Knowledge is exploding—amidst ever greater human suffering, unhappiness, discontent, violence, war and confusion.

Why such ever-worsening moral decline alongside astonishing materialistic progress?

Weapons of mass destruction now threaten man’s very survival.

Why? And where do we go from here?

The world is filled with problems—disease, pollution, poverty, ignorance, religious confusion, war, terrorism, crime, violence, hunger, immorality, slavery, oppression, political upheaval and much more. Why?

With the passing of time come more problems, not less. Why?

Also, existing problems grow collectively worse instead of better. Why? Why, at every turn, has man bungled and botched all efforts to solve his truly great problems?

Individually, people have never seemed more incapable of addressing and overcoming their personal problems. As with the world in general, the passing of time finds individuals and families drowning under an ever-worsening sea of decadence and seemingly insurmountable difficulties. More and more seem completely incapable of managing their lives.

Yes, why?

Men have created many amazing technological inventions, but they cannot create solutions to their problems. Mankind has harnessed the power of computers to help process vast amounts of information, but human beings cannot correctly process their personal problems. Scientists have discovered much about the size, magnificence and precision of the universe, but they cannot discover the way to peace. Astronomers can find majestic, beautiful new galaxies throughout the universe, but they cannot find a way to preserve the beauty and majesty of earth. Scientists have also unleashed the power of the atom, but they are powerless to unleash answers to life’s greatest questions. Educators have taught millions how to earn a living, but not how to live.


The world population (6.4 billion) has more than tripled in the last seventy years. It has doubled since 1960 and is predicted to reach between 9.3 and 10.9 billion by 2050. The forty-nine poorest, least-developed nations will actually triple to a population of nearly two billion. This worldwide population growth will bring staggering problems.

Just 2.5 percent of the earth’s water is fresh. Only 20 percent of this (or 0.5 percent) is accessible ground or surface water. The current population consumes 54 percent of this available water. By 2050, it will need 90 percent—because the earth grows by 77 million additional people per year (requiring an amount of water equivalent to the mighty Rhine River every year). Also, developing countries dump 90-95 percent of their untreated sewage and 70 percent of their untreated industrial waste into surface waters. Population growth insures that this problem will only grow worse. In addition, acid rain and chemical runoff from fertilizers and pesticides sufficiently ruin water quality, making it largely unusable.

Population growth continues to outpace food production. There are 800 million people who are chronically malnourished, and 2 billion who lack “food security.” Only fifteen crop species provide 90 percent of the world’s food, yet it is estimated that sixty thousand different plant species could reach extinction by just 2025! By that year, the projected 8 billion inhabitants of earth will require twice today’s food needs, with greatly improved distribution, to completely eradicate hunger. But few experts see this as remotely possible.

Each day, 160,000 people move from rural areas to cities. This is happening fastest in under-developed countries. Enormous problems result from this: sanitation, overcrowding, access to modern health services and the ability of schools to absorb the increase of students.

Fully 60 percent of all disease on earth is sanitation-related. Each year, air pollution kills nearly 3 million people in developing countries alone, with poor sanitation killing another 12 million. Various forms of indoor air pollution (soot, dung, coal for cooking and heating, etc.) affect 2.5 billion people a year and kill 2.2 million. Changes in climate are altering the zones of risk for insect-borne diseases. New and more virulent diseases are appearing or reappearing. And many bacteria are proving to be drug-resistant because of the ongoing over-prescribing of antibiotics.

Some of the problems predicted for the near future include: Limited and diminishing arable land, deforestation, urbanization, shrinking size of family farms, degradation of the land, shortages and degradation of water, irrigation problems, waste, the extinction of certain types of crops, the increased intensity and frequency of severe weather, which causes flooding and seasonal loss of crops, and greenhouse gases and changes of climate. At the same time, 1.6 acres of rainforest —often called the “lungs of the world” because it produces so much oxygen—are disappearing through logging every second!

Together, these problems spell untold calamity, and even catastrophe, for a mankind unprepared to solve these and many other problems.

While the world is suffering from “information overload,” none of this knowledge increase is truly addressing mankind’s growing number of complex, insoluble problems. With all of man’s creative ingenuity and intelligence, he cannot solve the most important problems—those that threaten his very existence on an earth he is systematically destroying.

Why? Why? Why?

What will you do about it if you where the world's President?

Go to Disneyland

As the president of the world there is one thing that must be accepted. There really is nothing you can do to force humans into respecting, and loving one another.

Educate the masses. Inform the people. Encourage that they help one another. But that's really it. No real solutions.

Many underdeveloped nations are that way natually based on location. I would advise you read up on "Guns, Germs, and Steel", it explains why.

As far as warfare is concerned, i can't help but think it's a byproduct of nature. Animal nature. We are all animals after all. The only way to fight that is like i said above. Educate and inform.

THe world was never meant to be perfect. There is a balance that is inevitable. But if you educate the people, they have more control over this balance. The only other method is a heavily controlled population, which i am against...

When you remove natural selection with technology...all that remains to solve the issue is chaos.

Went there a thousand times. Just makes things worse looking at all those fake puppets running around

I will check out that book you mention and thanks for replying

Just google it. I think you can find it on historychannel.com. We watched the video in one of my classes. I think there is a book to. Either way i thought the video to be profound.

Very true what you say

Humans have the technology to annihilate each other, as in, nuking and wiping out whole countries, lowering the planet population.

If that doesn't happen, the natural effect of nature will avail. More people, less resources. In the final end, the lone survivor will be the germ.

Unfortunately, we will have to suffer the egos of people with power, who wish to exert their will, as history repeats itself.

We are not as great a Nation as Rome once was and they didn't have the conveniences modern transportation so, their changes happened at a slower rate. Took them a longer time to fall.

We here, are witnessing the fall of an empire. At this very second in time, we have had the greatest, most convenient, self-fulfilling, opportunistic, more choices and freedoms since the beginning of time. It's going to be a very big shock to a lot of folks who have had comfortable, complacent lives. Some of them are living the nightmare already. Lost jobs, homes, living in their vehicles. For the first time, never imagining being subjected to the reality of street life, experiencing real hunger and real fear.

What can the average person do about the here and now? My guess, not much more than sit back, watch and thank God we're not out there with them, key word, yet.

Yes it seems like that is what most people are doing now. Sitting back and thanking it is not them out on that street trying to make a honest dollar.

It is sad and I can only shake my head at our ignorance of how we destroy our planet and ourselves at the process. It is like a drug addict knowing his day will come, yet he can't help it for he needs the rush. Very sad indeed.

Yet so many I encounter left and right in this world, highly educated, smart beyond means, are rich, and they too only sit back to watch.

People who are affected seem to want to do something about the issues our world suffers, but can't for they are poorer then dirt.

I guess the only thing I can hope for is to reach 80 years before I perish leaving this planet (or not - however you believe).

I shed a tear for our children who will be exposed to 10 billion people, more crime, pollution, hunger, diseases, etc. etc.

okay enought pessimistic thoughts! I am sorry for writing this article and putting everyone down. I just am in the blues sometimes.

May the show go on and good luck in solving or trying to solve problems we as a people face.