Cav's Place

Whether it’s because recent developments threaten to worsen the problem even more, because the situation is already dreadful and we need to find a real solution immediately or because there have actually been some positive developments recently and we shouldn’t waste the momentum, there is every reason to believe that 2010 will be a crucial year for a number of causes. It’ll likely be a crucial year for many more issues than I’ll list here, but I can only write about those that are important to me…

While this may surprise some, I think the most important battles of 2010 will be fought on the “piracy” and file-sharing front. Recent negative developments underline the need for immediate action, while the rise of Pirate Parties everywhere can create a powerful and organized movement for just this purpose, especially since the Swedish Pirate Party is now represented in the European Parliament.
The distributors are out for blood, in a final effort to stamp out those who would reduce the huge amounts of money they make off others’ work or perhaps even get rid of them completely by promoting direct contact between the content creators and the consumers. That wouldn’t be so bad if governments wouldn’t be so easy to buy, but since a good bribe or, as the case may be, a believable threat is usually enough to ensure the laws they desire will be adopted, we have a big problem on our hands and very little time to solve it, considering the strength of the enemy.

Despite the unsurprising failure of the Copenhagen Summit, it did provide a certain momentum for environmental issues, especially since many organizations managed, either separately or by working together, to make themselves heard quite loudly. These organizations learned and improved during the Summit, while others can learn from their experience, resulting in more powerful, better organized and ultimately much more effective campaigns in the future. But we need to take advantage of this moment, before any lessons are forgotten and, more importantly, before actual decisions are taken at the highest levels, so we won’t need to fight an even tougher battle in order to change them later.
2010 will also be an important year for environmental issues simply because we’re really out of time. You could say that there’s no way for the things that need to happen to actually happen in due time anymore, but we can still try to reduce the damage and therefore make it somewhat easier to repair later, once we’ll finally convince ourselves that we really need to roll up our sleeves and fix everything humanity has ruined ever since it started relying on the exploitation and destruction of Nature for its own benefit. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll realize that fact while there’ll still be anything left to save… And anyone left to try to save it…

On a related note, 2010 will also be an important year for animal rights, as there are many issues related to this topic that require immediate attention and a number of important decisions regarding some of them will apparently be reached this year. That means that our first duty is to pressure the decision makers in order to ensure that the new laws and regulations will be written with the best interests of the animals in mind, as opposed to those of certain corporations or even humans as a whole, and then we’ll have to keep monitoring the outcome because otherwise it’s unlikely that such laws and regulations would amount to anything more than words on a page. Animals can’t sue, after all, so people find it easy to mistreat them without fear of retribution.

Important battles of the “Privacy War” will also be fought this year, because governments tighten their control more and more. Often, terrorism is used as an excuse for these actions, but I have to wonder when will they feel secure enough of their grip on the people to give up even on this excuse, because the truth is that a skilled terrorist who truly desires to cause harm will find a way past everything any government could ever attempt, so these measures serve to hinder and ultimately control the general public much more than to provide any concept of security.
A particularly worrying trend is the widespread use of RFID, which, if anything, is more of a security risk than a safety measure, at least for the person in question, because any RFID device can theoretically be read by anyone who has managed to purchase, manufacture or steal a suitable device without the need to steal from or even touch the victim, therefore dramatically increasing the risk of identity theft. But, of course, it’s not the security of the people that the governments care about, but their ability to track and control them.

Last but not least, 2010 could also be an important year for those who fight against discrimination of any kind, and perhaps even more so for those who fight for LGBT rights and cohabiters’ rights. A string of encouraging developments regarding these issues in general, and gay marriage especially, has been observed towards the end of 2009, which means that a certain momentum exists and it shouldn’t be wasted.
Of course, it’s equally true that certain negative developments have also been observed and therefore immediate action is necessary in order to counteract them, meaning that a very carefully balanced agenda is in order.

This list only means to outline a few key areas where important changes are required and also can be brought about by the end of this year. As always, it’s far from exhaustive, even from my own perspective. For example, I really wish I could have included something about overpopulation, since for me it’s by far the most important issue, but I doubt 2010 will bring any significant developments in this area, seeing as the vast majority of people simply refuse to understand that it is indeed a problem, or at least refuse to see that it’s a global problem, making it theirs as much as anyone else’s.