--- description: The very notion of sovereignty may be slipping away. And our ability to feel empathy isn't doing too well either. Also, dangerous drinking water and more. 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: August 7 by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 7, 2014 4:02 PM CUT by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 7, 2014 4:02 PM CUT **1\.** [**Climate change and increased fertilizer use could mean more poisonous algae blooms and contaminated drinking water.**](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/08/140804-harmful-algal-bloom-lake-erie-climate-change-science/ "undefined") By Jane J. Lee in National Geographic **2\.** [**If the world community isn’t careful, the very concept of sovereignty could be finished.**](http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2014/0806/State-sovereignty-up-for-grabs "undefined") By the editorial board of the Christian Science Monitor **3\.** [**From Nigeria to Gaza and beyond: what happened to our ability to feel empathy?**](http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/08/01/attention%5Fdeficit%5Fdisorder%5Feconomy%5Fnigeria%5Fgaza%5Fcaring "undefined") By Lauren Wolfe in Foreign Policy **4\.** [**What if pay reflected a job’s social worth?**](http://www.guernicamag.com/daily/robert-reich-work-and-worth/ "undefined") By Robert Reich in Guernica **5\.** [**International development is too focused on the very poor. Transformational strategies to improve whole societies do more to help the poor – and everyone else.**](http://www.effective-states.org/back-to-national-development-lant-pritchetts-quest-for-millennium-development-ideals/ "undefined") By Lant Pritchett in Effective States and Inclusive Development  [_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/3089131/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-august-7/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3089131/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-august-7/"},"headline":"Five Best Ideas of the Day: August 7","datePublished":"2014-08-07T16:02:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:43:06.948Z","description":"The very notion of sovereignty may be slipping away. And our ability to feel empathy isn't doing too well either. Also, dangerous drinking water and more.","url":"https://time.com/3089131/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-august-7/","keywords":["Innovation","climate change","poverty","Aid","empathy"],"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/3089131/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-august-7/","name":"Five Best Ideas of the Day: August 7"}}]}] ```