Repository of problems worth solving
World Solve is a public institutional repository for identifying real unresolved problems across science, society, health, governance, economics, and local systems. Each entry is intended to be citable, inspectable, and actionable.
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4194Total
4194Open
0Solved
9Humans
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Concrete and asphalt trap heat, turning cities into dangerous hot zones during extreme weather, especially for people without air conditioning. Redesigning cities to stay cooler is now a matter of public safety, not comfort.
social-civic-problems
global-unspecified
cities
people
during
heat
cool
enough
protect
increasingly
severe
waves
climate-environment
systems
urban
society-governance
haven
african
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Wealthy nations have historically emitted the most greenhouse gases, but poorer nations often suffer the worst climate damage. Without a fair cost-sharing system, climate justice remains mostly a talking point rather than a policy.
society-governance
global-unspecified
climate
nations
have
system
damage
don
fairly
share
cost
philosophy-ethics
whether
resolved
determine
agreed
way
climate-environment
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Current recycling methods for batteries often use harsh chemicals or produce hazardous waste of their own. A cleaner recycling process would make the growing battery industry far more sustainable.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
batteries
waste
haven
solved
recycle
electronics
toxic
byproducts
recycling
current
systems
whether
philosophy-ethics
management
make
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
By the time illegal logging is discovered, the trees are often already gone and the damage is done. Real-time detection and enforcement could protect forests before, not after, they disappear.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
deforestation
illegal
time
yet
track
stop
happens
real
logging
discovered
philosophy-ethics
whether
way
society-governance
resolved
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Turning seawater into drinking water is technically possible but still too energy-intensive and expensive for many water-scarce regions. Cheaper desalination could solve water shortages for millions of people.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
seawater
drinking
don
have
reliable
way
desalinate
cheaply
enough
widespread
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
resolved
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Modern farming often strips soil of nutrients faster than nature can replace them, threatening long-term food production. A farming method that restores rather than depletes soil could secure food supply for generations.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
food
soil
haven
found
way
farm
depleting
grows
farming
modern
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
prevent
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Millions of tons of plastic enter the ocean every year, and cleanup efforts remove only a small fraction of it. Without cutting the source and scaling removal, marine ecosystems will keep absorbing the damage.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
plastic
stop
waste
accumulating
oceans
faster
clean
millions
tons
enter
whether
philosophy-ethics
pollution
systems
mathematics-logic
fully
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Direct air capture exists, but it's still far too expensive and energy-intensive to make a dent in global emissions. Making it cheap enough to scale is one of the biggest levers left for slowing climate change.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
climate-change
scale
don
have
affordable
technology
remove
carbon
dioxide
atmosphere
meaningful
philosophy-ethics
whether
determine
resolved
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
As AI-generated accounts and bots flood social platforms, telling a real person from an automated one is getting harder. Without a trusted verification method, online trust and public discourse both suffer.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
trusted
person
online
real
don
have
widely
way
prove
actually
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
agreed
prevent
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Even the best robots struggle with uneven terrain, sudden obstacles, or tasks requiring fine motor control that animals handle instinctively. Closing this gap would open up robotics for disaster response, farming, and elder care.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
robots
animals
build
move
adapt
unpredictable
environments
well
even
best
affordable
capable
yet
technology-computing
whether
doing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Hard drives fail, file formats become unreadable, and even cloud storage depends on companies staying in business. Without a truly long-lasting storage method, much of today's digital history may simply vanish.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
storage
haven
created
data
lasts
centuries
decay
format
obsolescence
hard
climate-environment
whether
smallholder
farmers
energy
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Hospitals, power plants, and water systems increasingly run on connected computer systems that can be targeted remotely. A serious attack on any of these could cause harm far beyond the digital world.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
power
fully
protect
critical
infrastructure
like
grids
cyberattacks
systems
hospitals
society-governance
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
climate-environment
digital
open
United States, North America
Training today's largest AI models can consume as much electricity as thousands of homes use in a year. Without more efficient methods, AI's environmental cost will keep climbing alongside its capabilities.
climate-environment
north-america
united-states
models
yet
make
dramatically
less
energy
train
run
training
today
methods
society-governance
global-unspecified
assessing
systems
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Old phones, laptops, and batteries pile up in landfills, leaking toxic materials while valuable metals inside go to waste. A cheap, safe recycling process could turn a growing pollution problem into a resource stream.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
waste
haven
figured
out
recycle
electronic
cheaply
safely
scale
old
recycling
systems
management
plastic
growing
whether
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Hurricanes and tornadoes can still shift path or intensity with little warning, leaving communities scrambling to evacuate. More precise, longer-range forecasting could save lives and billions in property damage every year.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
precise
haven
developed
weather
models
enough
predict
extreme
storms
far
whether
systems
climate
philosophy-ethics
african
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Space contains vast amounts of metals and water that could support future industry and settlement, but the cost of extraction and transport remains far too high. Making this affordable could unlock a new resource economy beyond Earth.
science-space
global-unspecified
yet
mine
resources
asteroids
moon
profitable
scale
space
contains
vast
whether
philosophy-ethics
haven
mathematics-logic
climate-environment
affordable
open
United States, North America
Seismologists can identify risky zones but not the exact moment a quake will strike. A few minutes of reliable warning could save thousands of lives in earthquake-prone cities.
climate-environment
north-america
united-states
warning
save
lives
predict
earthquakes
enough
seismologists
identify
risky
zones
global-unspecified
haven
whether
disaster
philosophy-ethics
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Fusion promises nearly limitless clean energy, but every experiment so far has needed more power to run than it generates. Cracking this would end the global energy crisis outright.
science-space
global-unspecified
energy
fusion
yet
build
reactor
produces
consumes
sustained
periods
promises
climate-environment
whether
mathematics-logic
philosophy-ethics
systems
haven
Current approaches to real-time monitoring and response systems for industrial chemical and oil spill events either underperform under variable field conditions or generate externalities that undermine long-term sustainability and equity. Closing the gap requires coordinated advances in science, systems design and enabling institutions.
society-governance
oceania
fiji
systems
real-time
monitoring
response
industrial
chemical
oil
spill
events
practical
climate-environment
enabling
technology-computing
solutions
under
Achieving protocols for equitable and rapid distribution of medical countermeasures in pandemics at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.
health-biology
africa
egypt
protocols
equitable
rapid
distribution
medical
countermeasures
pandemics
systemic
solutions
addressing
economics-resources
climate-environment
systems
society-governance
methods
