The World's Biggest Problems

In my opinion (and their order certainly isn't set in stone), the world's biggest problems that need to be addressed are:

1.  Human OVERPOPULATION! (which is essentially the source of all the problems below, except perhaps the last)
          But overpopulation is due to our ease of living, from using petroleum
          (Thus we're like bacteria in a Petri dish, growing until we crash)

2.  Climate change

3.  Environmental destruction/pollution/species loss

4.  Diminishing supplies of fresh, potable water

5.  Poverty/starvation/inadequate education

6.  Lack of ecologically-sustainable POWER for transport, technological devices, etc.

7.  Fulfilling work for everyone who wants to be productive (and solve problems)


Of course, there are other more specifically anthropocentric problems like global economic collapse, terrorism and anarchy, potential nuclear war, and robots/computers that could take over the world.  But if the problems listed above could be effectively addressed, I'm certainly hopeful that our chances of avoiding these others would probably be greatly increased.

But the bottom line is that we can solve these things, and of course, we must.

I believe the tenets of eco-affluence can enable us to do that, and even have fun in the process.

[Note:  Previous great civilizations have failed for various reasons.  Ours could easily collapse, it seems, since almost everything we do is dependent on the cheap availability of fossil fuels.  Without this single resource (and in the absence of developed substitutes for it) we would no longer have cheap and easy transportation, electricity, food and all the other comforts that result from them.  Scientists and leaders of both governments and businesses now know that we cannot even utilize all of the fossil fuels remaining in the ground without ruining the global environment.]