The world has reached the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of cutting by half the number of people without access to safe drinking water, five years ahead of the 2015 deadline. While that is good news, millions of people, for instance, still live without a toilet. Not a very sexy topic -- but one which is of great concern if the world is to meet goals on reducing under-five mortality.

Who is listening to the folks camping out in downtown Manhattan? President Obama should call out the root cause of his shortcomings at the polls, but is otherwise engaged in retaining Wall Street support for his re-election campaign. And what of us, informed and active, democracy-loving citizens?

It's no wonder that our political leaders are having such a difficult time introducing the policies needed to reduce greenhouse gases. They would not see the climate effects of this policy realized during their political career. In fact, they may not be realized in their entire lifetime.

As the global economy continues to struggle, the image of heroic leadership has waned. President Obama falls into this category, exhorting Americans to buy his economic agenda but running into the obstacles presented by Congress and a cynical and deeply divided public.

Maybe British Prime Minister David Cameron will light a policy fire under the Harper government while he's in Ottawa. His Big Society idea challenges citizens to get Big Government out of the way. But putting cost-cutting and community empowerment side-by-side can produce the perfect storm of political opportunism.