I find myself focusing on - and often fretting about - the big problems of the world. The biggest problems that I see (not necessarily in order) are as follows:
1) Global Warming: There may some contention about this issue, but I think it is safe to say that this is a major issue. To me the major problem is that global warming is making our very diverse world less diverse (killing off certain species) - which is, at this point in time, completely irreversible. It is entirely solvable if everyone could work together flawlessly. The sad part is things do not appear to be changing. It is too convenient to use fossil fuels that produce Carbon Dioxide that then perform (at least) two things that increase the temperature globally (e.g. act as a greenhouse gas and trap in heat and react with the Ozone molecules in the Ozone layer of our atmosphere and basically strip out an Oxygen molecule thereby converting the O3 molecule to O2). The sea levels are going to continue to rise; species are going to continue to go extinct; terrible storms will brew; many other things. We have the capactity to change this, simply not the will. First we need to focus on how to gain that will (globally) and then tackle the problem when everyone is on the same side - well, we should have done that 20 years ago.
2) Overpopulation: This is another very challenging problem because you cannot simply get rid of humans (well in a realistic and morally viable way). The most populous countries are China, India and the United Stattes. I once watched a TED Talk about how in order to reduce the rate at which population is increasing, the most populous areas need to be become more industrialized. In order to be more industrialized the people need to be educated and there needs to be a demand for labor. I mostly agree with this. I think that population will continue to grow but perhaps the rate can be limited a little bit. Also, a nation doesn't just become industrialized overnight. It takes time, but eventually hopefully people either work their way up or their children do (in the majority of circumstances).
3) Natural Disasters: Of course there are already global or local solutions to protect against natural disasters, but it is still a problem that we face - and the challenges will continue to grow as areas become more populous, buildings get taller and weather patterns change due to a Global Warming. There is, for example, the Humanitarian and Disaster Relief assistance, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - all provided by the United Nations. Still everytime a natural disaster occurs we need to be prepared and willing to help. Constructing buildings and other structures that can withstand potential natural disasters is also extremely important so that there is as little damage as possible.
4) Disease: This is a very big concern, I think, mostly because disease simply cannot be eradicated and as people find ways to combat many of the viruses and diseases, they seem to morph and become more resistant to our efforts (as is only natural). Ebola has been a major concern for the past few years due to a recent outbreak and it seems like similar situations will continue to occur. Therefore, we need to be as strategic about this as possible. I am not quite sure how to solve the problem of superviruses or other illnesses that resist antibiotics or other treatments created by humans, but I think that research and response (same thing for the natural disasters) is important - though research might be more beneficial in this area. So, I think that it will be a continual fight against disease and viruses.
5) Terrorism: I think this is the most unfortunate of all of the global problems because it is caused entirely on people that cause nothing but destruction and seek something at the extreme detriment of everyone else in the world and instilling hatred, fear, sadness and simply every bad emotion into everyone else in the world. In order to protect the majority of people in the world that seek to improve the world, their families, themselves and not murdering their own race, we have to fiight terrorism collectively and stand strong against it even though it may leave us in shambles many a times. There are very coordinated measures to reduce and potentially eliminate terrorism, but I do not feel it is within my jurisdiction or even knowledge to attempt to solve the problem of terrorism.
6) Education: This seems to be a tricky problem because it seems like many of those that have education afforded to them do not want it and there are many that would do anything for an education yet cannot get it. I think that a mandatory class at all Universities (or maybe just at the high school level) showing the hardships that people endure and the lack education that exists in some places and what we can do to make an impact would be a good class and perhaps inspire more students to take education more seriously or even consider helping far and wide. Arthur C. Clark said (in one of Sugata Mitra's TED Talks) that "if children have interest, then education happens," and this we almost know to be true. Thus, it seems it is not only a good thing to bring education to children and adults in developing countries and/or places that don't have education but also cultivate the interests of children everywherre. In the most viewed TED Talk thus far (created in February 2010), Ken Robinson discusses how schools kill creativity because they don't cultivate the students desires. Learning is not about rote memorization - I mean, it can be but it is certainly not the most effective way to have students learn. Instead, we should be trying to cultivate their strenghts and use what they like to do to have them teach themselves. In the end a student is not going to want to learn just because you tell him or her to. You can lead a horse to water, but you certainly can't make it drink, and I think we have seen that standardized teaching is somewhat effective but it can certainly be improved in order for students to learn the most and then have the most impact.
7) Product Sourcing: Big companies have been sourcing their products from the wrong places for a very long time now. It irritates me to no end. These companies simply do it for their own benefit - i.e. making more money - yet the labor that goes into producing the products is an absoultely horrible. For example, the major corporation, Apple, still uses Foxconn in order to produce a great majority of it's products. I am not just pointing the finger at Apple. There are too many major corporations that do this as well, and it is time for it to stop. It is time for the US to get its act together and put major limitations on sourcing its products from companies that unfairly pay their employees and make them work long hours. I wish that the US would lead this effort or even the EU because it would then push other countries to finally do what is right and would have a major beneficial global impact - I think, at least.
8) Species Preservation: Due to a variety of factors, many species are dying out. This can be due to habitat loss, global warming, pesticides, another species dying out etc. There are many organizations trying to counteract this luckily. As with global warming, however, the large countries need to lead the way to counteract this. They need to get the citizens to recycle more, get farmers to use less pesticides (cough, cough ... don't subsidize corn more than vegetables that are more valuable - which would have multiple benefits like less high fructose corn syrup), get organizations to abide by cleaner standards in the US and outside. As you may have noticed, many of these global problems are very interrelated and thus solving one may help partially or nearly fully solve another problem.
9) Global Economic Recession: The global economy is something that is very important for citizens' sake and also for travel. We are not in a global economic recession right now, but it is definitely something to watch out for. If you want to know how to maintain a strong economy, I think that Australia might be a good example since it has had a very strong economy for a while. According to the European Commision, limiting government and debt deficits so as not to burden future tax payers which in turn helps provide pensions, health care, etc, trying to maintain low inflation and trying to maintain a minimal gap between the wealthy, middle and poor classes among other things will help guide a country to a better economy.
10) Poverty and Developing Nations: This is linked to the global economy but it is more about countries that are not as developed. They need to somehow educate their people and provide more access to jobs while also keeping them safe and preventing conflicts. Unfortunately creating a stronger economy and providing a better infrastructure for citizens conflicts with Global Warming because fossil fuels is an easy way to use a natural resource as profit which in turn increases the amount of fossil fuels used. I think that a very nice solution is to invest a lot in renewable energy and tourism. Perhaps the two could go hand in hand. Maybe trains that don't use fossil fuels. Who knows?
While there might be a lot of problems and some anger in the world, there is a lot of love and even more solutions. We cannot let the problems get out of sight and must continually pursue them, but first, I think, we must build ourselves and make ourselves credible so that we are able to help in the first place.
