After the economic crisis of 2008-09, many believed that the debts that had grown so large in the 2000s had to be drastically reduced. To this end, many countries were forced to undergo painful spending and budget cuts in a policy that was called “austerity.” The assumption was that by forcing drastic reductions in spending, the debts would be slowly reduced and economic growth would return because the costs of investment would also be reduced. The plan was great in theory, but, in practice, economic growth actually declined in many countries with austerity programs. The graph below dramatically shows the failure of most of the austerity programs (Ireland is a major exception).
The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), an offshoot of al-Qaeda, has seized control of Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq. ISIS is an organization populated primarily by Sunni Muslims, the city of Mosul is generally regarded as a Kurdish stronghold, and the government of Iraq is run by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shia Muslim. In short, the political control of Iraq is highly fragmented, and the success of ISIS makes the situation in Iraq highly volatile.
Malaria kills almost a million people a year. The disease is spread by mosquitoes and control of the disease is incredibly difficult. Scientists have developed a genetically modified mosquito that breeds mostly male mosquitoes leading to the possibility of collapsing mosquito populations within six generations. The breakthrough is dramatic, but we should think about whether eradicating mosquito populations is something we wish to do, despite the benefits of wiping out malaria. Scientific advances often lead to ethical questions we are perhaps ill-equipped to answer–humans may not miss mosquitoes, but humans may rely on species that need them.
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