What’s wrong with the World? That question is so broad, it can be overwhelming. Being overwhelmed, however, is a sure way to never get anything done. So, I will approach the solving of this question using an iterative process.
- Write down a list of all the things I think are wrong off the top of my head
- Search through a bunch of lists others have created. I’m assuming others have done this exercise.
- Merge the various lists into one.
- Categorize my list into easy to manage categories (more than 3, less than 12)
- Start with that list for the first year of my project.
- Adjust the list based on lessons learned and expert feedback gleaned from working the problem(s).
- Repeat at the project halfway point (1.5 years).
Sounds easy enough. So, I sat down, and thought about it. I came up with this list of 10 major categories, most with several subcategories.
ISSUES LIST
Environment
- Climate Change
- Destruction of nature
- Nuclear Waste
- Overconsumption
- Overpopulation
- Acid rain
- Biodiversity loss
- Deforestation
- Desertification
- Habitat destruction
- Holocene extinction
- Ocean acidification
- Ozone layer depletion
- Pollution
- Land pollution
- Water pollution
- Air Pollution
- Waste and waste disposal
- Water Scarcity
- Resource depletion
- Urban sprawl
Poverty
- Malnutrition
- Pregnancy
- Infrastructure
Inequality
- Gender
- Income
- Racial
Child abuse
- Sex Abuse
- Child Labor
Gov’t
- Accountability
- Transparency
- Corruption
- Pluralism
- Participation
- Inequality
Disease and Health
- Obesity
- Heart Disease
- Stroke
- Diabetes
- Cancer
- Pulmonary Disease
- Respiratory Infections (Pneumonia)
- Alzheimer and Dementia
- Road Injury
- Infectious Disease
- Tuberculosis
- HIV/AIDS
- Malaria
- Diarrhea
- Meningitis
- Whooping Cough
- Measles
- COVID-19
- Mental Health
- Suicide
- Drug Addiction
- Preterm Birth complications
- Birth Trauma
- Drowning
- Cirrhosis of Liver
Refugees
Human Rights
Armed Conflict / Disarmament
- Nuclear Weapons
- Biological Weapons
- Landmines
- Terrorism
- Cybersecurity
Education
- Availability
- Affordability
- Inequality
- Quality
This is my list. There are many like it, but this one is mine. 🙂
I like this list, at least as a starting point. The next step I would say, is to look at each of these issues, or challenges let’s call them, and try and determine what a good solution might look like. Specifically, what target metric or data point would let us know that this issue is no longer a problem to worry about.
Photo by Christelle Hayek on Unsplash
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