World's Biggest Problems

For this exercise, identify 10 of what you believe to be the world's BIGGEST problems. Describe each problem with some detail (just a few sentences per problem will do fine). With each problem, describe, briefly, what you think a practical, implementable solution could be.  

The world is filled with problems. Here are some of the top 10 that I deemed most important.

1. Limited amount of Water for world population
Competition for a clean supply of water is increasing with a rapid surge in population growth in the few hundred years. Part of this problem is that only 2.5% of all water on earth is freshwater, with only 1% of all freshwater being easily accessible. Even with such little water at our disposal, clean water still remains to be polluted all across the world. One solution to maintaining our water supply is to decrease water pollution by requiring industries worldwide to adopt more eco-friendly policies. In addition, installing wells and making more water accessible could also reduce this problem.

2. Global Warming
Due to greenhouse gasses and other human activities, the average world temperature is slowly rising. Global warming has been causing sea levels to continuously rise and coastal flooding occurrences to increase. Global warming also causes an increase in extreme weather events and can eventually lead to entire global climate change. In order to tackle this problem, greenhouse gasses need to be reduced. The best way to control this is to put a limit on industrial pollution and plant more plants to lower the CO2 levels in the atmosphere.

3. The extinction crisis
Within the natural world, there is a natural extinction rate of about one to five species per year. However, scientists currently estimate extinction rates to be nearly 1000 to 10000 times the natural background rate with the primary culprit being humans to blame. Humans are the primary culprit because we have the largest effect on climate change. In order to reduce climate change people can reduce their carbon footprint by being more environmentally friendly. In addition, if people ate less meat, fewer fields would have to be plowed and less land would be destroyed causing habitat destruciton to remain a minimum.  

4. Conflict
In today's world, people still do not know how to get along with each other. Every day people die at the hands of others because we do not know how to share this world with each other. In order to reduce conflict, I believe people need to gain a sense of respect in which we consider others worthy of consideration. Most conflicts today stem from the lack of respects of others' views, religions, and cultures. 

5. Natural Disasters
On average, 68,000 lives are taken away each year due to natural disasters. Although natural disasters themselves are not controllable and can't be stopped, the damage they cause can be minimized. Because natural disasters are inevitable, we can use today's technology for better preparation against natural disasters. First, better predicting of when natural disasters are going to occur can help save lives by better preparing and safeguarding citizens.

6. The Cancer Plague
Cancer, an area of disease that involves abnormal cell growth, kills an estimated 7.3 million people worldwide each year. Increasing global research and advancements in medical technology has the potential to save millions of lives in the hopes of more effective methods of treatment. Certain cancers are also more easily preventable by sustaining a better levels of health.

7. Decreasing amounts of natural resources
In order to sustain human life, natural resources and fossil fuels are generally the first methods to create energy. However, with such a large world population constantly burning and using all of the natural resources, the world supply of these resources are plummeting. One of the ongoing solutions to this problem is finding and using better methods of clean reusable energy, such as wind, solar, and water. 

8. Corrupt Government Systems
Around the world, many government systems are corrupt and citizens are not represented or treated fairly. Adopting better methods of representation can lead to a greater level of fairness within the systems. With better representation, the people have a better voice and their problems are better known. If the people are happy and their problems are addressed, there would no longer be uprisings against governments.

9. Increases Terrorism
In the news, more and more do we begin hearing about the most recent act of terrorism somewhere in the world. With the rise of ISIS, acts of terrorism have been continually on the rise causing more and more people to be injured, taken captive, or killed. Increasing national securities, reducing conflicts between nations, and stopping the formation of radical groups can lead to lower levels of terrorism.

10. Immigration
There is a surplus of refugees in the need of homes as homeless rates increase worldwide. Even though taking in refugees helps a group of people, it can cause other problems such as economic instability, violence, and threaten national security. The easiest solution to this problem would be to stop allowing immigration, or install better methods to record and review applicants.