World's Biggest Problems

                        10 of the World’s Biggest Problems

Here’s my take on the biggest problems plaguing the world today.  Its my take on it and not all others may agree with it or concur, but at least it can help generate conversations and positive discourse.  That can only be a good thing. 

Income inequality

-This problem affects a lot of the undeveloped as well as developed nations in the world.  The numbers are kinda hard to fathom and believe.  It’s crazy to think such a small number of individuals directly control and hoard such an incredible fortune.   The influence this small percentage of the world’s population yields must be incredible to say the least.

A possible solution would be to limit the amount of capital or wealth any individual may hold and amass no matter how hard earned or justifiable the means to obtain it was.  I know it sounds naïve and altruistic, but if you consider for example, if you make over $250 million a year, what can you not already do with such an amount of money that you can’t do with, let’s say $1 million a year? 

Hunger

-This issue affects the world over, as we have people going hungry here in the US, in my own town every day and night.  Children are the most vulnerable as they lack the means to be able to handle the perils of this plight. 

I figure the folks with a ton of expendable income could afford to purchase someone a $5 meal every day or night.  Imagine if this is implemented and carried out efficiently and successfully without the bureaucracy and shenanigans that can plague non-profits, there could be a food bank/community restaurant(s) that can serve folks regardless of income.  It would look like any other restaurant setup and would not carry the stigma that a shelter or other public pantry locations may carry. 

AIDS

-This issue is self-explanatory. 

To add to the solutions that are being worked on, I would say incorporate additional sexual educational/training and contraceptive options to the most at risk populations across the globe.  Not that this is not being done already, it could be more widespread and implemented further.  Its sad to think someone may catch the virus which will eventually become the full blown disease when all that had to be done is make them aware of the dangers and consequences of unprotected sex or sharing dirty needles. 

Wars and conflicts

-This affects a lot of countries and for a multitude of reasons that are not always easily explained or resolved.  People die daily and its sad because it is preventable as these conflicts usually involve a skewed balance of power due to unchecked political or military power which spills over to the rest of the country.  Usually the poor and uneducated are affected and end up being victimized as the intelligentsia and rich flee the country before warfare can affect them. 

The U.N. can be a great tool for conflict resolution and to prevent further bloodshed but it too is mired by a lot of checks and balances that slow its response, often times leading to delayed reactions that the rest of the world may perceive as a weak or inadequate action or a toothless attempt to mitigate the damage that has already been done.  Sanctions and things of the nature do not prevent people from getting blown up and killed, unfortunately in some cases only direct action seems the only adequate response.  I know, further conflict will only serve to engender and perpetuate more violence but it is inhumane and wrong for the rest of the world, at least the countries who enjoy relative safety, peace and economic stability, to simply stand by and let this type of horror happen.  No solution to this one unfortunately, only wishful thinking. 

No availability of internet

-There is a great number of people who remain disconnected from the rest of the world in a relative sense due to a lack of internet connectivity.  This usually plagues rural, underdeveloped countries but they happen to be fairly populous.  This would be extremely beneficial as a tool to assist during natural disasters and to report the latest findings after such catastrophic events. 

There a few solutions being implemented, such as Google’s Project Loon which plans to implement balloons floating near space to transmit LTE signals across the globe which is really cool.  So, very soon, someday there will be internet for everyone. 

No running water or potable drinking water

-This is definitely an important problem as we are extremely dependent on the availability of water for pretty much everything.  We in the US and elsewhere that’s developed enjoy freshly manicured and green grasses because we have systems that irrigate said grass to keep and maintain them lush and beautiful.  Crazy to think that we enjoy this luxury, but there are folks who don’t have running water to drink or to flush a toilet.  The implications of this are severe as hygiene is affected in every aspect of life, endangering those who have to live in such conditions. 

There are projects that build aqueducts and wells for rural communities so they do have the ability to obtain fresh and clean drinking water.  This is a great and noble cause and I would jump at the chance to travel overseas to carry out this kind of work. 

Terrorism

-This one currently plagues a lot of the middle eastern countries where this ideology was born. It is spreading and affecting a lot of countries in the world, unfortunately as can be seen by the multiple attacks in France and even here in the U.S. 

There was some talk of reaching out to the un-educated and most-easily influenced people that reside in hotbeds of extremist thought throughout the world, however numbers substantiate the fact that most of the attackers in France had grown up in western countries with relative normalcy and with normal means and access to education.  Some of 9/11 terrorists were college educated and had studied in western universities.  I think a humanistic approach not bound by religious or other motives needs to be taught and ingrained in the minds of pretty much everyone in the world.  A human life is precious and no one should be able to take one because of differences in religion, political ideology or because someone looked at you the wrong way.  Again, wishful thinking. 

Apathy

-This one is pretty widespread and its scary to believe that no one in the world will care about each other at all at the rate we’re going.  A recent example I encountered was as I traveled to work I saw a young woman about 3 cars ahead of me in the turn lane I was in whose car had broken down.  She turned on her hazard lights, stepped out of her car, and was then yelled at and honked at incessantly by the absolute morons in the cars ahead of me who were forced to swerve into a different lane to get around her car.  No one stopped to help push the car out of the way or assist at all and it was pretty sad to see.

My solution to apathy was to park across the street at a Walgreens and then return to the young lady’s vehicle where myself and another gentleman who was nice enough to assist, helped push the car out of the way and ensure that help or a tow truck was on the way before leaving.  It was also pretty cold out but it didn’t matter, as I couldn’t help but think of my 3-year-old daughter.  One day, many moons from now she may find herself in a similar situation and I could not imagine no one stopping to help her or assist her in any way, instead they’d just honk their horns and cuss at her to move her !@#$% car out of the way.  Sad to see the world in such a state for sure. 

Sexual slavery

-Again, another self-explanatory issue. 

This one goes along with income inequality as a lot of the at risk people reside in countries where the wage and earnings gap is immeasurable.  This coupled with the pervasiveness of people looking to exploit those who are weak, who have no other recourse or means to sustain themselves, makes this problem a very difficult one to tackle.  Harsher and stricter penalties for those involved in the trafficking of people for this purpose should be enacted.  That along with additional programs and resources for those that are risk or that are already trapped in such a situation would go a long way to help. 

Climate change

-This affects the entire world but there are a lot of non-believers and those that tend to think of the problems as micro events that are directly related to recent occurrences weather related as opposed to more endemic and permanent macro changes that can affect the planet and future generations in the long run.

I believe that by doing our part to reduce our respective carbon footprints, conserve energy and water, recycle, be less of a burden on the planet and just overall be conscientious of the impact our lifestyle and the short amount of time we have on this planet causes longstanding problems, will go a long way to prevent and reverse the damage we’ve already caused.  That and sue the living pants out of companies who refuse to reduce their carbon emissions in developed countries.