The top, real, major threats facing humanity, this year

Only completely verifiable situations that can be seen to be happening now, can make it onto this list. Therefore there is no need for links to any of the situations discussed.

1. Severe weather:

If you believe in global warming / climate change or not, it doesn't matter because severe weather is happening and it is continuing. Severe flooding worldwide and drought in the USA, two typhoons hit China recently, Atlantic hurricane season has started and so has El Nino.

This weather is causing food shortages and food price rises, it also displaces billions of people from their homes and effects everything from industry to infrastructure.

2. The Syria situation:

Another fast changing and evolving dangerous situation which has to come to a head sometime soon. With the peace mission in tatters after the resignation of Kofi Annan and a rise in violence on the ground in Syria, the US is offering the opposition rebels money and food and possibly more.

Will China and Russia help Assad's government forces or will they let another regime change happen in the middle east weakening their position in the region. I don't think the west will tolerate the Syrian government forces getting the upper hand since they have said often enough that Assad's regime is over.

3. Global financial crisis

I'm not really an economics expert but I don't think it takes an expert to see that we are in big trouble here. Even if the whole system doesn't crash this year I can't really see it getting any better.

4. Iran nuclear weapons

With all the threats to attack Iran made by Israel lately its looking like something will actually happen soon. The new sanctions applied to Iranian and Chinese banking connections recently will really start to strangle Iran's financial sector and that will hurt ordinary Iranian citizens.

The big worry here again is that it becomes a wider conflict, either the US gets involved because Iran tries to block shipping in the strait of Hormuz or Iran drops missiles on all the American bases in the region.


These are the main ones I can think of. Please feel free to add more if you think the events fit the criteria and also feel free to comment on what I have written so far.

Do you think my own situations fit the criteria as top, major threats facing humanity this year?

Originally posted by R6A6W6
Only completely verifiable situations that can be seen to be happening now, can make it onto this list. Therefore there is no need for links to any of the situations discussed.

1. Severe weather:

If you believe in global warming / climate change or not, it doesn't matter because severe weather is happening and it is continuing. Severe flooding worldwide and drought in the USA, two typhoons hit China recently, Atlantic hurricane season has started and so has El Nino.


This weather is causing food shortages and food price rises, it also displaces billions of people from their homes and effects everything from industry to infrastructure.

severe weather has been happening since the beginning of time. Why is it now becoming a bigger problem then before? Could the fact that we have more information at hand on every single event that occurs be a factor? Maybe this has been happening all along....

2. The Syria situation:

Another fast changing and evolving dangerous situation which has to come to a head sometime soon. With the peace mission in tatters after the resignation of Kofi Annan and a rise in violence on the ground in Syria, the US is offering the opposition rebels money and food and possibly more.

Will China and Russia help Assad's government forces or will they let another regime change happen in the middle east weakening their position in the region. I don't think the west will tolerate the Syrian government forces getting the upper hand since they have said often enough that Assad's regime is over.

This is one situation which could change a few things on the world scene. Everything you have said is spot on and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

3. Global financial crisis

I'm not really an economics expert but I don't think it takes an expert to see that we are in big trouble here. Even if the whole system doesn't crash this year I can't really see it getting any better.

This one - I hope it crashes simply because the world needs it. That is my point of view anyway..

4. Iran nuclear weapons

With all the threats to attack Iran made by Israel lately its looking like something will actually happen soon. The new sanctions applied to Iranian and Chinese banking connections recently will really start to strangle Iran's financial sector and that will hurt ordinary Iranian citizens.

The big worry here again is that it becomes a wider conflict, either the US gets involved because Iran tries to block shipping in the strait of Hormuz or Iran drops missiles on all the American bases in the region.

Even though iran are not developing nuclear weapons, this is very similar to the Syria situation and again it will be interesting to see how things pan out in the coming months. This point you make could possibly be the most important and the most deadliest if anything comes of it..

These are the main ones I can think of. Please feel free to add more if you think the events fit the criteria and also feel free to comment on what I have written so far.

Do you think my own situations fit the criteria as top, major threats facing humanity this year?

I think the conflict in the middle east outweigh's the other two you have pointed out. Even though the financial crisis is a bummer to investors etc, all out war would certainly make things across the world a lot worse. The extreme weather is a tough one. I think maybe sometimes we look to much into it because the truth is there is always going to be natural disasters and they are very unpredictable of when they will strike.

But I guess we will see down the track... Thanks for pointing these out. S/F

The one I'm prepared for is a huge long lasting blackout...numerous ways it could happen but I'm ready...

reply to post by DarknStormy


I think the weather effects us more today than it did in the past because we now have 7 billion people to feed and house. Those 7 billion also live mostly packed together tightly in dense coastal cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York.

Like the recent floods in Beijing, they would have bought the whole city to a standstill and hurricane Katrina in New Orleans is a good example of how humans have built in silly places that make weather effects worse on them.

How about the Biologicals? Namely variants of the flu (more than one this year) and the outside chance of Ebola as it's rearing it's head in the horn of Africa?

Originally posted by R6A6W6
reply to post by DarknStormy

 

I think the weather effects us more today than it did in the past because we now have 7 billion people to feed and house. Those 7 billion also live mostly packed together tightly in dense coastal cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York.

Like the recent floods in Beijing, they would have bought the whole city to a standstill and hurricane Katrina in New Orleans is a good example of how humans have built in silly places that make weather effects worse on them.

The weather affects certain parts of the world worse. I am in a part of the world where literally nothing on a catastrophic level will ever occur.. So I guess its hard for me to comment on it as well. I agree humans have built in stupid places and if a major worldwide catastrophe was to occur, mother nature would have easy pickings on most of the population. But that is thinking worse case scenario also and it most likely will not happen.

But lets say it did happen. What are other factors that we would also have to worry about... Offshore oil rigs would be destroyed and most likely pollute the ocean... Everything would be polluted on shore also, like a gulf of Mexico situation...

The weather may be caused by people and emissions etc, but I don't think it is what the scientists are making it out to be. How do we not know it is something happening in the solar system? Sun heating up etc... It may not be our fault at all and just a natural occurence... Apart from last year and this year, My part of Australia had been in a long term drought.. Rain was rare. Over the past two years, it has not stopped raining also causing flooding in the nearby river systems. Is that because of man made climate change? certainly not.

reply to post by R6A6W6

1. Severe weather: If you believe in global warming / climate change or not, it doesn't matter because severe weather is happening and it is continuing. Severe flooding worldwide and drought in the USA, two typhoons hit China recently, Atlantic hurricane season has started and so has El Nino. This weather is causing food shortages and food price rises, it also displaces billions of people from their homes and effects everything from industry to infrastructure.

2. The Syria situation: Another fast changing and evolving dangerous situation which has to come to a head sometime soon. With the peace mission in tatters after the resignation of Kofi Annan and a rise in violence on the ground in Syria, the US is offering the opposition rebels money and food and possibly more. Will China and Russia help Assad's government forces or will they let another regime change happen in the middle east weakening their position in the region. I don't think the west will tolerate the Syrian government forces getting the upper hand since they have said often enough that Assad's regime is over.

3. Global financial crisis I'm not really an economics expert but I don't think it takes an expert to see that we are in big trouble here. Even if the whole system doesn't crash this year I can't really see it getting any better.

4. Iran nuclear weapons With all the threats to attack Iran made by Israel lately its looking like something will actually happen soon. The new sanctions applied to Iranian and Chinese banking connections recently will really start to strangle Iran's financial sector and that will hurt ordinary Iranian citizens. The big worry here again is that it becomes a wider conflict, either the US gets involved because Iran tries to block shipping in the strait of Hormuz or Iran drops missiles on all the American bases in the region. These are the main ones I can think of. Please feel free to add more if you think the events fit the criteria and also feel free to comment on what I have written so far. Do you think my own situations fit the criteria as top, major threats facing humanity this year?

^^^^No, it is different mindsets....

Wow, good thread. I think you really summed up the major threats, and that the ones you mentioned have a basis in reality. Kofi Anaan recently quit his role in Syria, I think this is because he doesn't want to be involved in a mess he has no chance of solving.

I do agree with a previous poster that the financial crisis could result in some positive changes, both in how we view the world, and in getting rid of corruption and false wealth in the system. That doesn't mean it will be easy...

reply to post by R6A6W6

S+F I agree on these threats being the major (and most realistic) ones.

@ DarknStormy

Originally posted by DarknStormy
severe weather has been happening since the beginning of time. Why is it now becoming a bigger problem then before?

The difference nowadays is that most countries lost their ability to cope with droughts or floods due to monoculturalism and the lack of diversity which come with mass production.
Also our ignorance towards natures mechanisms will cost us in the future due to arrogant urban development / architectural designs.

Originally posted by DarknStormy
This one [3. Global financial crisis ] - I hope it crashes simply because the world needs it. That is my point of view anyway..

An abrupt "crash" would send the world into a depression and cost millions of lives...
What the world really needs in this current economic turmoil is a reform of the global financial system, including the IMF and the whole central banking system.
*unless you're an advocate of a massive depopulation agenda

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Virus outbreak is definitely a threat which could be happening now with Ebola in Africa and the man with the disease escaping from a hospital. There are so many different lethal viruses around at the moment that if several were to be released at the same time, it would be a catastrophe.

I didn't put the scenarios in any particular order of importance.

Kofi qiut because he was ineffective and losing face by the ton.
His stature as a world leader is now in the basement.
Id call that cutting your losses....
Syria is about to undergo a radical change that isnt going to fit it easily....far more trouble is comming down the pike over it, and i dont mean chiina or russia.....
There are too many opposing sects of religion in the area, lebanon too has similar makeup. there will be lots more massacres and lots more bodies in the next years.

Originally posted by R6A6W6
Do you think my own situations fit the criteria as top, major threats facing humanity this year?

Most of these are engineered problems by humans in order to push the world into the direction they want it to go. They are all symptoms of the decease of greed and lust for power. And once they are gone, new ones will take their place, because the source of the decease is never identified and cured.

Its the nature of this reality.

Originally posted by ColCurious

Originally posted by DarknStormy
This one [3. Global financial crisis ] - I hope it crashes simply because the world needs it. That is my point of view anyway..

An abrupt "crash" would send the world into a depression and cost millions of lives...
What the world really needs in this current economic turmoil is a reform of the global financial system, including the IMF and the whole central banking system.
*unless you're an advocate of a massive depopulation agenda

edit on 5-8-2012 by ColCurious because: (no reason given)

And what, somewhere down the track our kids will have to persue through the same crap because of the same people? Screw reforms, I hope it crashes and dies... Maybe even people will learn to think and look after themselves properly..

reply to post by DarknStormy

The kind of reforms I want to see would spare our descendants any of today's "crap".
I have no sympathy whatsoever with any of the centralist financial mechanisms that brought us here.

All I'm saying is change in the GFS has to be a slow but steady transgression... or else millions of innocent people will die in the process.

According to several posts on climate change blog, the weather was worse in the 1930's than it is now, and yes, more weather gets reported these days.

Originally posted by pikestaff
According to several posts on climate change blog, the weather was worse in the 1930's than it is now, and yes, more weather gets reported these days.

In the 1930's? Great, does that mean we are on the verge of another world war as well?

You mentioned Hurricane Season starting OP, you may not realize this but the Atlantic Hurricane Season starts EVERY year on June 1st and runs through Nov 30th, in fact while more storms have formed this year early than normal, not one has sustained itself to do much damage, so in that respect it is actually a QUIETER year than normal..

Maybe you should drop the Hurricane Season note from your OP...