Q The problem. Turn Rubbish into Energy

Hunger

FOOD

Cuts pollution.

Saves money.

Use Rubbish Again

Turn Rubbish into Energy

How? By burning it. This is a good idea because it...

...saves fossil fuels

... means burying less rubbish

... cuts pollution. (Energy from rubbish is cleaner and cheaper than energy from fossil fuels.)

At the moment, most countries only turn between 5% and 10% of their rubbish into energy.

A lot of what we throw away is still useful. It's possible, in fact, to recycle 80% of domestic rubbish. This includes most kinds of paper, glass, metal and plastic. But there's a problem. Recycling is expensive. That's why (at the moment) we only recycle about 15% of glass, 20% of plastic and 30% of paper. But it's getting cheaper and easier to recycle all the time. One reason for this is the growing number of recycling centres. (For example, there are more 'bottle banks' today than ever before.)

Also, some countries now have recycling laws. These mean that super­markets pay customers to return tins and bottles.

Recycling... saves trees.

...saves energy.

□ Your opinion

Which of the three ways is most effective to your mind?

In poor countries food is a question of life and death. In rich countries it's a question of health and diet.

□ The Problem

Millions die of hunger in the Third World every year. Millions more become ill because they don't have enough to eat. This is one of the mod­ern world's most serious problems. The question is... why does it happen?

There are two kinds of fanner in the Third World. One kind grows 'cash crops' (for example, coffee or tobacco) to sell abroad. This is neces­sary because Third World countries need foreign money to survive. But cash crops don't feed local people. It's the other kind of farmer who grows food for his own family and village. Farmers in this second group are usually poor. So is their land. Very often the soil on their farms is thin, weak and erodes easily. That's why, if there isn't enough rain one year, poor people always suffer first. They simply can't grow enough to feed themselves. When this happens a famine begins.

In the last years there have been serious famines in both Ethiopia and Sudan.

□ The Solution

How do the rich countries of the world help in crises like this? Well — in two ways. First, they send food, money, blankets and medicine. This kind of short-term aid is very important. It saves thousands of lives. But it's not the complete answer to Third World famine. That's because it doesn't help people to help themselves. Instead it makes them leave home and travel to towns and feeding centres. The question isn't just 'How can we stop this famine?' It's also 'How can we stop the next one?" And that's where the second kind of aid comes in. Long-term aid projects help Third World countries all the time — not just during a crisis.

They make it easier for farmers to... stop erosion irrigate their land grow more food.

And all those things are crucial for the future. Why? Because by 2010 there will be 9 billion people on Earth. That's 50% more than today's world population. And most of them will live in the Third World.

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