Top 5 World Problems

Top 5 Problems (Most serious to least serious)

1. Religious extremism is a serious threat to the globe as extremely ill-minded individuals get their hands on dangerous weapons.  These groups also recruit weak-minded individuals to join them to increase their numbers.

2. Global warming is a serious issue that threatens all of our planet's inhabitants. If steps are not taken to curb carbon emissions, we could deplete our limited resources and pollute our planet to an uninhabitable state.

3. Political and social instability is a factor influencing most of the world to some degree.  This varies from location to location but is a threat as people become discontent with their political or social situation.

4. Each healthcare system in every part of the world has its own problems.  Many people around the world have no access to healthcare due to location or income level.

5. As the entire world's economy becomes interdependent and individuals begin to lose faith in their fiat currency, a cascade event might occur that creates a global economic crisis.

Reasoning:  I chose religious extremism as the most serious threat to humanity because it could potentially destroy the world at a faster rate than the others in my list.  Global warming is a slow process that we might be able to find solutions for.  Political and social instability could provoke civil wars unless global relations become strained in which case a third World War could break out.  The other two would take complex financial policies to fix.

Top 5 Solutions (Most-possible to implement to least-possible to implement)

1.  We can slow the rate by improving wildlife conservation efforts and putting higher restrictions on harmful business practices.

2.  Implement proper birth control education and per child policies if necessary.

3.  Reward environmentally friendly business practices and consumer habits.  Give incentives for people to recycle instead of throwing everything away.

4.  To lessen the impact of the collapse, the government should implement programs to soften the blow to those hardest hit.  The economy is cyclical and will bounce back.

5.  A gradual reduction in carbon dioxide emissions with the introduction of a combination of different alternative energy sources.  Government incentives should be put in place to motivate the transition to sustainable sources of energy.

Reasoning:  I put them in the order that I think the government would have the easiest time creating policies for and fixing.  In Florida, whenever there is an environmental amendment on the ballet to conserve wildlife, it easily passes.  For this reason I think the next generation may be even more prone to pass wildlife conservation initiatives.  The others on the list may receive more resistance as they would potentially cost more money to implement.