World's Biggest Problems

Here is my list of the World's 10 biggest problems!

1)      Human trafficking of Women and children for the purpose of sexual exploitation and forced slavery- Women and children are being kidnapped and coerced away from their homes at an astounding rate.  These people are being forced into the sex trade and into slave labor type jobs around the world, including right here in the United States.  The only way to combat this type of atrocity is to severely stiffen the penalty associated with committing these crimes.  All too often individuals are able to escape prosecution due to legal issues between countries.  Often allowing the individuals to walk free.  We need some sort of worldwide organization that has the power to prosecute and track these offenders so that they can be brought to justice.

2)      Identity Theft - As technology improves so does the abilities of cyber criminals around the globe to reach out and commit crimes without even leaving their computers.  This type of crime can be devastating to the individual, company or Government that happens to be the victim of it.  While this crime causes no physical loss of life or property, it does cause a considerable amount of damage to individuals’ lives and large costs to try and thwart this behavior.  To combat this growing epidemic, Nations need to come together to crack down on this behavior.  We need a united front and cooperation to properly fight this crime.

3)      Cyber Theft- Again the increasing abilities of cyber criminals to commit crimes globally without leaving their computers is causing worldwide problems.  Whether it be corporate or government espionage, individuals are being hurt by the theft of this data and property.  To combat this growing epidemic, Nations need to come together to crack down on this behavior.  We need a united front that allows for the prosecution of guilty individuals or organizations that electronically steal data from others.

4)      Terrorism- It is hard to just point the finger at one particular group of people and say they are responsible.  There are many groups throughout the world that are targeting innocent people over their religious and political beliefs.  The loss of life associated with this has grown significantly over the last few years.  As time goes on, terrorists become more empowered and commit more heinous attacks.  Their abilities to blend in and hide amongst the innocent individuals in society make this a difficult problem to defeat.  One way to help curb this behavior would be to improve the abilities of governments to be able to scan and track known terrorist groups and their activities.  When individuals involved are identified they should lose all basic rights and should be turned over to some sort of world police organization to for interrogation and ultimate punishment.  These individuals cannot be rehabilitated and returned to their environments where they can continue to harm innocent people. 

5)      World Hunger- There are places in the world where people are still starving on a daily basis and routinely dying from starvation and hunger.  Issues with climate and water supply have made certain areas unfit for farming and have continued to keep the indigenous people of these areas living in poor and desolate conditions.  With all the technology today, there needs to be a movement that puts people before profits and make it a priority to bring these societies up to a basic level where they can survive.  If we can engineer grass that can grow on dessert golf courses with little to no water, then we should be able to create crops that can grow in the same conditions.

          

                                    Photo courtesy of Jim Williams 2016

6)      Safe Renewable Alternative Energy Sources- The world has been so dependent upon fossil fuels that we have not made many gains in this area.  As fossil fuels become scarcer, the need for renewable sources becomes more and more

apparent.  Although more efficient vehicles and uses of these fuels is needed, more of an effort needs to be made towards the research and development of alternatives.

7)      Growing National Debts of Countries around the world- As of late there have been quite a few countries that have been having troubles paying their bills.  Some Countries are going bankrupt and relying on loans from other Nations just to keep operating.  Individual governments need to balance their budgets and find ways of increasing their revenues.  Either by increasing current exports to other countries in an effort to increase revenues or develop new types of products for export.  Countries need to become financially independent so that they can protect their citizens.

8)      Destruction of Natural Resources- Countries all over the world are destroying the very natural resources that they need to survive.  Whether it be the deforestation of the rain forests or overfishing the fisheries.  If we do not start conserving these resources, they will eventually be gone.  We as a planet need to realize the importance of these natural resources and think past present gains in order to stop their destruction.  We need to learn to live within boundaries, wither by implementing quotas for the amount of trees that can be removed or national seasons for the harvesting of the fisheries.  We need to conserve and replenish.

                                   Photo Courtesy of Jim Williams 2015

9)      Lack of Government Leadership- This is an issue around the world, that I feel needs to be addressed so that we can grow as a whole.  The lack of political leadership in countries around the world is leading us down a path to another conflict.  Leadership needs to come to the table with their egos aside and work together to address issues that affect us globally.  We cannot continue to hold some countries accountable let others do as they please.  I in no way am looking for one world government, however I am looking for our leaders to come together and try to solve the world problems.  Stop pointing fingers, eliminate special interest groups and work together to better us all.

10)   National Security- We are seeing an increasing amount of people flee the fighting occurring in Middle Eastern countries and nations around the world.  When this occurs some people are forced to leave behind all their possessions and identifying papers.  This lack of documentation of who an individual is creates a security threat to any area or host nation that they might seek asylum in.  It is imperative that individuals being allowed to enter another country be able to be properly identified for the safety of the natural citizens of that country.  Each country needs to adopt a system that properly documents the births and identifies the individuals’ native to that country.  In today’s modern age of technology, Countries should be able to document the inhabitants of each nation.  The documentation and identification is necessary to increase security everywhere.

    This was my list of the World's 10 biggest problems, they were listed in no particular order and definitely not in the order that I would solve them if I were King of the World!