Accelerating Global Change and Realignments: Science & the Environment 1900 to the Present

I. Rapid advances in science

New modes of communication and transportation Jet engines High speed rail Satellite communications Internet

New Scientific Paradigms The theory of relativity Quantum mechanics The Big Bang theory Psychology

The Green Revolution chemically and genetically enhanced forms of agriculture produced food for the earth’s growing population High-yielding varieties of seeds Use of fertilizers and irrigation Reduced possibility of famine Technology taken to other places

Medical Innovations The polio vaccine Antibiotics The artificial heart

New Energy Technologies Lead to raised productivity and increase in the production of material goods Increased use of oil Renewable energy sources Nuclear power

II. Population Explosion & the Environment

Global warming Temperature increase caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases These result from human activities such as the burning of fossil fuel and deforestation

Pollution Chemical pollution of air, water, soil Noise pollution 10 top polluted sites are located in Azerbaijan, China, India, Peru, Russia, Ukraine, and Zambia The Great Smog of 1952 in London, killed at least 4,000 Radioactive contamination, can remain lethally radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years.

Exhaustion of Resources Over-consumption/excessive or unnecessary use of resources Non-equitable distribution of resources Overpopulation Slash and burn agricultural practices, currently occurring in many developing countries Technological and industrial development Deforestation - Erosion Mining for oil and minerals Aquifer depletion

III. Demographic Shifts

A. Diseases associated with poverty persisted, while other diseases emerged as new epidemics and threats to human survival. Malaria, tuberculosis, cholera + 1918 influenza pandemic, Ebola, HIV/AIDS In addition, changing lifestyles and increased longevity led to higher incidence of certain diseases. Diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease

B. More effective forms of birth control gave women greater control over fertility and transformed sexual practices.

C. Improved military technology and new tactics led to increased levels of wartime casualties. • Tanks • Airplanes • The atomic bomb • Trench warfare • Firebombing • Nanjing • Dresden • Hiroshima