Looking back at the past 12 years

Today, our calendar’s page opens to 2013. The world has existed another 12 years in this century, and during this period, so much has happened.

My first thought: we really live in a drastically altered world. And I’m not talking about the phenomenon of changing climates and the long list of major natural disasters around the world that keep us thinking whether the end of the world is near.

It is the change in technology that I marvel at, when so much of how we conduct ourselves and our relationships with other people have changed. Who would have thought at the turn of the decade that we would have tablets that aren’t medicines taken orally, but held in our hands and used as a medium of communication?

Technology has made it easier for me to review what happened in the last 12 years. Thank you to Wikipedia and all those bloggers and sites that have actually documented the most significant events of the world, and not necessarily from the viewpoint of Americans.

Nobody could have imagined that we would actually see the days when America and a large part of Europe are caught in an era of decay. Or that China would become a nation more adept than the capitalists of the past century at managing their economy, and would rise to superpower status.

Don’t forget 9/11. And the wars that had been spawned by the hunt for the infamous al-Qaeda terrorists and its venerated leader, Osama bin Laden. It took more than 10 years for the American troops to assassinate him, but not necessarily douse the cause of this ideologue group.

Natural and manmade disasters

Today, let us say a prayer for the hundreds of thousands who died in the many natural disasters that happened during the period. Countries, rich or poor, fell victim to floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, super typhoons, and earthquakes the Asian tsunami of 2004 killed more than 200,000 and the Haiti earthquake of 2010 had a death toll of at least 230,000.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 killed close to 2,000 residents of Louisiana and Mississippi in the US. But it goes down in history as among the costliest tropical cyclones after damaging property to the tune of $81.5 billion.

The costliest disaster during the last 13 years, however, is Japan’s loss when an undersea earthquake of magnitude 9 occurred offshore of eastern Japan in 2011 and created a super tsunami that cost the lives of 15,000 people and over $300 billion in damages, largely from the meltdown of the Fukushima I nuclear plant.

Aside from natural disasters, wars and diseases have contributed to the decimation of the world population. Among the top killers of diseases are AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, each killing over a million people annually. HIV is growing rapidly in India and much of the African continent.

Civil wars and wars of aggression continue, notably in Africa and the Middle East.

The world recorded its share of manmade disasters, most notable of which was the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack by al-Qaeda on the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by using commandeered commercial planes. More than 3,000 people are believed to have died.

World sustainability

Amidst all these deaths, we see the world’s population growing at a faster rate, the biggest contribution coming from developing countries like, yes, the Philippines. At the start of the 21st century, the world population census was at 6.1 billion. With an average rate of increase of 78 million per year, this brings the world population to more than seven billion now.

This growth is one that raises concern on the global ecological balance, particularly on Earth’s ability to feed this growing number of people. Aside from food, fresh water availability for drinking is becoming a concern.

Transient migration is a phenomenon too of the last 13 years as the number of people crossing national boundaries to work reached 175 million. This has brought changes (and heated discussions in some governments) of immigration and related population control laws, mostly in the name of self-preservation.

What can we expect?

Against this backdrop, what can we expect from the rest of the decade, and the next 12 years? It’s really hard to predict. A worsening global climate that perhaps bodes of more natural disasters? New diseases, perhaps more deadly that the pandemic frights we had during the last decade?

Will technology improvements bring better lives to the world’s people? Will we see the rise of a new global leader, more unique than the presidency of the first black American? Hard to say.

Will we find a solution to the purported depletion of fossil fuels, i.e., a new energy source to replace gasoline and diesel to run our vehicles and produce electricity for our modern day conveniences? The days of hybrid vehicles are already on us; could the days of sustainable fuel-driven cars be around the corner?

Human dignity and pride

As we look forward to 2013 and to the next 10 more years, it seems that the best we can do is hope for better days for everyone. We’d like to see our children grow up healthy and hale; to bless our grandchildren when they visit us.

We’d like food on our table every day, money in our pockets to buy or pay for other basic necessities, warm smiles of friends and family members as we count each day that passes.

At the start of each year, humans have become accustomed to saying Happy New Year to one another. With all the uncertainties cast on this world and on our lives, please accept my sincerest wish that you and I will be able to weather another year with dignity and pride.

When we sleep at night, may we carry a smile of thanks for a fulfilling day; when we wake up in the morning, may we look forward to starting another new and meaningful day.

Congratulations

Engr. Eliseo Santiago, my neighbor and colleague in Pilipinas Shell where he served as country chair, was recently appointed as chairman of Clark Development Corp. (CDC).

I worked with Eli for several years at Shell where he demonstrated keen sense for operational details and imposed discipline as he pursued agreed goals and objectives. His management professionalism and integrity will surely be a positive influence at CDC. Another good addition to the team as P-Noy continues his drive for a “daang matuwid” on all government levels.

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