Among experts and the general public, there is a debate as to how specific years of the 21st century should be pronounced in English. Although the majority of English-speakers say "two thousand (and) X" for any specific year post–1999, it is often suggested that the continuation of this type of pronunciation for the entire 21st century would be inappropriate or unnatural, given the alternative "twenty X" option.
Academics suggest that since former years such as 1805 and 1905 were commonly pronounced as "eighteen oh" or "nineteen oh" five, the year 2005 should naturally have been pronounced as "twenty oh-five".[1] Many experts agree that majority usage of "two thousand (and) X" is a result of influences from the Y2K hype, as well as the way "2001" was pronounced in the influential 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Many people, ranging from linguistic and academic experts to Internet bloggers, predict that the "twenty X" pronunciation method will eventually prevail, but a timeframe as to when this change will occur often differs. The year 2010 is suggested by many,[2][3] while 2011[1] and 2013 are popular as well. The latest timeframes for change are usually placed at 2020[1] or 2100.
According to a recent press release, David Crystal, author of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, has predicted that the change of pronunciation to "twenty X" will occur in 2011, as "twenty eleven", explaining that the way people pronounce years depends on rhythm, rather than logic. Crystal claims that the rhythm or "flow" of "two thousand (and) ten", beats out that of "twenty ten", but the flow of "twenty eleven" beats out "two thousand (and) eleven".[1] Alternatively, Ian Brookes, editor-in-chief of Chambers Dictionary, suggests the change will occur in 2013. And finally, The Times of London has suggested 2020 as a final timeframe for the change, saying "If people can have “twenty-twenty” vision, then surely they should also live in the year “twenty twenty”.[1]
In addition, the Vancouver olympics, taking place in 2010, are being officially referred to by Vancouver 2010 as "the twenty-ten olympics", and the London olympics, taking place in 2012, are also being officially referred to by London 2012 as "the twenty-twelve olympics". Chicago 2016, which operates the official Chicago bid for the 2016 games, refers to the "twenty-sixteen games".
U.S. Invasion in Iraq, most estimates claim 40,000 – 50,000 Iraqi and 3,100 coalition deaths. In 2004, The Lancet estimated that about "98,000 more deaths than expected (8000–194,000) happened after the invasion." [5]
March 11, 2004 suicide terrorist attacks shake several train stations on Spain's capital Madrid, killing 190 people and injuring 1,247.
July 7, 2005 suicide terrorist attacks shake London transport system killing 52 people and injuring 700.
29 October 2005 Delhi Bombings, terrorists attack various markets in New Delhi, killing 61 people and injuring 188 more, right before the start of the festival season in India.
Furthermore, there are several wars and dictatorships continuing from the 20th century. In most cases, the death toll is unclear.
See also [6].
Natural disasters
Up to 50,000 people were killed in France, Italy, and other European countries in the summer of 2003 due to a prolonged heat wave coinciding with a shortage of medical and nursing staff.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina impacts the U.S. Gulf Coast as a strong Category 3 hurricane with top sustained winds before landfall near 125 mph, flooding New Orleans, and causing significant damage in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama. The current number of fatalities stands at 1,836. Katrina surpassed Hurricane Andrew in cost of damage, approaching $75 billion and becoming the costliest natural disaster in U.S history.
Hurricane Stan hit Mexico along the Gulf of Campeche in October 2005 and moved into Guatemala. Hurricane Stan combined with powerful storms already occurring in the region and contributed to the deaths of 1,620 people. It is unclear how many deaths are due directly to Stan and how many from the already existing storms, or perhaps a combination of the two.
2001- NASCAR (American stock car) driver Dale Earnhardt dies after hitting the wall on the last lap of the Daytona 500. Earnhardt's son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., claimed a tearful victory in the next race held at Daytona, less than four months later.
2003- Roy Jones Jr. becomes the first former World Middleweight Boxing Champion in 106 years to win a portion of the World Heavyweight title, following his twelve-round unanimous decision over then-WBA champion John Ruiz, March 1st.
Note* Some of the following details are debatable, and must be considered accordingly.
Some of the things that have dominated discussion and debate so far in this century include:
Globalization. Advances in telecommunications and transportation, the expansion of capitalism and democracy, and free trade agreements have resulted in unprecedented global economic and cultural integration. This has caused (and is continuing to cause) huge economic and cultural shifts which have been the subject of considerable controversy. It is surmised* [7] that gradual ethical steps in three main areas (animals and the environment, employees, and consumers), are what will turn the tide in a favourable direction. The three stakeholders responsible for these changes are: governance, industry, and consumers.
Overpopulation. The United Nationsestimates that world population will reach 9.1 billion by mid-century. Such growth raises questions of ecological sustainability and creates many economic and political disruptions. In response, many countries have adopted policies which either force or encourage their citizens to have fewer children, and others have limited immigration. Considerable debate exists over what the ultimate carrying capacity of the planet may be; whether or not population growth containment policies are necessary; to what degree growth can safely occur thanks to increased economic and ecological efficiency; and how markets should accommodate demographic shifts. Evidence suggests that developed countries (such as Japan) suffer population implosion, and the population debate is strongly tied with poverty.
Poverty. Poverty remains the root cause of many of the world's other ills, including famine, disease, and insufficient education. Poverty contains many self-reinforcing elements (for instance, poverty can make education an unaffordable luxury, which tends to result in continuing poverty) that various aid groups hope to rectify in this century. Microcredit lending has also started to gain a profile as a useful anti-poverty tool.
Global warming. The majority of climate scientists think that the earth is currently undergoing significant anthropogenic (human-induced) global warming. [8] The resulting economic and ecological costs are hard to predict, and by the end of the 21st century could be quite severe.
Other environmental changes. Trends such as increased pollution, deforestation and biodiversity loss occurring in the 20th century are likely to continue into the 21st century.
Resource depletion may be a significant issue, with economic and environmental implications. Resources that could be depleted soon include oil and natural gas.
Global power. Issues surrounding the cultural, economic, and military dominance of the United States and its role in the world community have become even more pointed given its recent military activities, problematic relations with the United Nations, disagreement over several international treaties, and its economic policies with regard to globalization. Integration of the European Union and the African Union have proceeded.
Intellectual property. The increasing popularity of digital formats for entertainment media such as movies and music, and the ease of copying and distributing it via the Internet and peer-to-peer networks, has raised concerns in the media industry about copyright infringement. Much debate is proceeding about the proper bounds between protection of copyright, trademark and patent rights versus fair use and the public domain, where some argue that such laws have shifted greatly towards intellectual property owners and away from the interests of the general public in recent years, while others say that such legal change is needed to deal with the threat of new technologies against the rights of authors and artists (or, as others put it, against the outmoded business models of the current entertainment industry). Domain name "cybersquatting" and access to patented drugs to combat epidemics in third-world countries are other IP concerns.
Technology developments show no sign of ending. Communications and control technology continues to augment the intelligence of individual humans, collections of humans, and machines. Cultures are forced into the position of sharply defining humanity and determining boundaries on desire, thought, communication, behavior, and manufacturing. Some predict that by the middle of this century there will be a Technological Singularity if artificial intelligences are created that are smarter than humans. If these then create even smarter AI's technological change will accelerate in ways that are impossible for us to foresee.
Energy is becoming scarce and more expensive, due to the escalating demand for petroleum ("oil") and oil-based products such as gasoline and kerosene, unmatched by production. Discovery of new oil fields has not been sufficient to sustain current levels of production, and some fear that the earth may be running out of economically viable oil. While complete depletion will not happen in the near future, some fear that a peak in production will cause an end to the trend of economic expansion in modern society, perhaps resulting in a collapse of modern civilization itself. Economists argue that alternative sources of energy will prevent this disaster.
The United Nations lists global issues on its agenda here and lists a set of Millennium Goals to attempt to address some of these issues.
However, it is important to note that the current year is only 2008, which means we are only at the start of the century. Therefore, it is impossible to make detailed predictions about the future of this century.
