Big problems, simple solutions

By Bryan Griffith

I don’t think this is news to you but our world is getting bigger. More people are occupying the same space, which means higher demand and a change of global interconnectedness. With over seven billion people and counting this is becoming more apparent everyday. Our resources are getting scarcer and people are adapting to a new era of digital technology.  This is change on a massive scale, something never seen before in human history. Before the digital age began it would take two thousand years to double the amount of information generated to the world. It now takes only 18 months! Google is the largest source of information that has ever existed and it’s free to the public and available in potentially every country in the world. As amazing as this sounds, we still have a big problem.

Even though we are seeing unheard of change and innovation, we still haven’t dealt with the biggest and most important problems in the world. We still have a huge food crisis, water crisis, energy shortage, sanitation problems, poor infrastructure, major health problems, and much more. It’s not like people don’t know about it; it’s blasted on every major media station. But the problem with these big issues, in my opinion, is people think they are too big or complex to solve. Well guess what? Not only do I disagree with this statement, but also I think that these big problems have simple solutions. The answer lies in technology and how we as a global society are motivated to end these problems. I will explore several problems that I believe can be solved with today’s technology. The only thing missing is mass awareness and the passion to bring this to the public domain.

The issues I will focus on are problems associated with every human being. I thought of things that every human regardless of age, race, gender, or ethnicity would still need. Although not limited to this list, I pinpointed the major issues as the following….

• Food
• Water
• Energy
• Transportation
• Shelter/Storage
• Education
• Medicine
• A source of information
• Communications
• Media/Entertainment

My next blogs will illustrate further how each of these basic problems can be solved with innovative and creative solutions. The world needs thinkers with visions of next year’s technology. The world needs passionate people who truly believe these issues can be solved. But most importantly, the world needs people who are compassionate and care for our neighbors like we care for ourselves. The golden rule is especially important today since our world is getting smaller and we are getting closer together. We cannot continue to let our differences distract us from achieving our potential.  This is not something that is unrealistic or naïve.

This is a reality that can be achieved if we make it a priority. We need to start using our resources more effectively and create alternate solutions to our problems with simple ideas. Check this video out for a taste of what the future of our society will represent. A future of scarcity and stress or a future of abundance and love? It’s our choice, but can we overcome our differences and work together? That is the real question.