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Tough question Ron.
Globalization has almost certainly exacerbated the problem but i see it as a necessity if the human race is to move forward. Sub-prime loans, greed and incompetence, and our level of indebtedness has created this mess in the years since 2001. Mostly the issues arose in the US but don't forget Australia has also played its role as one of the leading countries for personal debt. Rampant, irresponsible growth at all costs in my opinion must be stopped, and the world needs to take stock of the cost of this on people and the environment and start living more sustainably. Globalization will be necessary for this to happen. A new world system based on responsible growth, with concern for human cost and sustainability must slowly be adopted. People are working more than ever and more miserable as a result. The CEO's of the worlds biggest companies need a reality check after record growth which i don't believe the world will ever see again no matter how hard governments try to force it to happen by throwing trillions of tax payers moneys at the very people who got us here.
We can't keep digging massive holes in the ground at the cost of very good farmland at a time when population growth worldwide is exploding and we are already destroying the farmland we have with outdated techniques and overfarming. We in Australia are seeing the effects of this, it is a crime what has happened to the Murray-Darling system. Don't forget this much water wasn't enough so we pumped it out the great artesian basin raising water levels and we are now losing land from salinity issues. Record heat waves in the south and record rain in the north. New technologies are ever closer to being able to supply the power we need from those black stuffs companies and governments love so much, oil and coal. Geothermal, solar, wind and coal to gas is within reach if only government would forget the money made from royalties and ignore the lobbying done by their constituents.
We either learn from these problems and move forward to create a better more sustainable world or governments keep throwing trillions of dollars at the people who created the mess and nothing changes in the long run and we live with the consequences. Personally i hope for the sake of my granchildren's granchidlren we use this as an opportunity to change for the better. To do this we will need a global society focused on working towards the same goal.
Sorry, may have got a little off track.
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