--- description: Learn about a new plan for the world community to save lives in Syria as well as the need for streamlined oversight of the Department of Homeland Security. Plus drones in your food and the power of public transportation to improve America's job picture. title: These Are the Five Best Ideas of the Day image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Innovation](/tag/innovation/) ## Innovation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Five Best Ideas of the Day: July 24 by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 24, 2014 4:05 PM CUT by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 24, 2014 4:05 PM CUT **1\.** [**Ten years after the 9/11 commission urged Congress to simplify oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, the problem is worse. Today, the department deals with 92 Congressional committees. That must change.**](http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/security/ "undefined") By the Sunnylands-Aspen Task Force **2\.** [**Operation Lifeline Syria: The International Community must tackle this humanitarian crisis head-on. Here’s how to do it.**](http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/07/23/operation%5Flifeline%5Fsyria%5Fmadeleine%5Falbright%5Fdavid%5Fmiliband "undefined") By Madeleine Albright and David Miliband in Foreign Policy **3\.** [**When enforcement of the Clean Water Act becomes a political football, our communities and the nation’s economy will suffer.**](http://www.propublica.org/article/under-water-the-epas-struggle-to-combat-pollution "undefined") By Naveena Sadasivam in Pro Publica **4\.** [**It’s easier to move people than jobs: How better public transport can solve the jobs crisis.**](http://www.vox.com/2014/7/23/5881083/suburban-sprawl-public-transit-economic-mobility "undefined") By Danielle Kurtzleben in Vox **5\.** [**Drones will change – and monitor – the way food gets from farm to table.**](http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2014/07/23/how-drones-will-change-the-way-you-eat/ "undefined") By Mary Beth Albright in National Geographic  [_The Aspen Institute_](http://www.aspeninstitute.org/ "undefined") _is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3030304/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-july-24/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3030304/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-july-24/"},"headline":"Five Best Ideas of the Day: July 24","datePublished":"2014-07-24T16:05:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:43:08.162Z","description":"Learn about a new plan for the world community to save lives in Syria as well as the need for streamlined oversight of the Department of Homeland Security. Plus drones in your food and the power of public transportation to improve America's job picture.","url":"https://time.com/3030304/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-july-24/","keywords":["Innovation","Syria","Drones","EPA","Department of Homeland Security","humanitarian"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Aspen Institute","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/the-aspen-institute/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/innovation/","name":"Innovation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3030304/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-july-24/","name":"Five Best Ideas of the Day: July 24"}}]}] ```