World's Biggest Problems

      Here you will find what I consider the world's biggest problems. Impractical some may be, but still my thoughts as to how we can begin to think about a solution. 

1.  Religious persecution and/or beliefs throughout the world that leads to war. Also the persecution of individual based on religious beliefs in countries that have laws that enforce such persecution.

Possible Solution

•   I do believe everyone has the right to think and believe as they wish. Partly due to our freedoms in this country that allows me to think this way. I don’t believe war is the answer to solving differences, but I believe we should have a community of nations such as the United Nations that monitors such actions and reach out to those countries diplomatically to discuss the opposing views. Stoning should not be okay. We have come a long way technologically and the thinking should go along with that development.

•  An exchange program of sorts may be an alternative. Not sure how this works, but I think the younger population should have an opportunity to see how different things can work even with opposing beliefs.

•   In the U.S. we need to be wary of profiling due to the recent terrorists activities with regards to Muslim. The more we educate and communicate with Muslims and working with Muslims cooperatively to solve the rampant problem of recruitment from these factions, the better off we as a nation would be

2.  Depletion of natural resources due to increased construction that depletes forests, minerals, and energy. With the depletion comes possible species extinction, Global Warming, and drought.

Possible Solution

•   Education of reusable goods is key. We need to find a way to continuously educate manufacturing industry firstly, but all including service industry should have a standard of recycling. I think the best way to do this is for organizations to stipulate green initiatives if choosing to partner with a company for goods or services. More and more individuals throughout the world care about the planet and are attempting to get that word out. Responsible companies that care want to be that company in which consumers choose. As consumers we should ask the questions of what is the organization doing with regards to the green initiatives and combatting the depletion of natural resources.

3.   Per the United Nations World Food Programme, some 795 million people in the world do not have enough food to eat. This accounts to one in nine people on earth. No child should go to bed hungry or be sent to work in order for the rest of the family gets some food.

Possible Solution

•   We need to first find ways to get and ensure irrigation for all countries in order for them to learn to farm. We need to tailor for each country as appropriate.

• v  Set up programs to assist with farming in the first year. In the United States we can test differing methods, such as a window garden in New York City, NY, farming a piece of land in rural Virginia, or the deserts of Nevada. By testing the best methods for each environment, we can then move to work with the government of those countries in need first and come up with a plan to institute the irrigation and then seeding the area for food and sustenance. These should be community farms where all help and participate in the reward of their labors. This would have already been trialed domestically.

4.  Untreated mental illness is getting ignored by family members as rebellion or just a mild depression that will be outgrown. It is unfortunate, that we as individuals do not really have a clear understanding of what mental illness entails and we find outbreaks of violence throughout the world because of it.

Possible Solution

•   Mental illness has always had a negative context, therefore, less and less are wanting to step up to admit their family member or friend may have a mental illness. This is not just within the domestic United States we see this rampant but throughout the world. We saw a pilot who took down a plane with German students due to a mental illness. We see youth getting guns and going on killing sprees. There are signs that pointed to mental illness or at minimum these individuals were diagnosed and took themselves off the drugs used to treat them. It begins with education about mental illness as well as depression. We can no longer hide that this exists because human life is at stake. Most of the time these individuals want to feel better, but they do not and cannot find the answer on their own. We have to educate all about it and make sure there are opportunities to get the help that is needed and not just a pill. There has to be accountability for these individuals once in care and a monitoring of their actions for their safety and the safety of others.

5.  Government Corruption is alive and well in every country that can reach to the poorest of countries to those considered advanced and rich such as the United States. The corruption can entail gaining advantages for lobbying organizations, or permission to do a certain business transaction in another country to get a jump on a competitor.

Possible Solution

•   Each country should have members part of a committee that oversees any international agreement or transactions between these countries. I think the members should change quarterly or yearly. No one person should be comfortable in the position of serving on the committee. There should not be one individual that has the power to say yes or no because you open your country up to possible corruption. We should include such as part of NAFTA. In order to avoid slowing the trading process, there needs to be a notification to the committee at the time of consideration of talks. It may fall through, but advance notice gives opportunities to review prospect and move forward.

•   If that is not feasible, then Revolucione is always an alternative

6.  Gender equality with regards to pay, positions held, education, and opinions is needed throughout the world. There are too many instances of women held back due to religious beliefs and misunderstandings of what value women can actually bring if they had a seat at the table.

Possible Solution

•   Women need to advocate for women. Initiatives set up to encourage women to speak and to do. Actions sometimes speak louder than words. There are countries that value women but those are few in numbers. In the United States we say all the right things and have come a long way, but we are from where we really need to be regarding equality among men and women in pay and in positions held in the highest positions within organizations. Partly because women do not speak as loudly for what they want because they were raised to stay silent and be thankful for what has been given. We have an opportunity to educate both our young men and women they count equally and should be treated as such.

•   An offering of a women exchange system to open them up to the possibility of change to an environment of openness. For these young women to go back to their home countries and educate and show what they can contribute to the betterment of their community and/or country will help to change the mindset of those countries in which they feel women should be “seen” and not “heard”.

•  Create a monthly publication profiling successes created by women. This free publication would highlight stories submitted by differing countries. This will of course, push for the developed and undeveloped nations to have their country highlighted for successes and could help in changing the current mindset.

7.  Outbreaks of diseases worldwide stemming from heart disease to those that spread via contamination of some sort from person to person or contamination of bodies of water or unsanitary conditions.

Possible Solution

•   Education is key starting with governments. There has to be an importance in saving their communities and ensuring they know there is a way to combat whatever disease is prevalent in their respective areas.

•  Immunizations need to be available to all free of charge because the costs associated with treating an epidemic far outweighs the cost associated with known immunizations available.

•   Clean water supply needs to be available via my irrigation systems mentioned previously.

•   Training and developing trades among the poorest of communities to drive growth to the middle class.

•   Ensuring sufficient inspectors to check any foods going into and out of a market prior to consumer handling. Countries should be held accountable for endangering lives due to inefficient policies in place for trade purposes.

8.  Obesity among the young and old is wearing on our healthcare system and our resources domestically and beyond. We have more and more cases of diabetes within the United States with our children.

Possible Solution

•  Processed foods needs to be discouraged, but unfortunately, many find unprocessed food cheaper than fresh fruits and vegetables. I think there needs to be an emphasis of making sure fresh fruits and vegetables affordable for all, just like the cost of a frozen pizza. If someone has only $10 they should be able to gain a basket of fruits and vegetables for that $10 and understand that their improved lifestyle with the right foods will in turn lower healthcare costs. The best way to start this is to set up local markets with fresh fruits and vegetables as well as lean meats. Local markets would be much cheaper than the shipping of this category from overseas. I realize this is not a popular remedy because nations count on trading, but if we implement worldwide change, this should not be an overall loss for these farming communities.

•  There should be a change in thinking that we as humans should want to spend more on food than healthcare costs associated with the processed foods made readily available. Again, reform will not take place without education. Starting with our youth is key and that begins in the school systems not just education but also their lunches.

9.   Intolerance/-isms: racism, ageism, sexism spans across diverse groups for various reasons. I don’t this can be eliminated, but I think there needs to be an openness and understanding to differences in all of us and values magnified of what each individuals brings to the table.

Possible Solution

•  We need to start with open dialogue with diverse groups of people to discuss concerns and why. This group setting is to allow people to openly talk of their fears and concerns of those groups without fear of judgment or retaliation. Education is key to making a change with intolerance. The lack of education of specific groups whether ageism, gender, race, and religion is what perpetuates fear. We have some similarities no matter our backgrounds and I think thoughtfully voicing who we are and our concerns can better connect us to each other, the Human Race.

10.   Unemployment misnomer has been a sore spot with those unemployed as well as those employed. Truthfully, many have stopped looking for work because assistance is available. While I agree it is necessary for a timeframe, I do not believe it should be something that is provided for long periods of time.

Possible Solution

• There needs to be some assistance in finding those unemployed a job, for any kind of work. Pride needs to be put aside for the well-being of the family. In order to gain assistance such as welfare or childcare services, there needs to be something similar to a bartering system. You come and pick up garbage along Interstate 95 and you will receive your subsidy check for this week. The excuse of no affordable childcare should be discarded since there are now vouchers utilized for that assistance.

• There needs to be more free programs to teach trades useful for the appropriate regions or areas.