Introduction
Brown’s main idea is to show the possibility of an extremely unfortunate outcome in the future as a result of the development of local agricultural problems – China, Iran, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and others – amplified by the future consequences of climate change. Brown suggests some solutions necessary to start a fight against the causes of climate change quickly, to close coal-fired power plants and activate the planting of forests.
Main body
The problem of food security has become the most dramatic in developing countries. Undoubtedly, that hunger and malnutrition have existed in the world since the origin of humanity. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, millions of human lives were taken by famine outbreaks in China, India, Ireland, and many African countries and countries of the former Soviet Union (Brown, 2011). Hunger is caused by the general backwardness and poverty of developing countries, which has led to a huge lag in agricultural production from the need for its products.
The global food problem is one of humanity’s oldest global problems. As its most severe consequence, hunger and a comprehensive social “disease” have always had an extraordinary impact on people’s lives at different times with varying destructive power. Today, the increase in hunger worldwide is a consequence of the increase in food prices. The expansion of hunger has become a global phenomenon that has covered all world regions without exception. Calculations show that the number of people suffering from chronic hunger in 2009 exceeded 1 billion people (Brown, 2011).
Many countries are concerned about the state of the environment, but few of them have a qualified apparatus for studying environmental problems. That is why, according to Lester Brown, there are two immediate problems. The first is the need to switch from fossil fuels to other energy sources in order to save the climate. The second is the need to stop population growth (Brown, 2011). Both require urgent solutions, and both are very difficult, especially the second one. In order to cope with population growth, it is necessary that millions, hundreds of millions of couples on Earth change their ideas about ideal family sizes. Political leaders worldwide should ensure that families are limited to two children.
Lester writes that the world economy has grown almost twenty times over the last century but has so severely undermined its foundations that if its course is not adjusted, it will mean the end of civilization in the form we know (Brown, 2011). The basis is not a direct cause, and it focuses especially heavily on gasoline. Our economy is based on the market, which is a wonderful thing in many ways. For example, it allocates resources efficiently; a planned economy cannot provide such efficiency.
I was terrified thinking about the false senses that people get from what we are allowed to see. For example, the market price of a gallon of gasoline includes the cost of oil exploration and production, transportation to an oil refinery, gasoline production, and its delivery to the consumer. But it does not include indirect costs, for example, the cost of climate change, the American military presence in the Middle East to protect access to oil resources, and the treatment of lung diseases of people breathing polluted gasoline-burning air. Therefore, if a person looks at these indirect costs, then a liter of gasoline in the United States will cost not, say, three dollars but twelve. Not noticing these indirect costs creates a false sense of security and the feeling that gasoline is cheap.
Lester Brown’s book left an indelible impression on me. In life, we do not think about what a critical situation our planet is in. The author clarifies that serious climate changes are taking place these days. I was particularly impressed by his decisions, during which it is possible to improve the state in which the environment is located. For example, now there is a great opportunity to reduce the amount of electrical energy spent on lighting. Even without switching to LED lamps, we can close about 705 of the 2,400 coal-fired power plants in the world by introducing compact fluorescent lamps (Brown, 2011). I give this example to show the potential existing technologies present on the market.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the world food problem is recognized as a global problem of humanity. There is a growing awareness that agricultural development is key to achieving significant and sustained progress toward freeing millions of people from poverty and food insecurity at the global level. This fact is increasingly recognized at the highest political level. At the same time, the global food and agriculture sector faces various challenges and obstacles, including demographic shifts, dietary changes, climate change, and limited natural resources. I am inclined to believe that we could use Brown’s ways to solve global issues.
Reference
Brown. L., R. (2011). World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse. Washington, DC: Earth Policy Institute.