As 2010 ends and 2011 begins, will the next year and the next decade see the lessons of the last 10 years become guides for future action? Sadly, some of the lessons of the past year alone do not raise expectations.

By the end of 2010, half of the MDGs were already in jeopardy. The U.S. ended 2010 circling the wagons for a continuing currency war against China. The Greek debt crisis, the Irish bailout and signs of similar crises in Portugal, Spain and other European capitals are providing serious headaches for the European Union for 2011.The big American banks, companies, private financial and credit institutions that caused the recent world economic crises have been bailed out, but most have already gone back to their good old bad ways.

In 2010, Haiti suffered a triple whammy: a giant (7.0 magnitude) earthquake, a cholera epidemic and failed forced elections. But as the year ended, not a cent had been delivered from the hundreds of millions promised to begin rebuilding the totally devastated poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Nor was enough money available to help fight the cholera outbreak more effectively.

But it's not all gloom and doom for 2011.

The December 2010 SALT agreement between the USA and Russia to limit and cut strategic nuclear arms on both sides in Europe by one-third opened the way for more future progress in 2011 and beyond. The developing nations are well poised to influence positive changes at the 2011 Climate Change summit in South Africa. The steep rise in fuel prices in the last two-and-a-half years has resulted in the increased global acceptance of the need for development of alternative energy.

But most important of all is the fact that, one way or another, in the last ten years, we've all had experiences that changed how we view each other and other parts of the world. We've learned new facts about old realities, new lessons from old experiences. New knowledge dumped our old fears. Information and communication access transcended all borders, making us all world citizens.

We've just acquired another ten years worth of more worldly knowledge. And we will all be influenced, one way or another, by developments of the last decade, as we change our calendars and begin the next. It's just a matter of time.

The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.ccgp-fushun.com/opinion/node_7107878.htm

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