- Refugees. There is a reason its being referred to as a "crisis". So what do we do?
Obviously the solution here is to form an independent refugee state funded by the UN. In essence, UN membership would pend on proportional contribution to the upkeep of the established international refugee haven, the incentive for this being that in the long run it prevents any one or small group of countries from bearing the brunt of the refugee burden. It takes a more experienced mind than mine to know the full implications of forming such a state, but how hard could it be?
- World Hunger. People are starving, almost 21,000 die every day to hunger related issues.
It has been said that world hunger is a problem of distribution rather than a lack of resources. For example, 40% of food produced in the US is thrown away uneaten even though 1 in 6 Americans struggle to put food on the table. I believe a legitimate way to reduce waste is to re-evaluate our use/sell-by dates, which are arbitrary anyway. So much food is thrown out just because it passes an assigned date by a day or two, when in reality its perfectly good and probably will continue to be so for awhile. A price incentive system could also be implemented to encourage consumers to buy older food first.
That, or we just start eating the poor people. Which actually brings me to the next issue...
- Overpopulation. People are being born at an exponential rate. We will eventually reach a point where the Earth will lack the resources to sustain us. In fact, if the entire world went expended resources at the rate of the US, we would need 5 Earths to support us.
The previously mentioned solution would work as a pretty effective culling measure. Alternatively (as some might be averse to the practice of cannibalism) I feel the best course of action is either to expand our civilization outside of the boundaries of Earth through space exploration, or to continue to find new ways to harness the Earth's resources (global technological initiatives and investment).
- Global Warming. The Earth is heating up and a large majority of scientists agree that it is caused by people.
The solution here is simple and we have the technology to do it, unfortunately the problem lies within the politics of implementation. "Green Earth" initiatives are expensive, and unfortunately there is really no currently existing method of forcing a country to curb their carbon emissions. The solution of this problem would basically require the creation of a global non-affiliated agency with the power to enforce climate initiatives. Its never going to happen.
- Terrorism. Individuals that rise up and commit violent acts against populations as a whole, leading to the deaths of countless innocents. How do we stop it?
While some countries have attempted a very straightforward approach, such as declaring war on it(because apparently you can declare war on a concept), I believe that this is an issue that must be treated before it begins (i.e we must stop the creation of new terrorists). I feel that once a terrorist organization exists, it is too late to simply wipe it out. Ideas, unlike governments and nations, cannot be warred against effectively because they have no boundaries, supplies, or limits in general. Ideas fail when individuals cease to hold them. It is for this reason that I believe that the best and only real way to end terrorism is to aid the countries that are producing terrorists. Turning countries into war zones in the name of eradicating a terrorist cell only serves to create more terrorists in the long run.
Alternatively, we implement terrorist licenses. If we can't eradicate it, we should at least regulate it.
- Wealth Distribution. As a capitalist, I believe income inequality is healthy. However, the degree to which wealth has accumulated at the top(especially within a global context) is a bit too extreme.
Well, other than the more obvious solutions but impractical solutions(global communism hooray!) I suppose a good place to start is the investment in developing economies. Oddly enough, I feel that this is a mutually beneficial possibility that is being completely overlooked by investors. Sure, sending money to Fejfkekfhwue so they can create a power grid sounds like a risky allocation of resources, but I personally feel that this is a hugely untapped source of potential.
- The fact that at any moment a fairly small amount of people could decide to end the world due to nuclear weapons. Its more than a little unnerving.
I suppose the only way to fix this one is to develop some sort of defense mechanism that could adequately defend from a nuclear weapons, because at this point we know how to make them so they aren't going away. This would be accomplished through increased defense spending. Alternatively I suppose we could dismantle every single one and then celebrate the occasion with a mass burning of all materials to do with nuclear weapons, and then end the celebration with the execution of anyone who already knows how to make them. Too much of an emotional roller coaster to be practical.
- Labor abuse. Its no secret that big corporations take advantage of less developed countries lack of regulation to acquire ludicrously cheap menial labor. Unfortunately, this cheap labor results in the downright horrific treatment of workers (hence the sweatshop stereotype).
Unfortunately the US cost of living has basically eliminated the possibility of cheap menial labor jobs. More and more developed nations are eliminating the need for non-skilled workers through technological advancement. I think the only real answer to this is a global education initiative. We have to train these people with a useful skill. Either that or we can destroy our automated assembly lines and go back to hand-making stuff (it's what the Luddites would have wanted).
- War. Armed Conflict. Whatever you want to call it, its like humanities oldest problem: when we group up we get angry at other groups then start killing each other.
Such an ancient problem is obviously rooted in who we are as a race right? I beg to differ. I wonder if we have ever tried to hug it out. I mean it. Just...like get everyone together and force them to hug. It's worth a shot right?
- Apathy. I believe that the majority of people don't bother to try to make a difference and stick to doing whatever it is they have always done because they believe that nothing can change, that the world is too big for an individual to effect in the grand scheme of things.
This can be traced back to quite a few causes, but I believe that this is largely because influence has been so highly concentrated at the top of the pyramid and is less dispersed as society has progressed. I don't mean this in the sense that our lives are dictated more by people on top than they ever have been, in that way we are more free today than people really ever have been. I mean that the nation shaping, Earth moving, global decisions are made mostly by a relatively small group of people that most feel incredibly disconnected from. It is this sense of disconnection that causes them to not exert the influence that they do have. I believe the best way to do this is more promotion of opportunities for citizen involvement(kind of like the way clubs/student organizations are so vigorously promoted at college). The nation stands to gain quite a lot from this, if only just a more informed voting populous and higher voter turnout.
*note: many of these answers are satirical or have satirical elements. They are not meant to be taken seriously. Please understand, I am also not making light of these issues. They are real and we all need to work together to solve them. I was simply having fun with an assignment.
