Global Solutions

Global challenges need global solutions and global citizens to bring them about. The environmental movement has been in existence for decades, and many people have been working in NGOs and at all levels of government and society on global issues, Even so, over time, the scale of challenges facing the world has continued to grow and the situation has fundamentally grown worse in most areas, such as loss of habitat, biodiversity loss, pollution, climate change, income inequality, the unsustainable use of natural resources, etc. The need has grown for action on these issues which is no constrained by short-term thinking or the limited self-interest of an individual, company, or nation.

We are all born into a specific culture context. As we grow up, we are immersed in the world views, beliefs, attitudes and expectations of this culture. The two fundamental categories for a culture are traditional and modern. Modern cultures feature a secular government, a secular education, multiculturalism, and representative government. If we are to fundamentally transform the world to a just and sustainable model, it's important to understand the cultural and political context in which most of humanity has to operate.

Gods and Demons examines the use of the world's resources. The Agricultural Revolution and Industrial Revolution increased human productivity to previously unimaginable levels. This was the foundation of progress in the quality of life for hundreds of millions of people. It is also the basis of a lot of the liberties enjoyed by a large percentage of the human population on Earth. But it's also led to a staggering increase in the use of the world's resources and the destruction of the environment. The consumption of the Earth's resources is also very unequal, with the developed nations consuming the vast majority of the resources. The Gods and Demons podcast examines these critical issues and examines the proposition that the underlying economic paradigm that created this situation needs fundamental reform or the creation of a new paradigm.

In Module 2 we look at the state of the planet and our relationship to the natural world. We consider critical issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, soil erosion etc, and examine how our lifestyles and the current practices of major industries are undermining the health of the planet and creating a worsening situation for future generations. As part of this investigation, we will also look at organizations attemtping to address these issue and build a sustainable future for humanity.

In Module 1 of the Global Solutions course we take a look at the state of the world. This is to give a sense of where we are in relation to progress with what all humans want: enough to eat, a place to live, a job, good health, security, the opportunity for self improvement and development, and respect of basic human rights. 

How many in the world have all of these basic requirements to lead a good life? How many do not? And what does it cost the planet to provide? Can all humans attain these basic necessities? Can the planet support this? Are the world’s resources shared in a fair manner? These are some of the questions we will examine.