Frank Watson: Worthwhile Projects

Just imagine that some generous benefactor gave you $5 million with the caveat that it had to be used to benefit the world we live in. How would you spend it?

My first reaction would be world wide health care. There are research projects for aids, cancer and other crippling diseases that are hamstrung by lack of funds. Organizations such as Doctors Without Borders do wonderful work. I have run across some of these people in my travels and can assure you that they are dedicated to providing health care in parts of the world that don’t have what we take for granted here in America. I am personally aware of the good works of the Amazon Medical Project. They have clinics back in the jungle and treat people who have never seen a doctor. They could put a few million to good use.

The quality of life in the richest country in the world is not uniform for all our citizens.

We have veterans who proudly served their country only to be abandoned on the streets with only their nightmares.

The Spokane Union Gospel Mission just opened a new shelter for homeless citizens.

This is a wonderful start on a problem that plagues all our major cities.

We could use other programs that care for our less fortunate.

Many intercity youths have no healthy alternatives to gangs and violence.

Could the crime rate be reduced by something as simple as a youth center? The suicide rate among teenage native Americans is appalling.

It is even worse among those who live in villages in Alaska.

How many young people could we save with a $5 million suicide prevention program?

Human population has gotten to the point that we are increasingly poisoning the planet.

We need more studies into acid rain, global warming, rising sea levels, ozone and seemingly little things like the worldwide decrease in the frog population.

Frogs don’t have a lobby so few people are aware that frogs are disappearing around the globe, and no one knows why.

That scares me.

We have been pumping oil out of the ground for only a little more than 100 years now.

How long will fossil fuels be a viable source of energy? What are the alternatives to fossil fuels.

Can mankind sustain our current population on wind and solar energy, or will our descendants freeze in the dark? Closer to home, 150 years ago these Palouse hills were unbroken sod.

In order to make a living and feed the world we apply more and more chemicals to the soil without knowing all the long-term effects.

My children grew up around Air Force bases and went to many different schools, some that shared text books because the school couldn’t afford one for every student. That is unacceptable. Student loans are a staggering burden for college graduates. Five million could provide a great scholarship for students who study natural science. They could even be required to work for the Nature Conservancy or some similar organization as part of the scholarship agreement.

I know one thing that I wouldn’t do with $5 million. I wouldn’t fund a recount effort that has no chance of changing the outcome of the election. The recount can only keep picking at the sore left from the bitter campaign. We need to heal.

(Frank Watson is a retired school teacher and long-time resident of St. John.)