Download * Team Name - The Harker School

* Team Name
Salvatores Orbis
* Team Email Address (Email will be used for
team communication with/by the U.S. Fund
for UNICEF):
[email protected]
Team Members
First Name
Last Name
Email address
Justine
Liu
Allika
Walvekar
Rohan
Bopardikar
Frederic
Enea
11justinel@studen
ts.harker.org
11allikaw@studen
ts.harker.org
12rohanb@student
s.harker.org
12frederice@stude
nts.harker.org
Gender
(M/F)
F
School / Organization
The Harker School
Date of Birth
(YYYY-MMDD)
1993-05-23
F
The Harker School
1993-01-13
M
The Harker School
1994-02-08
M
The Harker School
1994-07-06
2) G8 Summit agenda issues
Focusing on selected G8 agenda topics, describe two ways you would recommend to G8
leaders to solve each problem. Please write up to 300 words to describe two ideas for
each topic below.
A. The Environment and Climate Change
Describe two ideas for ways G8 countries can achieve sustainable and efficient
energy supply, energy consumption reduction and other measures to curb global
warming and better protect the integrity of the environment. (Maximum 300
words.)
First, we advocate that the G8 nations implement public awareness programs to
encourage members of society to individually work to conserve energy. The countries
should work to educate consumers about the environmental consequences of specific
products or activities using existing Life Cycle Energy Analysis (LCEA) methods to
track how much energy is necessary to create a product. That information should be
made available to consumers so that they can make educated, positive decisions about
their daily lifestyles. The G8 nations should also strive to integrate environmental
awareness and the importance of limiting energy consumption into education programs as
early in the educational process as possible. We also believe that industrial ecology is
necessary to alleviate climate change. Current companies are already successfully
identifying and implementing strategies to reduce the environmental consequences of
their industrial processes, and the G8 nations should continue support for such activities.
Second, Salvatores Orbis believes that the G8 countries should lead the movement to
combat global warming by enacting governmental change. The nations should continue
international dialogue, culminating in the signing of an international treaty at the COP15
UN Climate Change Conference whereby each country makes a tangible promise to
quantifiably decrease emissions and obtain a considerable portion of energy consumed
from alternative sources by a set date. To achieve these goals, the G8 countries should
continue to utilize cap and trade programs to set limits on carbon emissions in industry
through the sale of emissions allowances. Moreover, nations should make federal
regulations regarding fuel economy in vehicles more stringent, as such programs have
been successful in reducing average fuel consumption while encouraging development in
cleaner technologies. Governments should also subsidize green energy vehicles through
tax benefits to provide financial incentives for consumers to purchase them, thus
gradually facilitating the shift towards alternative fuel vehicles.
B. HIV and AIDS
Infectious diseases such as HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis are a major
burden on the health and productivity of people – particularly children - in many
low-income countries. Describe two measures to help curb one or more diseases
that can be undertaken by G8 leaders. (Maximum 300 words.)
Malaria, the killer of one child every thirty seconds, is a disease that can be
curbed 50% by using Insecticide-Treated Bednets (ITNs). They are affordable at only
$1.20 per person every year. A study from Ghana shows that although people in Africa
are well aware of bednets and their positive effects on malaria prevention, many people
shy away from using them because of cultural beliefs. For example, the bednets
seemingly resemble a burial shroud, so some African people fear sleeping under such
technologies. Salvatores Orbis proposes that the G8 countries use part of their Global
Fund to fund and stimulate education and design efforts, particularly in western and subSaharan Africa (where malaria is at its highest), to differentiate ITNs from other cultural
items that inspire negative connotations, like the funerary shrouds. Moreover, these
efforts should also include the distribution of bednets amongst the local people in the
disease-stricken areas so that malaria can be curbed with minimal financial cost.
Furthermore, most malaria is caused by the lack of accessible clean water. Without
clean water nearby, many communities are forced to drink disease-ridden water that
exposes them to malaria. This problem, fortunately, can be addressed with the use of
cheap filtering straws. This technology allows bacteria and parasites to be removed from
water, significantly decreasing the risk of contracting malaria. Salvatores Orbis proposes
that the G8 governments begin sponsoring the widespread use of these tools to drastically
reduce the spread of infectious diseases. Furthermore, because malaria-carrying
mosquitoes breed in standing water, the G8 countries should tackle that problem as well.
By implementing better irrigation systems to keep water flowing, the amount of infected
pools of water can be reduced. By removing the mosquitoes’ nests, the G8 countries can
effectively attack the root of the problem.
C. A third topic of your choosing
Every year, the leaders at the G8 Summit discuss the world’s most pressing issues,
of which there are many. Topics could include the financial crisis, the global food
crisis, education, etc. Please identify a global issue you feel is particularly
relevant to your team and to young people around the world and describe a
response that you think G8 leaders should support. (Maximum 300 words.)
One of the foremost causes of child deaths in the world is unclean water coupled
with insufficient sanitation. Therefore, G8 countries should fund charity organizations to
help provide people in poverty-stricken nations with bacteria-filtering straws. Such
straws enable people to have increased access to safe drinking water without needing to
travel long distances to find a clean water source. G8 countries should also financially
support organizations such as the Peer Water Exchange. The PWX has people create
proposals for how to obtain water and then request non-governmental organizations to
implement the local projects in rural areas. This would allow people in developing
countries to direct efforts before spent attaining clean water towards more productive
pursuits, such as receiving an education.
With 1% of the world's water available for human use and 2/3 of the world’s
population in danger of water shortages by 2025, G8 countries must help solve this
impending crisis by targeting activities which have a proven inefficient use of water. For
example, most water in the world is used in agricultural systems wherein much of the
water evaporates before reaching the roots. G8 countries should mandate that all major
agricultural firms use drip irrigation, a system that reduces water usage by up to 70% and
costs $777 less per acre. By setting an international example through the success of using
drip irrigation, G8 countries will serve as a global model to motivate other nations to
adopt such procedures.
On a grassroots level, G8 countries should, through commercials and
advertisements, spread awareness about the world water crisis and introduce the public to
simple methods of conserving water. To incentivize people in developed nations to
respond, G8 governments should also work with water providers to offer rebates to those
who use less than a certain amount of water per month.
3) References
Cite all of the references you used in a bibliographic list (include the websites, newspaper
articles, magazine articles, letters, presentations, books, etc. that informed your research).
“About Our Approach.” Malaria No More. 2009. 29 Mar. 2009
http://www.malarianomore.org/approach/whatwedo/index.php.
De La Cruz, Natalie, et al. “Who Sleeps Under Bednets in Ghana? A Doer/Non-Doer
Analysis of Malaria Prevention Behaviours.” Malaria Journal 5.61 (2006). 29 Mar.
2009 <http://www.malariajournal.com/content/5/1/61>.
Fairley, Peter. “The New CAFE Standards.” ABC News 15 Jan. 2008. 29 Mar. 2009
<http://abcnews.go.com/technology/globalwarming/story?id=4136951&page=1>.
Garner, Andy, and Gregory A Keoleian. Industrial Ecology: An Introduction. 1995.
Pollution Prevention and Industrial Ecology. Nov. 1995. National Pollution
Prevention Center for Higher Education. 29 Mar. 2009 <http://www.umich.edu/
~nppcpub/resources/compendia/INDEpdfs/INDEintro.pdf>.
Global Malaria Action Plan. Roll Back Malaria Partnership. 29 Mar. 2009
http://www.rbm.who.int/gmap/index.html.
Godoy, Maria. “CAFE Standards: Gas-Sipping Etiquette for Cars.” NPR 18 June 2007.
29 Mar. 2009 <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5448289>.
“Malaria.” Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 1999-2009. Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation. 29 Mar. 2009 http://www.gatesfoundation.org/topics/Pages/
malaria.aspx#.
Malaria Site: Malaria Simplified. 29 Mar. 2009 http://www.malariasite.com/MALARIA/
malaria_simplified.htm.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. “Why We Should Have a Climate Change
Agreement.” United Nations Climate Change Conference. 2008. 29 Mar. 2009
<http://en.cop15.dk/denmark%27s+efforts/
why+should+we+have+a+climate+change+agreement>.
Oliver, Hongyan He, et al. China’s Fuel Economy Standards for Passenger Vehicles:
Rationale, Policy Process, and Impacts. Belfer Center for Science and
International Affairs. Mar. 2009. John F. Kennedy School of Government,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 29 Mar. 2009
<http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/18893/
chinas_fuel_economy_standards_for_passenger_vehicles.html>.
Peer Water Exchange. 29 Mar. 2009 <http://peerwater.org/>.
Smolan, Rick, and Jennifer Erwitt. Blue Planet Run: The Race to Provide Safe Drinking
Water to the World. N.p.: Earth Aware Editions, 2007.
United Nations Environment Programme. “Evaluation of Environmental Impacts in Life
Cycle Assessment.” November 29-30, 1998, Brussels and May 25-26, 2000,
Brighton. 29 Mar. 2009 <http://books.google.com/books?id=wZgyshZYZzkC>.
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. “Global: LifeStraw Water
Purifier Grows into Family Size.” IRIN Global 4 Feb. 2008. 29 Mar. 2009
<http://irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=76548>.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 29 Mar. 2009 <http://www.epa.gov/>.
Walsh, Bryan. “10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now: 10. Ecological Intelligence.”
TIME 12 Mar. 2009. 29 Mar. 2009 <http://www.time.com/time/specials/
packages/article/0,28804,1884779_1884782_1884776,00.html>.
“Water and Sanitation.” ONE. 29 Mar. 2009 <http://one.org/issues/water_san.html>.
5) Mobilizing others
The Junior 8 Summit is one event in a wider UNICEF strategy to connect and assist
communities of young people in their efforts to make the world a better place. If you
were able to attend the Summit, how would you inspire other young people to become
involved in global issues in your community upon your return? (Maximum 500 words.)
Salvatores Orbis believes the best way to inspire young people to become
involved in global issues is through education. Many of today's youth are unaware of
crises around the world or simply asks questions like, "How does this affect me? How
can I, a mere individual, make a difference?" By addressing these questions, we could
harness the power and energy of youth and rally support for solving critical global issues.
Our participation in the J8 summit would offer us a platform to voice our
solutions to key problems that our society is faced with. We would leverage the power of
the media to reach out and present to students at our own school, as well as the
community at large. These presentations would contain simple, contagious ideas that are
easy to comprehend and put into effect. For example, students could commit to making
lifestyle changes that would reduce their carbon footprint and conserve water. They
would also be encouraged to spread these solutions to friends and family.
We also plan to sell wristbands, much like Lance Armstrong did with his widely
successful "Livestrong" initiative, to raise public awareness, mainly in regards to the
spread of infectious diseases in Africa, while also fundraising for the cause. Salvatores
Orbis would inscribe the name of the non-governmental organization working to end the
spread of such disease on the wristband and provide them with donations. We would
change the disease and color of the band every two months, giving individuals the
opportunity to continuously help the cause.
Technology is a powerful tool to spread knowledge about global problems, and
Salvatores Orbis will make best use of it to inspire participation in helping resolve these
issues. For example, in the recent presidential race, candidates made extensive use of the
Internet to express their views and thus raise grassroots support. We will employ online
forums, blogs, and social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter to launch
presentations, ideas, and active discussions within the community that will help the youth
participate in forging simple lifestyle changes. This way, the ideas and solutions we bring
back from the J8 summit will continue to evolve and grow, thus creating a stimulus for
greater youth involvement.
Overall, we will strive to play the role of social entrepreneurs by maximizing the
number of youth that will stand up, digest our ideas, and then implement them.
Essentially we will be mass recruiters of change and role models for young people to
channel their passions into these worthwhile causes and inspire society to make positive
changes.