On October 12, 1999, the six-billionth child was born in the world. Symbolically, a boy born in Yugoslavia, named Adam, was identified by the United Nations as the six-billionth child and was visited by the UN Secretary General. The boy' s name "Adam" symbolically represented the first parent as identified in the story of "Genesis" in the Hebrew/Christian Bible.
Years ago, Daniel Rops spoke of "The despair of being a man. " Today, there is much pessimism about whether the human race will survive, because of problems facing it such as an energy crisis, illness, pollution, war, terrorism, poverty, and population growth. Several years ago, the World Watch Institute in the US produced a book, entitled " Who Will Feed China?" As the world's most populous nation, standing at 1.3 billion persons, China faces many of the most serious problems involving other parts of world, including adequate water for several of its provinces and sufficient food production to feed its people. It is also likely that India will surpass China in population growth in the next two decades. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan says that the two greatest human rights violations today are war and abject poverty. Now, it is also possible to add terrorism as another major threat to the survival of the human race.
What can be done insure the survival of the human race? International organizations such as the United Nations and its many subsidiary bodies, regional organizations, and individual states must work cooperatively to combat war, nuclear weapon proliferation, terrorism, and poverty, as well as environmental degradation, excess energy consumption, and to promote social justice, peace and human rights all over the world. The challenge is considerable, but not impossible, if all international organizations, regional organizations, and nation states work cooperatively together to leave a better future world for our children and grandchildren. Individuals must also dedicate themselves to helping make the future better, and not leave the tasks to others.