Issues → September/October 2007 → Interact → Web Exclusives →

Speaking My Mind: What do you think is the most significant problem of the 21st century?

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Heather Janis -- My biggest concern is the decline of the family. A person's moral, spiritual, physical, and emotional backbone is their family; it is the foundation of society and we seem to be losing it.

Susan Sickler -- The stupidity and apathy of the American people. We have allowed a monster to run our country for the last 8 years. He has run it right into the ground. Retail is down and will go down further. A lot of stores will be closing their doors. We had Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush and probably Clinton again. That is 20 years worth. Americans need more choices. We need about 4 to 5 more parties to run. And what is it with a party anyway? Why can't an individual run without being part of a "party"? We have a lot of problems in our own country and shouldn't be trying to "fix" the problems of other countries until our own house is in order. We have kids killing kids. We have children without health care. We have young men giving their lives to what purpose? Our crime rate is higher than any other country.

We need people to run our country who are concerned with alternate energy supplies; with the future of its citizens; with employment; we can thank the predecessors of Bush for free trade and outsourcing. But it all began with Regan and was finally signed into being by Clinton. Most of our stuff comes from China. Wow. Lots of problems and we need smart and savvy people to fix and heal us.

John Rosenfelder -- I am concerned about climate change.

Deb Bizzozero -- Biggest problem of the 21st century: George W. Bush

Dana Biscotti Myskowski-- Answer: Global Climate Change. It sounds like I'm jumping on Al Gore's coattails to proclaim something so obvious, especially after his efforts to bring the issue to the spotlight have been rewarded by the Nobel Peace Prize awarding committee. And while I'm not a scientist, nor have I played one on TV, I did have the opportunity to interview several global climate change researchers while conducting interviews for a planetarium show on global warming that I was hired to write for the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium in Concord, NH.

The massive undertaking, for it takes a large team to produce a 45-minute show directed at junior high students and their teachers and families, was underwritten by a grant from NASA. Knowing I had that level of backing, I went to my interviews aware that the problem was more than just cover candy to sell tabloids.

After speaking with more than a dozen environmental scientists, astrophysicists, glaciologists, meteorologists, cartographers, and a skateboarder (I needed help with my junior high vernacular, after all), I became a believer that not only are we humans to blame for our current run-away carbon emissions that are wreaking havoc worldwide, but that each of us has the power to help heal the earth with the choices we make TODAY; choices as simple as the car we drive, the lights we choose, and the laundry we dry.

(Yes, there are BIG changes needed, too, at the governmental and corporate level, but rather than scapegoating or wishing someone [else] would do something, we can each address our own carbon output, without being completely overwhelmed.) The problem, of course, lies in convincing everyone to pitch in, for this is a calamity that will take all of us to correct.