hard metal beds with only wooden mats covering and some pillows. The kids had to get used to that harsh conditions, too. I felt lucky...
We then visited one old women's house, if her house can be classified as "a house". There was no door or wall. Sticks were held to stand the tole cover. I couldn't fit the "house": it was about 1m50 high. There was a small TV, and some fundamental pieces of equipment.
Then we visited other houses, but I didn't went inside because the houses were too small. It wasn't necessary, either.
After the visit, something inside me changed, something small and subtle. Without know what it is, I know it was there...

Energy and Environment

Twenty-first century is the era of energy wars. People are fighting for energy supplies. Oil and natural gas are top concerns, origins of many human conflicts. However, energy create not only conflicts, but also environmental problems. We are fighting to get things that give us instant wealth and gradual death. 

Oil and natural gas are classified as nonrenewable energy resources. These are widely exploited and used because they are CHEAP and ACCESSIBLE. However, the name explains itself: nonrenewable energy resources cannot be replaced, therefore have limited amounts. For example, remaining oil can be used in 50 years, and natural gas can last only for 75 years. Someday, when nonrenewable energy resources are deplete, we may die in the darkness. Moreover, the use of nonrenewable energy releases harmful atmospheric pollutants (greenhouse gas) and dangerous chemicals (nuclear power byproducts) to environment. Nonrenewable energy resources are both life-saving and life-stealing. 

So, is there a better alternative? 

Renewable energy resources are resources that can replenish quickly and be able to used again. Some common ones are sunlight, wind, and hydroelectic power. Sun gives us energy as light. Eventually, sun will burn out, but it will take about 6 billion years (UniverseToday), a very long time. Wind is used as a source of kinetic energy to turn the turbines, produce electricity. Hydroelectic power dam uses the same princible. Thesefriendly resources seem to be the permenant for both energy wars and environmentals problems. However, these resources have one disadvantage. Although most of them are free, building infrastructure to use them COST A LOT. Buying a solar panel system is quite expensive to some people. Although they will save money in the future, not many people can afford such a huge amount of money at one time. Building wind turbines and hydroeletic dam is expensive. Therefore, these resources are not widely in use.

If we cannot afford the infrastucture for renewable energy, how can we save nonrenewable energy until we find a better solution? Here are some simple tips:

- Unplug seldom-used appliances.

- Turn off computer instead of sleep if possible.

- Turn off light when going out.

- Use compact fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs. 

Near Earth objects

Imagine: One day, you are happily walking on a street, and the last thing you see is the sky getting dark. Why do you die?
Probably, there things above your head that can kill you. Those things are called "Near Earth Objects".

"Near Earth Objects. Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are comets and asteroids that have been nudged by the gravitational attraction of nearby planets into orbits that allow them to enter the Earth's neighborhood."

NASA

According to "Earth Impact Effects Program", an 7-meter-diameter asteroid can hit the Earth with energy of Little Boy, an atomic bomb dropped during Word War 2. NEOs hit the Earth everyday. However, since most of asteroids are not really big, they get broken during their way.

-Why should we care about it? 

-None of us will survive if struck by a NEO that is large enough to pass through the atmosphere.

- Why should we care, since we can do nothing because NEOs are far away from our reach and too many to destroy?

- Well, there is always something you can do. First, pray. In case praying doesn't work, there is a temporary solution. Spacecrafts can be sent to calculate and deflect the path of NEOs. However, there is no permanent solution. We are safe, for now.

"It’s simply a question of when, not if, a NEO collides with the Earth."

Professor Monica Grady

Racism

What define people? Their actions or their skin colors?

Racism is the belief that one race is superior to another race. Where does this belief come from?
Xenophobia is one natural factor. People are afraid of who are different from them (different skin or hair color for example).
Another factor is the history of colonization. For instance, Africans used to be colonized by Europeans. Although black people have gained their freedom, the "idea" of colonizing is still around in modern world as an excuse for white people to classify themselves as "superior species".
The racial "stereotypes" have horrible effects.

"Racism can have a lot of effects on a victim. Victims can become angry, bitter or violent. It can destroy a person’s self esteem. It can destroy communities and creates divisions within society."

Catholicism and Racism

 

If you are a victim of racism
What you SHOULD do:
1. You can report that to someone who has authority because racism is not legal in modern world.
2. You can stay calm and relaxed.
3. You can ignore them because the more angry you are, the more happy racist will be.
What you SHOULD NOT do:
1. Get angry and pay back.
2. Get depressed.