Note From The Editor
Issue 6, Winter 2012
At the opening of 2012, the future seems particularly uncertain. The past 12 months have been a period of continued turbulence in financial markets – with seemingly more doom and gloom on the horizon – and sustained environmental and political instability around the world. In parallel, the Information Age is on warp speed; Twitter has turned from tool to trial and Facebook chronicles our lives. With life so rapidly changing, how can we begin to contemplate 2050?
We know this much: 9 billion people will inhabit the planet in 2050, and not only will they need to be fed and sheltered, but we are likely to face unstable climatic change, an uncertain energy landscape, and a widening divide between those who have, and those who have not. With these issues in mind, our contributors cast a shrewd eye into that murky crystal ball.
On the environmental front, David Fisk argues that, as efforts to stem climate change heat up in the next decade, the single track UN system is liable to cave under pressure unless parallel forums are established for consensus building. On the question of food, Colin Thirtle contends that without increased investment in R&D, our ability our ability to meet food demand in the future will be compromised, and this will be exacerbated by the rise of intellectual property issues in biotech.
How will we power ourselves in 2050? Greg Offer suggests that a range of technologies will be used to generate electricity, which in turn will power the massive surge in demand for cars. Nuclear fusion is touted by Philip de Grouchy & Arthur Turrell as a possible ‘panacea’ for future energy needs, with 2012 being the year of possible breakthrough.
Attached to your Mac? This Editor would not be surprised if rehab and retreats for Internet addiction become the norm in years to come – she already periodically orchestrates escapes to connectivity free zones as a basic survival tool. As communication via digital devices increasingly underlies every activity – both at work and at play – Herbert Wiklickly muses that quantum physics may help us develop secure encryption systems. Katarina Reinhardt tells us about an innovative scheme that enables health workers in the developing world expand their skills via eLearning, and Calypso Montouchet examines the responsibility of the media and the pharmaceutical industry in engaging patients online with clinical research.
Many thanks go to The Boston Consulting Group, the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, Teach First and the Partnership for Child Development for their much-appreciated support.
Neave
Identity Crisis?
A Global Village grew out of a void: many Imperial College students and researchers are interested in the world around them, and using their skills and knowledge to tackle global challenges – and, as we saw it, there seemed to be an opportunity to bring this knowledge and experience to a broader audience. We had no idea at the time, however, the sweat and tears that it would entail to grow into a serious publication, and the financial and logistical challenges we would continue to face. Now, over a year later, it is time to reflect on where we came from, and where we are going. What does the future hold for AGV?
The answer is simple. As the world looks to government and academia to tackle impeding global crises in food distribution, population size and climate change, evidence-based policy-making must increasingly form the basis of action. At the centre of translational science, the Imperial College community is ideally placed to be at the forefront of this movement. AGV has evolved to lie in this niche: we aim to fuse real science with debate on how we should tackle those big issues in a global context, and this is where the future lies.
Issue 5 focuses on the very essence of global health, our Right to Health as a human right. Our contributors argue for reform of the medicines patent system, enabling access to essential drugs for all, and look at the challenges in delivering trauma care in developing countries. As the aid debate continues to rage, we ask can randomised trials offer an evidence-based solution to determining what really works? And, can a shared value approach supersede corporate social responsibility in driving development for-profit?
As extremes dominate the agricultural debate, our contributors question whether the middle ground is not more constructive. Uncertainty in climate change projections, and the need to build flexibility into responses, is the theme of two articles: the first focusing on water resources, and the second on parallels with business innovation. We ask the big questions, and challenge our contributors to answer them – they have truly delivered for Issue 5.
Last, but not least, many thanks go to Imperial College Union for their logistical and financial support during the past year – we now officially exist, and that’s all down to you!
Neave
2011 has so far been a year of calamitous change with uprisings across the Middle East and a devastating tsunami and ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan. It is against the backdrop of these events that our contributors tackle some of the most pressing issues that we face in global health, development, governance and energy security today.
The fourth issue of A Global Village sees a focus on the potential for IT in healthcare and the impending threat posed by antimicrobial resistance, and we look at the impact of social networks on social change and epidemiology. On the energy front, we ask: why has the so-called low-carbon transition stalled in the UK, and how might technologies such as solar power and biofuels play a part in a future global low-carbon energy mix? We also caught Dr. Fatih Birol, Chief Economist at the International Energy Agency, for an exclusive interview and asked him about the impact of rising oil prices on the global economy, and the critical role of the US and China in combating climate change.
The team at A Global Village has also been busy hosting events including a timely debate on the future of nuclear energy and a lively discussion on the role of intellectual property law in global health with panelists from academia, industry and government – see pages 60/61 for more.
Finally, many thanks go to Prof. Alan Fenwick OBE, Director of the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, the Boston Consulting Group and the IC Trust for their support of this project – without you we would not be able do what we love to do!
Neave
‘Many of the defining challenges of the 21st century – from climate change and food security, to poverty reduction and nuclear disarmament – have scientific dimensions. No one country will be able to solve these problems on its own. The tools, techniques and tactics of foreign policy need to adapt to a world of increasing scientific and technical complexity.’
New Frontiers in Science Diplomacy, Royal Society 2010
Evolving towards a new focus on key areas where policy and politics meet science and technology, A Global Village has been rapidly establishing itself on campus and beyond over the past six months. Building on the momentum initiated by the publication of Issue 2, we have recently branched out into hosting events such as our lively ‘Global Food Crisis’ panel discussion with the World Food Programme in October last.
With just four years left until the Millennium Development Goals are due to be achieved in 2015, we ask in this issue: what progress has been made? Virtual ‘Universal Coverage’ of malaria nets in Africa is hailed as a success yet the prospects for continued affordable generic HIV drugs for the developing world seems to be bleak as the EU presses India to strengthen its patenting laws. On the energy and environment front, as the ongoing IPCC climate negotiations continue to top the global agenda, we ask: where do we go from here, and can carbon capture play an important role in transitional mitigation strategies? Posing as many questions as answers, our contributors tackle a wide range of pressing global issues – we hope you will engage with these challenges!
Last but by no means least, many thanks go to Prof. Albert Lee of the Centre for Health Education and Health Promotion at the Chinese University of Hong Kong for his enthusiasm and support of this project.
Neave
We are very happy to welcome you to the second issue of A Global Village. Much has happened since the first issue was published in January 2010. Notably, we have become an independent publication under the Imperial College Union to ensure that we establish a sustainable journal with a broad contributor base and readership throughout the College.
This issue sees our contributors tackle a range of pressing global issues. These range from creative solutions to climate change through geo-engineering, to challenges met by the aid community in the Western Sahara – and the future of global healthcare, Cuban-style! Following on from a discussion on the need for 'adaptation to climate change' is the last issue, our insider at the Copenhagen conference exposes what happened and why. Turning to European issues, our contributors consider the implications for Europe as Ukraine turns towards Russia following the recent Presidential elections and ask, in the wake of the Greek crisis, what new powers have been bestowed upon the European Union by the Lisbon Treaty.
Finally, we would like to express a warm thank you to Prof. Alan Fenwick OBE and the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative for their generous support of this publication – we hope you enjoy reading it!
Neave
It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to the first edition of A Global Village, Imperial College's new publication on International Affairs from the IC Model United Nations Society.
The initial idea behind the publication of this journal was to encourage members of the IC Model United Nations Society, and other Imperial College societies, to write pieces rooted in conference experience. We felt that the breadth of knowledge acquired from both pre-conference research and participation in international-level debate would allow our contributors to compose an informed analysis of many of the problems facing the world today.
As interest in this project grew we saw that a great many Imperial students were passionate about global issues from population control to climate adaption and the situation in Iran. We had submissions from students with diverse academic and personal backgrounds, many of whom had no connection whatsoever to MUN.
We hope that A Global Village will continue to grow and capture the interest of the Imperial College community and beyond.
Neave