Americans divided on global issues

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Nov, 2005

Americans are divided over the most pressing challenges facing the world's population and the best solutions to global problems, according to a poll commissioned by Scientific American and conducted by Harris Interactive.

Among the findings: At a time of high oil prices, Americans are less likely to think energy conservation will help the most people globally in the future as compared to other solutions, such as finding a cure for infectious diseases or improving the world's healthcare delivery system.

When supplied with a list of solutions to world problems and asked which one would help the most people globally in the future, "Finding a cure for infectious diseases" was selected by 22% of respondents, followed by ending world hunger (21%), improving the world's health care delivery system (17%), decreasing the use of oil (eight percent), instituting measures to combat global warming (five percent), and preserving endangered habitats and species (four percent).

Americans are both optimistic and pessimistic about the world's future. Some 36% maintain "it will be a worse place for everyone," while 31% are sure that "it will be a better place."

"Unprecedented changes [demographically] are expected to make the world in 2050 a very different place than it is today," suggests Scientific American editor John Rennie. "For example, nations such as India and China are beginning to more closely resemble developed nations. This trend has implications beyond the developing world. It presents a new set of global environmental, economic, and policy challenges. And, for the first time, it offers historic opportunities to solve many problems that have long plagued society."