panic. fret. panic panic.

There are too many problems in the world.
I choose not to phrase it in a more eloquent way because there really is no other way to present this issue.

The issue is there exists too many issues.
The issue is these issues will never be fully resolved, and will remain issues for years, decades, centuries, millennia and light years to come.

Once you get me started on caring for the world, I find out more and more that I want to care for, but there's simply not enough time and manpower going into these enterprises. Maybe if everyone decided to drop out of their lofty jobs and turn full-time to nonprofits, it may be feasible. HOWEVER, if everyone became socially-conscious freaks with no jobs, who would pay for the NGOs? No one, because companies will go out of business, and money wouldn't circulate...(communism, anyone? i kid)

I went to a talk today concerning global health and its interplay with the environment. Global health is already a large enough in and of itself--people are starving, dying from curable diseases and drinking unsanitary water. Seems like a life-time's worth of work is cut out right?
Right....but wrong.
WRONG.
There's the relationship between global warming and disease, global warming and malnutrition, global warming and the decreasing supply of clean water. According to the Dean of the Nicholas School, water is going to the biggest issue facing the world in the coming generations.
The problem with global warming is it's too far into the future. Global health tackles more immediate causes where the impact can be quantifiably documented and tangibly seen. How about global warming? How much harm do I really cause when I take a drive in my car? In a society gripped by temporary satisfaction, global warming is something our grandchildren can take care of right? Have fun, Little Timmy. I hope you don't die from skin cancer.
So do we tackle global warming or global health? Kids 100 years from now or kids who are currently suffering? But, i'll probably find out tomorrow that computers radiate rays that cause cancer, or that eating meat will make your brain rot, and recycling actually causes evil aliens to abduct babies from homes.

How does one even begin to grapple with all the fractures of the world? On days like these, I want to drop out of school and start field work, doing something PRACTICAL with my time and energy.
Until I bring myself to ditch the comforts of college living, I shall study away, keeping in mind that in the end, someone needs to fix the issues. Even if they don't resolve overnight. It's worth the fight.