SOC450 Solutions to Global Issues
Week 1 Discussion
Projecting the World Population
No one knows what the world’s population will be in the future, but the United Nations gives three projections: high, medium, and low. Explain how each of these projections would affect your immediate community. How would these population changes affect the way you currently live your life?
 
SOC450 Solutions to Global Issues
Week 2 Discussion
Slowing Down Global Warming
Reputable scientific studies continue to show that the Earth is warming at an unsustainable rate because of a rise in the release of CO2 and methane gases. Reflect on your daily life. How may the rise of these gases influence how you live your life? What steps can you take to cut down the amount of these gases released into the atmosphere?
 
SOC450 Solutions to Global Issues
Week 3 Discussion
The Cost of Natural Resources
The high cost of oil in the Global South continues to have a detrimental effect on its population. What are the primary natural resources that are used in your state? If this natural resource became unavailable, how would that affect the state’s economy? How does the harvesting or collecting of this natural resource affect the natural environment?
 
SOC450 Solutions to Global Issues
Week 4 Discussion
Accessing Non-Renewable Resources
Countries with access to the planet’s resources continue to grow at a great pace, placing a tremendous strain on the availability of non-renewable resources. What responsibility do these countries have with regard to the rest of the world’s access to these resources?
 
SOC450 Solutions to Global Issues
Week 5 Discussion
The Pledge to Eliminate Poverty
The Millennium Development Goals were created to provide developing countries support through the partnership of developed countries. One of these goals was to “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger” in the world. How successful do you feel these goals have been in achieving their mission?
SOC450 Solutions to Global Issues
Week 6 Discussion
Feeding the World
This week you learned that though there is, in fact, enough food available to feed the entire world every day, this is not happening for various reasons. Review the state of food resources globally but specifically in developing countries. What are the major causes for a lack of food resources? Consider what solutions might be to address the different causes. Then look at the community in which you live. Are there food deserts in your community? If food became inaccessible to all in your community, how would that affect your day-to-day life? How would it affect the immediate community? 
Review the posts of your classmates and respond to at least one other post, supporting your classmate’s position on the issue with a fact in agreement from the course materials or a scholarly source. Be sure to cite that source using the Strayer Writing Standards.
Be sure to inform your response with facts from sources. Use our ebook/textbook each week and at least one scholarly outside source. You must cite sources in-text and give a full citation at the end of your response using the Strayer Writing Standards.
TIPS FOR ANSWERING THE DQ:
Be sure to organize your discussion question responses. For example, your Week 6 DQ requires that you assess global food insecurity in order to answer these questions – Are there food deserts in your community? If food became inaccessible to all in your community, how would that affect your day-to-day life? How would it affect the immediate community? 
So you need to have a response that is two (2) parts and paragraphs.
Review the state of food resources globally. What are the major causes for a lack of food resources? Consider what solutions might be to address the different causes. Here are helpful articles:
Causes of Food Insecurity in African and Other Third World Countries
http://www.harvesthelp.org.uk/causes-of-food-insecurity-in-african-and-other-third-world-countries.html
The geography and causes of food insecurity in developing countries
http://www.ifpri.org/publication/geography-and-causes-food-insecurity-developing-countries
Then you answer the questions posed: Then look at the community in which you live. Are there food deserts in your community? If food became inaccessible to all in your community, how would that affect your day-to-day life? How would it affect the immediate community?  Here are helpful articles:
Food insecurity: not just a problem for developing countries
https://www.barillacfn.com/en/magazine/food-for-all/food-insecurity-not-just-a-problem-for-developing-countries/
I posted these articles in the thread for you to use:
Food Security In Developed Countries – this is the link if you want to download it off the internet
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284716394_Food_Security_In_Developed_Countries_Europe_And_USA_-_Is_It_Insecurity_And_Insufficiency_Or_Hunger_And_Poverty_In_Developed_Countries/download
 
Armed Conflict and Food Security – this is the link if you want to download it off the internet
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320375610_Food_security_and_armed_conflict_a_cross-country_analysis/download
 
SOC450 Solutions to Global Issues
Week 7 Discussion
The Evolution of a Technical Solution
Consider how technology has evolved in your life. These changes may affect how we can work to find solutions for the global threats discussed so far. If we could remove the current boundaries of technology and look into the future, how would you use technology to resolve one of these global threats?
Review the posts of your classmates and respond to at least one other post, supporting your classmate’s position on the issue with a fact in agreement from the course materials or a scholarly source. Be sure to cite that source using the Strayer Writing Standards.
Be sure to inform your response with facts from sources. Use our ebook/textbook each week and at least one scholarly outside source. You must cite sources in-text and give a full citation at the end of your response using the Strayer Writing Standards.
TIP FOR ANSWERING THE DQ:
1.            Review and discuss the major technological changes that have occurred in the modern world during your lifetime.
2.            Review and discuss the current boundaries to new technological developments.
3.            Then answer the question: If we could remove the current boundaries of technology and look into the future, how would you use technology to resolve one of these global threats?
 
SOC450 Solutions to Global Issues
Week 8 Discussion
Using Technology to Improve the Future
The benefits of technology to humans are almost too numerous to list. As with anything, there are downsides to this advancement. Examine a misuse of technology that you have observed within the global community. 
Review the posts of your classmates and respond to at least one post, rebutting your classmate’s position using facts from a scholarly source which you cite using the Strayer Writing Standards format.
Review the posts of your classmates and respond to at least one other post, supporting your classmate’s position on the issue with a fact in agreement from the course materials or a scholarly source. Be sure to cite that source using the Strayer Writing Standards.
Be sure to inform your response with facts from sources. Use our ebook/textbook each week and at least one scholarly outside source. You must cite sources in-text and give a full citation at the end of your response using the Strayer Writing Standards.
TIPS FOR ANSWERING THE DQ:
Be sure to organize your discussion question responses. For example, your Week 8 DQ requires that you examine a misuse of technology that you have observed within the global community. 
So you need to have a response that is two (2) parts and two (2) paragraphs.
1.   Review and discuss the major technological developments that are common in our global community.
2.   Then complete the task: examine a misuse of technology that you have observed within the global community. 
Be sure to offer facts to support your position and cite your sources.
Review the posts of your classmates and respond to at least one post rebutting a position shared by one of your classmates with a scholarly source.
(Note: For citing internet sources in your discussion, please see the Web Sources section of the Strayer Writing Standards guide available in the left-hand menu.)
 
SOC450 Solutions to Global Issues
Week 9 Discussion
One Breath at a Time
This week you watched three videos, each on a topic of pollution. Of these three types of pollution, which type of pollution do you believe you could influence most? Which type of pollution would be the most manageable at the individual level? Explain your reasoning.
Review the posts of your classmates and respond to at least one other post, supporting your classmate’s position on the issue with a fact in agreement from the course materials or a scholarly source. Be sure to cite that source using the Strayer Writing Standards.
Be sure to inform your response with facts from sources. Use our ebook/textbook each week and at least one scholarly outside source. You must cite sources in-text and give a full citation at the end of your response using the Strayer Writing Standards.
TIPS FOR ANSWERING THE DQ:
Be sure to organize your discussion question responses. For example, your Week 9 DQ requires that you watch three videos, each on a topic of pollution. After watching these videos which you will rely on to inform your discussion you need to answer two (2) questions backing up your answers with facts from the three videos and relevant outside sources.
The questions this week are:
Of these three types of pollution, which type of pollution do you believe you could influence most? Which type of pollution would be the most manageable at the individual level? Explain your reasoning.
So you need to have a response that is two (2) parts and two (2) paragraphs.
1.            Answer the question providing the evidence on which you based your response – Of these three types of pollution, which type of pollution do you believe you could influence most?
In other words, this question asks you to consider the effects of personal consumption patterns and lifestyle on positive and negative change in the health of our global environment.
2.            Answer the question providing the evidence on which you based your response – Which type of pollution would be the most manageable at the individual level?
In other words, this question asks you to consider the how pollution is effected at the individual level in ways that the individual can easily control.
In answering these questions you need to support your position with factgs gleaned from the videos and relevant outside sources of your choice.
Review the posts of your classmates and respond to at least one post rebutting a position shared by one of your classmates with a scholarly source.
(Note: For citing internet sources in your discussion, please see the Web Sources section of the Strayer Writing Standards guide available in the left-hand menu.)
 
SOC450 Solutions to Global Issues
Week 10 Discussion
Getting Thirsty
Water covers 75% of the Earth’s surface, but most of it contains high concentrations of salt and is unavailable. Desalination is expensive for developing countries, making that salt water unsuitable for consumption or irrigation. Consequently, access to fresh water is a growing issue as countries share the same water sources. This even has the potential to become an issue of national security.
Think of the issues that come from circumstances in which countries share the same water source. For example, consider disputes over the Jordan river between Jordan and Israel, or the Tigris River between Iraq and Turkey.
Now consider what would happen if your state or community had only limited fresh water access. How involved do you feel local governments should be in controlling water access?
Review the posts of your classmates and respond to at least one other post, supporting your classmate’s position on the issue with a fact in agreement from the course materials or a scholarly source. Be sure to cite that source using the Strayer Writing Standards.
Be sure to inform your response with facts from sources. Use our ebook/textbook each week and at least one scholarly outside source. You must cite sources in-text and give a full citation at the end of your response using the Strayer Writing Standards.
TIPS FOR ANSWERING THE DQ:
1. Discuss the issue globally by briefly examining the water issue as it exists in either in the dispute over the Jordan River between Jordan and Israel, OR the Tigris River between Iraq and Turkey.
2. Discuss the consequences of having limited access to limited fresh water in a local community. Be sure to apply the facts you learned from the discussion in (1). You might mention current problems in the US such as the water issue in Flint, Michigan.
3. Then answer the question offering a rationale – How involved do you feel local governments should be in controlling water access? You might consider the current water market in answering this question where drinking water is a commodity traded on the international market.
Review the posts of your classmates and respond to at least one post rebutting a position shared by one of your classmates with a scholarly source.
(Note: For citing internet sources in your discussion, please see the Web Sources section of the Strayer Writing Standards guide available in the left-hand menu.)
 
SOC450 Solutions to Global Issues
Week 11 Discussion
Making It Personal
This course studied the major threats to global well-being. In the readings, media, and assignments, you were challenged to consider your stand on the issues covered each week. In your personal life, what global issue (if any) affects you most today? 
Reflect and share the steps you can take to prevent this issue from coming closer to home.
Review the posts of your classmates and respond to at least one other post, supporting your classmate’s position on the issue with a fact in agreement from the course materials or a scholarly source. Be sure to cite that source using the Strayer Writing Standards.
Be sure to inform your response with facts from sources. Use our ebook/textbook each week and at least one scholarly outside source. You must cite sources in-text and give a full citation at the end of your response using the Strayer Writing Standards.
TIPS FOR ANSWERING THE DQ EFFECTIVELY:
1. Discuss the global issue you chose by briefly examining that issue as it exists in the broad picture not just as it exists in the US.
2. Discuss why that issue affects you the most personally. Offer us your evidence and rationale for choosing this particular issues
3. Then tell us the steps you can take to prevent this issue from becoming a problem in the US.
In answering these questions you need to support your position with facts gleaned from the videos and relevant outside sources of your choice.
Review the posts of your classmates and respond to at least one post rebutting a position shared by one of your classmates with a scholarly source.
(Note: For citing internet sources in your discussion, please see the Web Sources section of the Strayer Writing Standards guide available in the left-hand menu.)
 
 
 
SOC450 Solutions to Global Issues
Assignment 1
Whitepaper on the Impact of Population
There is no question that the world’s population will grow dramatically in the next decade. The members of the United Nations are working to understand the impact that population growth has in developing countries. For this assignment, imagine you have been hired by the UN to help assess the social impact of population growth. Your first project as a consultant with the UN is to develop a whitepaper on three issues related to the population growth faced by a developing country of your choosing. Read the overview below, then write a whitepaper addressing the questions below.
I.             Overview      
Our obsession with continual economic growth deters us from studying the role that an expanding population plays in global warming. (1)
About 3 billion years ago, the earth suffered a mass extinction caused by catastrophic volcanic activity in Siberia and wildfires that covered the entire planet. Since then, four more mass extinction events eradicated up to 80% of all species each time. The world’s community of climatologists and scientists overwhelmingly agree that we are now on the verge of a sixth mass event that, over the next few tens of thousands of years, will wipe out nearly all living species on Earth, including mankind. This is not the stuff of science fiction or speculation, but rather the studied view of the experts who are most qualified to make this kind of assessment. As anthropologist Richard Leaky, author of The Sixth Extinction, wrote in 1995, “Homo sapiens might not only be the agent of the sixth extinction, but also risks being one of its victims” (2).
This leaves us with two issues worth reflecting on:
1.     Does the rate at which people are reproducing need to be controlled to save the environment?
2.     To what extent does human population growth impact global warming, and what can be done about it (3)?
The answer to the first is quite simply “yes,” but the solution to the second is more problematic. The damage humans do to the climate is ruining the atmosphere surrounding the planet; at the rate this damage is increasing, there will eventually be no atmosphere left to protect life on Earth from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. Compared with other planets in our solar system, Earth has mild temperatures, thanks largely to an atmosphere protected from harmful gases. However, since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution (around 1775), damaging gases have become stuck in the atmosphere. This causes some of the heat radiating from the sun—that which does not exit into space—to reflect back to Earth. The result is that oceans have become warmer, and glaciers are melting, including parts of Antarctica. If we think of Antarctica as the stopper in a bottle, its disappearance by melting away will release the water it holds, raising sea levels to uncontrollable levels and flooding coastal regions for miles inland. The two main culprits for this warming trend are carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). These gases, called “greenhouse gases,” are trapped by the earth’s atmosphere and, in turn, heat up the entire planet. It is worth noting that warming oceans are killing off kelp beds throughout the earth’s oceans and coastlines at a prodigious rate. Not only do hundreds of millions of people depend on the fish that thrive on this ecosystem, but kelp is a natural absorbent of CO2 and purifies both the water and the air we breathe.
A growing population that consumes natural resources is partially to blame for the release of greenhouse gases, as are deforestation, soil erosion, and farming (overturned dirt releases CO2). However, the real issue is the burning of fossil fuels (hydrocarbons) such as coal oil and natural gas, which is produced by the organic remains of prehistoric organisms. The release of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) such as refrigerants, propellants in aerosol sprays, and solvents contributes heavily to the depletion of the ozone layer in the earth’s stratosphere. At the current rate at which these gases and CFCs are released into the atmosphere, affecting the earth’s ecosystems and level of biodiversity, the earth’s surface temperature will increase by about two degrees Fahrenheit. This will cause a change weather patterns across the globe. In December 2017, the World Bank stated, “Climate change is an acute threat to global development and efforts to end poverty. Without urgent action, climate impacts could push an additional 100 million people into poverty by 2030” (4).
Sources:
1.     George Gitlitz. 2018. Opinion: The pernicious climate dictum–don’t mention population. https://www.berkeleyside.com/2018/06/19/opinion-the-pernicious-climate-dictum-dont-mention-population
2.     Gemma Tarlach. 2018. Mass Extinctions. http://discovermagazine.com/2018/jul-aug/mass-extinctions
3.     Larry LeDoux. 2018. Does Population Growth Impact Climate Change. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/population-growth-climate-change/
4.     Bill McKibben. 2018. A Very Grim Forecast. https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/11/22/global-warming-very-grim-forecast/
II.            Assessment
The world’s population is expanding at a such a fast rate that some natural resources are being stripped from the environment. Global institutions are working to prevent both the loss of these resources and the consequences of not having access to them.
In this first assignment, research the impact of population growth on society. Write a whitepaper for the UN that consists of a minimum of four pages (not including the cover letter). Your assignment is to assess the impact of population growth, citing at least five credible sources in your research. As you compose the whitepaper, review the United Nations list of developing countries (available on the United Nations website).
Select one country from the United Nations list of developing countries to use as an example throughout your assignment. The completed version of this assignment will include the following items:
Cover page: Include your name, course title, the country you have selected from the UN list of developing countries, current date, and the name of your instructor.
Introduction: Introduce the topic of the whitepaper (half-page minimum).
One-page (minimum) answers (for a total of three pages) to each of the following questions:
What are greenhouse gases, and how do they contribute to global warming?
What economic, security, political, and other challenges do these emissions pose to the people of the developing world, and who are the biggest offenders?
Is there a way to control the growth of population on a global level?
Note: Give examples in your responses to each of the above questions as it relates to the developing country you have chosen.
Conclusion: Provide a minimum of a one-half page conclusion.
Cite at least five credible sources excluding Wikipedia, dictionaries, and encyclopedias for your assessment. A brief list of suggested resources has been provided at the end of the course guide.
This course requires use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The format is different compared to other Strayer University courses. Please take a moment to review ?the SWS documentation for details. (Note: You’ll be prompted to enter your Blackboard login credentials to view these standards.)
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:
Evaluate the impacts of population growth and its negative impacts on global societies while considering multiple perspectives.
Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic/organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric:
 
SOC450 Solutions to Global Issues
Assignment 2
Whitepaper on Food Security
The members of the United Nations found great value in the whitepaper you provided on population growth. They are now asking you to expand the whitepaper to include global food security as it relates to population growth and poverty. Read the overview and provide an assessment based on the questions below.
I.             Overview          
We can define global food security as the effort to build food systems that can feed everyone, everywhere, and every day by improving its quality and promoting nutritional agriculture (1). That said, there are certain practices that can advance this project:
Identifying the underlying causes of hunger and malnutrition
Investing in country-specific recovery plans
Strengthening strategic coordination with institutions like the UN and the World Bank
Encouraging developed countries to make sustained financial commitments to its success
We must bear in mind that more than 3 billion people—nearly one-half of the world’s population—subsist on as little as $2.50 a day, with nearly 1.5 billion living in extreme poverty on less than $1.25 a day. According to the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and other relief agencies, about 20,000 people (mostly children) starve to death in the world every day, for a total of about 7 million people a year. In addition, about 750 million (twice the population of the United States) do not have access to clean drinking water, meaning that some one million people die every year from diarrhea caused by water-borne diseases.
The earth’s population has grown since it reached 7 billion in 2010. It is expected to reach 8 billion in 2025, 9 billion in 2040, and 11 billion by the end of the 21st century (2). If the demand for food is predicted to rise 50% by 2030 and 70% by 2050, the real problem is not necessarily growing enough food, but rather making that amount available to people. Moreover, food illnesses are prevalent, with nearly 600 million reported cases of foodborne diseases each year. These mainly affect children but can also negatively impact the livelihood of farmers, vendors, trade associations, and ultimately, can reduce the Gross Domestic Product (national income) of a country. These issues can impose tremendous human, economic, social, and fiscal costs on countries, so addressing them allows governments to devote more resources to making desperately needed infrastructure improvements that raise the quality of life for everyone.
It is not enough to have adequate supplies of food available. Policies that focus exclusively on food production can exacerbate the problem, particularly if, to satisfy the need for quantity, the quality of the food is left wanting.
Reasons for Food Insecurity
Certainly, poverty and the contributing systemic internal conditions are the driving factors behind keeping adequate food resources from reaching people, but it is only one of several. Others are discussed next.
Inadequate Food Distribution: The reality is that there is more than enough food in the world to feed its people, but the primary cause of famine is not poor weather conditions as much as it is getting the food to the people who need it most. Quite often, disruptions in food distribution result from political instability and poor infrastructure (such as poorly functioning port facilities, lack of transportation options, and inadequate road networks). Paradoxically, although the world’s population is increasing, the amount of potential food available will increase along with it, due mostly to advances in bio-agricultural engineering and seed immunity to molds. 
Writing in the late 18th century, Thomas Malthus warned that the global population would exceed the earth’s capacity to grow food, in that while the population would grow exponentially, food production would grow only arithmetically. Although this theory was proved invalid, its propagation has unfortunately resulted in some governments rationalizing political choices that avoid helping the poverty-ridden and starving.
Political-Agricultural Practices: The widespread use of microbiological, chemical, and other forms of pesticides in food continues to be a serious issue throughout the global food chain. Widespread use of fertilizers also causes illness in millions of people every year, not only from the food itself, but from run-off into streams and rivers, contaminating entire water supplies. The human, social, fiscal, and economic costs of such practices impede improvements not only in the raising of crops, but in their distribution. Added to this, the rising demand in developed countries for biofuels, refined mostly from corn and soybean, reduces the amount of arable land devoted to producing food.
The failure of many farmers in the developing world to rotate their crops harms the replenishing of nutrients necessary to continue growing crops. In addition, neglecting to allow land to remain fallow exhausts the soil, making it much more difficult to raise a decent amount of food per acre the following growing season.   
Economic Issues: The fact is, government policies that focus on growing cash crops, for example, are designed solely to export them to earn foreign exchange. This may be fine for the government in its effort to earn money, but the result is that farmers end up growing for foreign markets and not domestic ones, leading to shortages of necessary staples. Consequently, the poorest of the population are frozen out of the local markets because they cannot afford the food that remains to be sold (3).
Civil Strife: Civil war can interrupt the flow of food from gathering depots, such as ports, to distribution centers where it can be handed out to people. During the 1990s, Somalia was particularly hard hit by their civil war, as clans fought for control of the main port at Mogadishu, which affected the flow of food to the rest of the population. In this case, as with many civil wars, whoever controls the supply of food controls the country. In failed and failing states like Zimbabwe, Congo, Haiti, South Sudan, Yemen, and Libya, food is very often another weapon used by one segment of the population against another.
Sources:
1.     Peter Timmer. 2015. Food Security and Scarcity: Why Ending Hunger Is So Hard. Foreign Affairs magazine.
2.     The United Nations Population Division. 2017. World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision. https://www.un.org/development/desa/publications/world-population-prospects-the-2017-revision.html
3.     Will Martin. November 2010. Food Security and Poverty: A Precarious Balance. Let’s Talk Development blog by The World Bank. http://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/food-security-and-poverty-a-precarious-balance 
II.            Assessment
The issue is not the lack of food in the world, but the access to food. In many developing countries, the food shortage is due to governmental control over food. These governments maintain control and preference by limiting access of nutritious food to certain groups, thereby weaponizing food.
In this second assignment, research the impact of poverty on global food security and the potential technological solutions. Write a minimum of four pages (not including the cover letter) assessing the impact of food insecurity. Select one country from the United Nations list of developing countries to use as an example throughout your assessment. The completed version of this assignment will include the following items:
Cover page: Include your name, title of course, name of the developing country you have chosen from the UN list, current date, and the name of your instructor.
Introduction: Introduce the topic of the whitepaper (half-page minimum).
One-page (minimum) answers to each of the following questions (for a total of three pages):
What is food insecurity, and what role does population growth play in it?
What specific factors interrupt the flow of food from the source to the people in the developing country you selected?
What forms of technology can be used to reduce hunger and improve food security? Explain how these technological solutions would work.
Note: Give examples in your responses to each of the above questions as it relates to the developing country you have chosen.
Conclusion: A one-half page (minimum) conclusion.
Cite at least five credible sources excluding Wikipedia, dictionaries, and encyclopedias for your assessment. A brief list of suggested resources has been provided at the end of the course guide.
This course requires use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The format is different compared to other Strayer University courses. Please take a moment to review ?the SWS documentation for details. (Note: You’ll be prompted to enter your Blackboard login credentials to view these standards.)
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
Propose a plan to address the issue of global food security in underdeveloped countries that considers the impact of prior solutions.
Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic/organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric:
 
SOC450 Solutions to Global Issues
Assignment 3A
Many of the UN members are not satisfied with the progress of the Millennium Development Goals. They believe that the go