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
Current desalination technology consumes large amounts of fossil-fuel energy, undermining sustainability goals. Solar-powered desalination research could make the process both cheaper and greener.
climate-environment
asia
middle-east
desalination
remains
too
energy-intensive
costly
widespread
adoption
water-scarce
gulf
states
global-unspecified
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
society-governance
Pumping groundwater for irrigation consumes large amounts of electricity, creating a compounding resource strain in water-and-energy-scarce regions. Solar-powered efficient irrigation pumps could reduce both water and energy waste simultaneously.
climate-environment
asia
south-asia
waste
water-energy
nexus
inefficiencies
significant
resources
asian
agriculture
industry
irrigation
global-unspecified
urban
whether
water
african
open
Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa
Unreliable electricity spoils vaccines before they reach children, contributing to preventable disease outbreaks. Solar-powered refrigeration units and route-optimized delivery apps could fix last-mile gaps.
health-biology
africa
sub-saharan-africa
vaccine
cold-chain
logistics
fail
remote
african
clinics
unreliable
electricity
spoils
vaccines
cold
chain
closing
local-regional
Traditional grazing routes are drying up, fueling conflict between herders and farmers over remaining water points. Solar-powered water-point mapping and rotational grazing platforms could ease tensions.
technology-computing
africa
sahel
water
access
pastoralist
communities
shrinking
due
desertification
grazing
traditional
routes
global-unspecified
climate-environment
urban
african
asia
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Solar-powered stratospheric drones designed for continuous Earth observation fail to survive long winter nights due to payload weight. Breakthrough high energy-density batteries and ultra-light solar wings are needed.
science-space
global-unspecified
commercial
high-altitude
pseudo-satellites
haps
face
severe
battery
density
limitations
solar-powered
climate-environment
solar
high
efficiency
cells
radiation
Inland freshwater fishermen lose significant portions of their daily catch due to lack of localized ice plants and affordable off-grid refrigeration.
climate-environment
asia
laos
affordable
inland
haven
developed
solar-powered
cold
storage
solutions
smallholder
fisheries
scalable
global-unspecified
whether
society-governance
philosophy-ethics
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Solar lighting technology exists, but durability and cost issues have limited how widely and reliably it can be deployed in regions that need it most. Improving both affordability and long-term reliability remains an unresolved challenge.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
lighting
regions
yet
build
affordable
durable
solar-powered
solutions
reliable
enough
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
determine
society-governance
haven
open
United Kingdom, Europe
Farmers in Ukraine widely rely on diesel pumps for irrigation, and solar-powered alternatives remain financially out of reach without financing mechanisms tailored to seasonal farm income.
economics-resources
europe
united-kingdom
irrigation
diesel
ukraine
electrifying
agricultural
dependence
farmers
widely
rely
pumps
without
africa
poland
egypt
pakistan
