Real-World Problems and Solutions¶

A running list of real problems, what people are trying, and roughly where things stand. For the really big open questions there is a separate Unsolved section.

Wind turbines and solar panels, now the cheapest power we have ever built.

Climate change¶

Rising CO2 is warming the planet and driving worse weather and higher seas. What is being tried: renewables (now the cheapest power we have ever had), electric cars, carbon removal, fusion, replanting forests, and better grid storage.

Water scarcity¶

Around 2 billion people lack safe drinking water. What is being tried: cheaper desalination, solar stills, fog nets, machines that pull water from air, and smarter irrigation.

Food waste¶

About a third of the food we grow is thrown away while millions go hungry. What is being tried: better cold storage, demand forecasting, discounts on food near its expiry date, apps that redistribute surplus, and coatings that keep produce fresh longer.

Plastic pollution¶

Roughly 8 million tonnes of plastic reach the ocean every year, and microplastics are now everywhere. What is being tried: catching plastic at rivers before it reaches the sea, enzymes that break down plastic, compostable alternatives, and deposit return schemes.

Plastic waste drifting underwater.

Healthcare access¶

Billions of people cannot get affordable, decent care. What is being tried: telemedicine, AI that can spot disease from a phone photo, drones that deliver medicine, cheap portable devices, and trained community health workers.

Traffic congestion¶

Cities lose huge amounts of time and fuel to gridlock. What is being tried: smarter traffic lights, congestion charging, better public transport, remote work, and shared rides.

A connected city street, sensors tuning the flow of traffic.

Energy storage¶

Solar and wind come and go, so we need to store power for when they don't. What is being tried: better batteries, pumped hydro, green hydrogen, and storing energy as heat or height.

Affordable housing¶

Housing costs have outrun incomes in most cities. What is being tried: modular and 3D-printed homes, zoning reform, and mass timber for faster mid-rise building.

My idea log¶

Whenever an idea shows up, I write it down here, even the silly ones. The habit of catching ideas matters more than any single one being good.

Date	Idea	Problem it solves	Status
5 Jul 2026	Tekmaturix knowledge hub	Scattered notes, forgotten learning	Building