We ask that you vote only once!  Please do not flood the site with multiple votes!!

Science / Technology

Autonomous Weaponry 

Autonomous and semi-autonomous weaponry is being developed and used by armed forces throughout the world.  The US pursues Al Qaeda in the mountains of Afghanistan with drones "piloted" from trailers in Nevada, and the Israelis patrol their borders with robots.  Semi-autonomous weapons have a human in the loop that makes the final decisions, while fully autonomous weapons and robots can act totally independently from humans.

Many ethical challenges exist in this field.  Some would say that autonomous weapons are more ethical than humans since emotions do not cloud judgments and actions making atrocities and abuse of enemies less likely.  These weapons are more durable than humans, can act in contaminated environments and never need to sleep, but technology can fail.   What are the challenges associated with the ongoing development of these technologies? Can we rely on autonomous weapons to make decisions and act in appropriate ways?  How will these technologies change the face of warfare? 

Desertification

According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), "...drylands cover about 40% of the Earth’s land surface and are home to more than 2 billion people (WRI 2002). UNEP also notes that the extent of desertification is increasing worldwide.  Desertification is one of the most serious ecosystem changes facing people who live in poverty. Two-thirds of the world's poor live in areas that are susceptible to desertification, and over half of them depend on the land for their livelihoods.

Many of desertification's causes are human in nature, but the problem can also be exacerbated by climate change. As severe weather events increase in frequency and severity due to global warming, degradation of dry lands tends to increase, causing a 'feedback loop' that results in even more greenhouse gases.

As climate change and human interference continue to cause land degradation, how will governments and land owners respond to the ever-changing condition of their lands?  Will the Earth continue to lose forests and farmlands to desertification and what will be the effect on lifestyles and livelihoods as changes occur?

Insects

Insects are the most diverse species on earth and represent up to 95% of all animal species.  They affect our lives in negative and positive ways.  Climate change is expected to increase the range and numbers of many insect species.  One example is that tropical insects are likely to move farther north and south, bringing diseases like dengue fever and malaria to new locales. As the balance between insects and their natural enemies is disturbed by climate change, more frequent and severe pest outbreaks threaten crops and provoke increasingly extreme control measures.  How might the future of our planet be affected as insects significantly impact health, agriculture, and horticulture?

Ocean Soup 

In the North Pacific, a large area known as the ‘Garbage Patch’ has become ‘Ocean Soup’ and is so polluted by remnants of plastic that samples show 48 parts plastic for every part of plankton.  As the plastics drift further and further into the ‘garbage patch,’ they break down into smaller and smaller pieces like confetti and cannot be tracked from the air.  These floating fragments accumulate the manufactured poisons that are not water-soluble. Plastics have entangled birds and turned up in the bellies of fish. 

Processed Foods

Around the world there is an increased interest in food and health. Many questions have been posed on this topic:  Where are food products produced?  How?  Why?  By whom?  How far have these products traveled?  How long have they been stored?  

A huge number of food products are now chemically enhanced and processed.  In China in 2008, a large number of children became seriously ill and several died after melamine was added to milk powder designed especially for babies.  The United State’s FDA has documented dangerous bacteria and “just plain filth” in seafood imported from Peru and Panama (Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, July 2007). Foods may be labeled as ‘natural flavors,’ but these do not necessarily come from the original product.  Strawberry flavoring, for example, may have started out as a bacterial protein.   

Genetic engineering is still under study. Nanotechnology represents the latest high technology attempt to infiltrate our food supply.  Do these new technologies pose serious new risks for human health?  Are preservatives safe?  How might the addition of flavor enhancers, vitamins and minerals, and sugar and fat substitutes be affecting our overall health?  What other important questions should be considered as we examine processed foods of the future?

Social / Political

A Thinking Society?

Today, we are greatly influenced by those in a position of power - the greatest example of this being the media where we can easily be brainwashed into buying the latest trends, presented opinions as facts, and receive lengthy and serious discourse in “sound bites.” As a consequence of being “spoon fed” information for most of our lives, many of us are losing the ability to analyze facts critically and form a valid opinion. How do we know if all of the information – from Wikipedia, blogs, and corporate-owned news sites – is accurate? For many it is easier to simply go with the flow of information as presented. As citizens of the 21st Century, we take pride in our freedom of speech, but how can we make informed and intelligent decisions when we are often not being given the whole picture – only a “dumbed-down” version? How can people become more media literate and more discerning about the massive amounts of information available?

Cult of Celebrity

We are currently surrounded by images of people who are “famous for being famous.” Magazines, TV, and the Internet are flooded by minute details of celebrities’ lives. Young people see many of these celebrities as their role models even though these celebrities often suffer from eating disorders and indulge in antisocial behaviors such as excessive drinking and drug addiction. 

Research has documented a celebrity-worship syndrome (CWS) where the person’s idolatry becomes all-consuming - much like alcohol and drugs in an addict’s life. At its worst, this can lead to the stalking of celebrities, whilst others spend their lives learning everything they can about ‘their’ celebrity, collecting memorabilia, making websites, and even writing ‘fan fiction.’ As the media finds more and more ways to exploit celebrities for profit, what will the effect be on the lives of those susceptible to ‘celebrity worship’? What extreme measures might celebrities take to stay out of the public eye? Can this trend continue to escalate without dire consequences?

Megacities

Megacities are cities of over 10 million people that have grown rapidly and have a dense population, often 2000 or more people per square mile (772.2 per square km). By 2030, it is estimated that 3 out of 5 humans on the planet will live in cities – many, if not most, in megacities. Urban environments offer a wide variety of amenities: arts and culture, educational institutions, and high-paying jobs. But big cities are often also home to high levels of poverty, unemployment, and crime. Many urban areas contain slums and sprawling shantytowns where the infrastructure is limited or breaking down and where unsanitary conditions and a lack of public services lead to malnutrition, poor health, and limited educational opportunities. Often two smaller cities simply grow together to form a vast urban sprawl. Should this immense growth be a concern? What special methods are required to govern such highly populated places, particularly where the residents hail from a diverse range of ethnic and religious backgrounds? What other problems will challenge the urban citizens?

Social Isolation

Recent research points to deleterious effects on the brain from social isolation, which in turn contributes to a myriad of health problems. Those who are socially isolated have shorter life spans and suffer from more illnesses than those with active social lives. Feelings of social isolation have increased in populations around the world since the early 1900s. The disabled, the mentally ill, and the elderly are especially susceptible to feelings of isolation and loneliness. Is our fast-paced society contributing to this increase in isolation or do our busy lives allow for more social interactions? Is the internet permitting more social contact through social networking sites or interfering with it by limiting more intimate friendships? What measures need to be taken to reverse this trend? How will more advances in technology contribute to this silent killer?

Status of Women

A Chinese saying, “Women hold up half the sky,” is mainly an aspiration in a large slice of the world where girls are uneducated and women marginalized. While some women are satisfied with their role in the workplace or in their society, others feel they are not treated with the same respect as men by their governments, their culture, or their society. Females still hold below fifty percent of available leadership positions in government and in many companies. Some countries provide education for boys but not for girls. Health care in some instances is provided for boys and men, but only in extreme cases for girls and women. Amartya Sem, Nobel Prize-winning economist, wrote: “More than 100 million women are missing…in normal circumstances, women live longer than men, and so there are more females than males in much of the world. Yet in places where girls have a deeply unequal status, they vanish.” Do women face an additional burden in relation to men when it comes to pursuing their goals? Can fair and equitable treatment of women around the world be attained, considering the vast differences in opinions and prejudices about the role of women among religious groups, cultures, and governments?

Business/Economics

Currency

Dollars. Pesos. Yen. Each country typically utilized its own form of currency. This means that if an Indian tourist wants to buy a souvenir in London, she must first exchange the rupees in her pocket for pounds sterling. Exchange rates fluctuate daily, making it more or less expensive to buy things in foreign countries from day to day - and even from minute to minute. The U.S. dollar has often been viewed as the world’s dominant form of currency, but many have suggested that this does not make sense financially. Governments and central banks often try to manipulate the supply of their country’s currency available on the market through monetary policy in order to improve domestic economic conditions. Some countries, such as China, have been accused of manipulating exchange rates in ways that are harmful to other countries. With all the issues regarding currency, does the advent of the euro, a multinational currency, suggest the possibility of a global currency in the future?

Land Transportation

For almost one hundred years in most parts of the world, automobile ownership has allowed humans to commute to a better job, travel to exciting places, impress others, and just get away from it all. Rising fuel prices and concerns about climate change are forcing people to start rethinking how best to travel from point A to point B on a daily basis. Some areas invest more heavily in public transportation than others, but those who live in sparsely populated areas often do not see the need to invest in things like commuter rail service for the benefit of those in more densely populated areas. Are hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicles the answer? Will regional air travel be a cheaper, quicker, safer, and more environmentally-friendly alternative to trains and buses in the years to come? What new methods of transportation will be introduced, and how will they fit into our everyday lives?

Product Stewardship

Many manufacturers currently rely on governmental management to control the waste produced at the end of their products’ life. This is an expense for all taxpayers, some of whom may not even benefit from the product. The concept of product stewardship distributes the burden of managing product waste among manufacturers, retailers, consumers, and government - every party involved in the product life cycle. Many examples of product stewardship can be found in North America. Battery makers have voluntarily agreed to take back rechargeable batteries that contain toxic metals. Computer manufacturers are required to take back their products for recycling in many states. Beverage companies must ensure that their containers are returned for recycling in states with container deposit laws. In Singapore, the Singapore Chemical Industry Council (SCIC) conducted a Counter-Terrorism Outreach Program with the Singapore Internal Defence, Singapore Police Force and other Government Agencies to promote the concept and awareness to members of the SCIC. It was a very successful event and will be extended to other industries and people in the supply chain. In addition, thirty countries are now members of the OECD which regulates trade and shipments of hazardous materials. 

Product stewardship leads to increased recycling, greener conditions, and more sustainable products, but most manufacturers resist product stewardship and legislatures are reluctant to impose product stewardship systems on employers. Will product stewardship become the way of the future? What will occur when companies are forced to face the true end costs to consumers and government?

Robotic Age

Science fiction stories often depict a futuristic world run by computer programs and machines. How realistic is it that we will one day refer to robots as our colleagues, our neighbors, or our friends? Already robotic innovations have transformed the way cars are built and how a wide array of products are made. Will such innovations in the future produce a net increase or a net decrease in jobs? What will happen to workers who are laid-off as jobs are downsized in favor of machines that do not require a pension or vacation days? To what extent can robots truly be endowed with artificial intelligence? Are there ethical limits to the types of decisions that should be left to intelligent pieces of technology?

Trade or Aid

Governments and charities have traditionally favored using cash grants and low-interest loans to improve living conditions and create jobs in developing countries. Such aid does not always reach its intended destination, often because of a lack of basic infrastructure, inappropriate distribution methods, and corruption on the part of both the givers and the recipients. The political motives of donors are often called into question, particularly when aid allocations are inconsistent with economic need. Some forms of aid may be culturally inappropriate for certain intended recipients. Many believe that aid may lead to dependency on the part of recipients. 

As an alternative, many policymakers have instead advocated that lifting trade barriers, such as reducing quotas and tariffs on imports, will be more successful in creating economic opportunities in poor regions. Others allege that free trade merely benefits those who are already wealthy and powerful, costs workers their jobs in more developed countries, and without infrastructure improvements and corruption reform does not benefit those most in need of assistance. Should policymakers seek to help the poor through trade, through aid, or through some balance of the two in the years to come?