Gorbachev pleads to save the Earth from destructive forces

By Daniel R. Gangler

GREENCASTLE, Ind. - Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev addressed more than 4,000 Hoosiers Oct. 27 at United Methodist-related DePauw University. Speaking about challenges of the 21st century, Gorbachev said security, poverty and the global environment must be dealt with, otherwise we could destroy Earth.

As president of Green Cross International, a worldwide environmental non-governmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, he said drinkable clean water is a right of every human being in the world, however one in every eleven humans in the world lacks drinkable water. He said according to United Nations reports, the lack of clean water claims the lives of 6,000 children globally each day who die of diarrhea. "Radical steps must be taken to avert a terrible disaster. This (clean water) must become our first priority," he said.

Security, poverty and the global environment must be dealt with, otherwise we could destroy Earth.

Hand in hand with water is the scarcity of food. Each day more than 25,000 people die of starvation. He said this should not be in a world that can be interconnected and interdependent. He warned that, according to a United Nations reports, "60 percent of the ecosystems that support life on Earth have been degraded and exhausted to such an extent that their recovery may no longer be possible. But problems do not end here: scientists believe that the harmful effects of this degradation will worsen considerably within the next 50 years."

Despite a dismal forecast, Gorbachev is optimistic because he believes these negative trends are reversible, however safe drinking water, hunger and poverty must become worldwide priorities of all governments. If the water problem is not solved internationally, we will experience dangerous water conflicts between nations like the conflict we now we see between Israel and Lebanon over the water rights of the Hasbani River as it flows into the Jordan River valley.

From British Petroleum and other oil company projections, the earth will run out of oil in about 40 years and needs to find alternative sources of energy. In the meantime, the United States must work toward an interdependence with the other countries through a reformed and respected United Nations. Currently, one-fourth of the world's oil is consumed by 4.5 percent of the world's population. The United States only produces one-third of the oil it consumes. Gorbachev predicts the problem of oil dependency will worsen if something is not done to become less dependent on oil not only for fuel, but also for goods and products made from oil.

He also said he opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning, but now that the United States is in Iraq, it is critical that the U.S. not be defeated. Democracy will eventually come to Iraq as a way of life, but the U.S. must recognize Iraq as a sovereign state and end its occupation as soon as it is feasible. The world cannot afford a war that cost $1 billion a week when there are so many pressing needs. He said, "The future of the planet is at stake," and said he could make such a statement because of this 50 years of experience.

During a press conference following his address, Gorbachev did touch on Christianity. He said the communism had a lot in common with Christianity, but when Marxism was developed it took on different policies to fill those goals. Government should never become a monopoly. Society always should remain a democracy which keeps a vow of pluralism.

Learn more about Gorbachev and Green Cross International at www.gci.ch.

Last updated on 25 Apr 2008

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