As the mainstream media, comprising of an elite group of editors at the top of their careers, points public interest toward scandals and conflicts, it is noteworthy that their targeted demographic of decision-making advertisers, and their audience are above the age of twenty-five. These editors are more connected to the corridors of power, Horse and Motor Racing, Gulf, and Embassy Clubs, and so they should be based on their promise of revenue projections, than the depress areas many poor people call home. The closest these editors personally come to such areas; with terrible nutritional habits, low or no education and healthcare, high crime levels as people fight for survival and where one is extremely lucky to reach twenty-five years of age, is by signing a check to their local Rotary or Lions Clubs. These depress areas give an accurate picture of the global future, if priority is not placed on them, firstly via nutrition, and the media needs to keep the fortunate portion of the public focus on such areas, before crime turns into an insurrection.
It has been long recognized and widely accepted by global leaders and their professional advisers that an educated public drives productivity and wealth creation. Many thought it was so obvious that it need not be mentioned, when referring to an educated population what is accurately meant is a healthy educated population. To emphasize the point, many so called middle class areas are quickly becoming depress areas as healthcare bills erode family wealth, persons are losing their homes, new and extended mortgages are being accessed and placed on the next and future generations to pay, because of poor nutritional habits, the lack of wellness programs and preventative healthcare.
Somewhat ignored is the fact that nutrition is essential to education, not just a child’s nutritional needs but that of the parents and grandparents, as attendance is clearly affected by family crisis and the financial cost associated with such a crisis. A healthy child may not be able to attend classes because he or she may be the chief wage earner in the family. The cycle of poverty continues as a child becomes a parent with little education hence, low wages and needs their own children to help out in a family shop. Hand to mouth and unable to afford insurance or other benefits, the children now have their own children and are praying to afford them more opportunities, when their grandparents medical cost overwhelms and adds to their own stress. A check on nutrition and exercise with mandatory annual medical examinations is the best solution as a public health program.
Maintaining a (I don’t want to know) lifestyle has become human nature. From the process food undergoes, how clean water reaches the pipe or how to purify air, to keep a family healthy is not important. It must be done for us, and if not we will sue. Governments must engage their population, via any means necessary, to bring about a quick change in lifestyles that would lessen their healthcare expenditure, employing incentives, such as corporate or personal tax credits, to encourage healthy eating habits, regular physical activities and compulsory checkups. Investment in school feeding or mandatory wellness programs is not new; some version has been and is in practice, the benefits are measure in productivity, but to be truly effective the programs must address the (individual and his/her dependents) family rather than just the individual.
Abject poverty, however, caused by depleted, very little or no resources in a highly populated area will still see population growth. United Nation studies in war-torn and natural disaster areas, over the past fifty years, shockingly showed an increase in birth and decrease in death rates, after the disaster when compared to periods before, and hence concluded, that global population growth is not negatively affected by such disasters, but that poverty increases. With material and financial aid constantly flowing into disaster areas, one would expect some decline in poverty, but can only conclude that corruption is the order of the day. Efforts to start or restart productive, job creation and profitable enterprises, if met with such corruption will fail.
The disaster that drove the creation of now depress areas, slums or ghetto surrounding the cities and towns was the promise of jobs, come and build maintain and clean the city, work on its ports and transit systems and earn higher wages, and then there were too many persons for too few jobs. Mechanization and computerization also played a role in reducing the type of jobs, from manual or physical work to more skilled or thinking work, but again, too many persons for too few jobs. With the best birth control thinkers and public awareness campaigns to reach all the population, human nature still prevails, as more person search for jobs in the cities. It is useful to note, the cities only exist in support of profitable sectors or industries. So that part of the answer therefore is in the creation of new sectors or industries.
The volatile price of hydrocarbons (Oil & Gas) drives further investment in exploration as the world continues it dependency on such fuels. Firing diesel and natural gas electricity turbines and powering transportation (Air, Sea & Land) equipment, with resin and asphalt as the based raw materials in numerous applications, it would take a very long time to reduce hydrocarbons usage. A majority of the scientific community are advocating that this reduction be done quickly, if humans are to survive on this planet. While it is difficult to convince a community that has recently gotten its first and only billion dollar electricity generation plant and is projecting a better lifestyle, to abandon their dreams, a workable solution must be found.
Climate change is forcing inventors and innovators to find new viable ways to fired existing turbines and generate electricity and to power existing or new modes of transportation and work motors. Converting existing equipment to operate on new, multiple or mixtures of fuels has not totally eliminated the carbon released into the atmosphere, since for example; powering a vehicle with electricity does not eliminate the waste from the generating plant itself. New ideas for viable solutions are being explored with wind and solar energy leading the way, nuclear or hot fusion is proving very dangerous, while cold fusion is still in its theory format.
The search for alternative sources of energy is in itself a new industry, with research and development funded by existing energy corporations, each very protective of their results, holding back scientific advancement. Governments need to corporate with each other, step in and incentivize the process, before it is too late. Results from each research group should be instantly made public and the benefits share across the planet, similar to the process employed to map the human genetic code DNA. The benefits of a free or cheap source of energy will surpass the benefits produced from the development of the internet.
The increase calls on the food and water stock is obviously driven by the increasing population, and hence offers new opportunities to expand crop and animal yields and to deliver processed and purified water for applications on farms, commercial and domestic users, while, internal air control systems manage temperature and purity. Nutritious food grown and processed under controlled conditions using state-of-the-art technology, which can be incorporated in any type of building structure, converging industrial, commercial or residential premises into agricultural space. Desalination plants and other naturally occurring filtration systems can be used, to supply and recycle water for various procedures while, saving on long-term building operational cost.
Investment, in new technology sectors and industries and it supporting cities, while retrofitting the existing ones; to grow food, purify and recycle water, reduce airborne contaminants, modernize the transportation system, retrain employees and create more jobs, must be allocated. Specializing in designing and building of such cities is an industry in its own right.
The dream is to make every human being strong, healthy, educated, productive and safe in the pursuit of happiness.
Rationale
T.A.J & Associates Company Limited uses this occasion to comment on topics that have been covered, both academically and by the mainstream media, to add its opinion and point out investment opportunity, not to invoke any social action.
