What is the greatest problem facing the world today?

Starvation.

Corruption.

Stupid people

Lack of belief in science and the scientific process.

Climate change (and the various problems it brings with it)

Greed

Absence of compassion

Mediocre people

Lack of compassion for our fellow man.

ooopsss…sorry to repeat niki

Agreeing with the ninja: Stupid People but adding In Power.

Christianity and Islam

I agree with Harp, Greed!

Greed seems to cause many of the other things people have listed. Greed causes starvation. Greed can make people bad Christians. Greed causes fighting and wars. Greed makes people ignorant. Greed causes corruption. Because of greed, more and more factories are being built, thus creating Climate change. Greed can cause Absence of compassion. Etc…

World? All of the above.

America? How naive most people are. How most people don’t realize how corrupt the government is, and how they don’t believe it either. How people are dumb enough to actually believe in what we are being fed, like the need for a ‘Carbon Tax’.

Harp’s answer has my vote – Greed. It all comes down to greedy people wanting more and more for themselves and not caring who they are taking from to get it.

Religious fundamentalism.

The control of resources, money, and information by a few.

Lack of internet pr0n

Moral bankruptcy

arrogance

Inaction towards the world’s greatest problem(s).

Lawyers…....

@windex, lack of internet pr0n, seriously? I think you’re just not looking in the right places ;D

Inequality.

Irrationality, particularly faith-based flights from reality; religious, economic, and political fundamentalism; and the apathy that arises when ideologues are allowed to subvert the missions of journalism, science and other secular disciplines.

—an itch that won’t be scratched….

An imbalance in the world with the “haves” and “have-nots”, illustrated in a small way by the economic situation in America. For, if we do not have a middle class, then we do not have a democracy.

Fundamentalism. Religious and Atheistic.
+ 1 for Lack of compassion.
and… laziness and complacency.

Science: Science like religion endeavors on a promise of deeper understanding of the universe. Agreed that religion (the fanatical form) has been the culprit for millions of deaths throughout the world. Science which can offer solutions to problems typically raises additional questions requiring more science to fullfill the quandry. Unfortunately, like pandora’s box, it also unleashed an unlimited amount of destruction and death to millions through nuclear warfare and has generated a grocery list of worldly problems still not solvable by, you named it, science. It’s unfortunate that so many people put their faith in science when in the end will likely be the culprit of our demise.

Someone’s been watching too much Fringe.

@critter1982: Are you fucking kidding? Science is “the greatest problem facing the world today”?

Science is a tool for answering questions. Kind of like guns, or baseball bats, or pencils, this tool can be applied really fucking poorly. That’s not inherent to science. That’s an artifact of the way it’s used.

Yes, people have died as a consequence of new technologies that have been uncovered. But you know what else science has been used to accomplish?

EVERY SINGLE MEDICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL ACHIEVEMENT EVER IN THE HISTORY OF HISTORY.

Have you ever taken an aspirin? Thank science. Driven a car? Thank science. Have you or anyone you care about ever had surgery, had chemotherapy, taken insulin, washed their hands, eaten food from the grocery store, not died of diphtheria, not died of tuberculosis, not died of typhus, not died of malaria, or lived past 35?

And all those “worldly problems” you mentioned—what’s going to solve them? Wishful thinking? Aliens? Luck? Chance? Asking nicely? Oh, hey, how about…..SCIENCE?

;P

My comment regarding science was somewhat sarcastic and aimed at those that felt religion was the worlds number 1 problem in an attempt to get their “panties in a bunch”. Yes, there are tons of things of which science has developed, that have improved our lives here on earth. But I would also like to note that religion also has the capability of improving peoples lives as well. Other than our poorly run government, churches are the number one source for generating money and time for things such as food pantries for the poor, meals-on-wheels, counseling, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, outreaches to wounded veterans, mentoring, disaster relief, home-building, CPR and First-Aid training, foster care and adoption, prison ministries, etc, etc, etc. Just like nikipedia stated poorly applied science is not inherent to science itself. Poorly applied religion is not inherent to religion itself.

Damn critter. Great answer.

People.