The World’s 13 Biggest Problems, Ranked
Can we get the priorities right?
More than 99.9% of human history passed before the industrial revolution came along and changed everything. The last century alone (a mere 0.03% of our 300-millennia existence) saw our numbers quadruple and our economy explode by a staggering 3300%. In the historical blink of an eye, humanity became the dominant force on planet Earth.
In many ways, we’re like one of those child emperors of old. We hold tremendous power, but we lack the experience and discipline to wield it responsibly. The obvious result is a slew of serious global problems.
This article gives my pick for the top 13 (with seven bonus problems at the end). Understanding these big-picture problems and taking swift remedial action is key to making a success of the 21st century, which will surely go down as one of the most influential centuries in human history.
But this is not some doom and gloom article. I want to emphasize right at the start that we’re still making significant progress on many fronts (take some time to page through the Sustainable Development Goal graphs).
