What I Believe To Be The World's Biggest Problems

There are so many important issues in the world that it is difficult to choose which are the largest, but here are a few that I believe to be quite pressing.

Poverty, Hunger, and a Lack of Drinking Water

• More than 1.3 billion people are living in extreme poverty today, meaning they live on less than $1.25 per day
• 22,000 children die per day due to extreme poverty (UNICEF)
• Over 750 million people do not have sufficient access to clean drinking water
• Diarrhea due to poor sanitation/hygiene/nutrition kills approx. 2,300 people every day

While it is a small step towards such a large problem, getting involved with and supporting your local food bank is a great place to start to help. If everyone helped out in their community in some manner such as this, it would overall have a very large impact on this world issue.

The Economic Situation of the World

• Global growth is projected at a mere 2.4% for 2015
• Growth in transition and developing economies is at its weakest pace since the 2008 crisis
• More than 40% of the world's poor live in the developing countries whose growth slowed in 2015

While the economy is difficult to directly implement a solution to, I think that it is very important for people to constantly be aware of what the current situation is so that they can respond appropriately and do their best to support economic growth.

Availability of Energy

• 65% of climate pollution comes from energy generation and use
• 75% of the energy in electric generation and delivery is lost before it even reaches customers 
• $150 billion is lost annually from power outages and blackouts in the U.S. alone

There is a lot of awareness today towards the global consumption of energy, resulting in the creation of energy-friendly products that make it easier for people to do their part for the environment, such as switching to LED light bulbs or even simply making sure all lights/electronics are off when not in use.

World Pollution

• Pollution is one of the largest global killers, affecting over 100 million people
• More than 100,000 sea mammals and 1 million seabirds are killed by pollution annually
• People who live in highly polluted areas have a 20% higher risk of contracting lung cancer

One step towards helping to eliminate pollution is to get involved in or host a beach/park/wildlife cleanup - this will not only help the wildlife in the area but it will also help to raise awareness for people to do their part in this issue, such as regularly recycling in their own homes.

Animal Cruelty

• Large scale commercial dog breeders care more about profits than the health of the dogs, resulting in kidney and heart disease of the animals
• 68% of battered women reported violence towards their animals
• Nearly 1 million animals are abused or killed in connection with domestic violence per year

This is such a sad issue in the world - people can do their part to help prevent this from happening by caring for their own pets as well as volunteering for animal rescues.

Global Warming

• Global warming is occurring largely due to an over-emittance of gases and fossil fuels
• There is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere now than there has been in the last 800,000 years
• Americans = 4% of the world's population but produce 25% of the carbon dioxide pollution from fossil fuel burning

Everyone can certainly do their part to help diminish their fossil fuel emission, such as switching to a more eco-friendly vehicle or riding a bike instead whenever possible.

Racial Discrimination

• African Americans are only 14% of the drug users in the U.S. but make up 37% of the drug-related arrests
• In 2010, African Americans received 10% longer sentences than white people for the exact same crimes
• In 2009, African Americans were 21% more likely to receive a mandatory minimum sentence than white people

It is awful that this sort of discrimination and prejudice still exists today, but people can do their part by not participating in or condoning such behavior, as well as educating people on the realities of racism.

Immigration

• There are approx. 12 million undocumented citizens in the U.S.
• The Obama administration has deported nearly 2 million immigrants, the highest amount under any U.S. president 
• Just to apply for citizenship costs over $600 per person

Organizations such as the DREAM act and DACA are doing what they can to provide for immigrant children, and becoming involved with one of these organizations to help raise awareness is a great way for people to help out with this issue.

Education Around the World 

• In 2012, 31 million primary school students dropped out of school
• Children living in a rural environment are twice as likely as those living in an urban area to be out of school
• Children of the wealthiest 20% are four times more likely to be in school than those of the poorest 20%
• Africa has areas with less than 50% literacy rates among children 18 and under

There are many organizations who, for a very small daily donation, are able to send a child in the world to school, as well as many opportunities to get involved in local communities at low-income schools and shelters to promote and support children attending school.

Cyber Bullying

• Nearly 43% of children have been bullied online
• 68% of teens agree that cyber bullying is a serious problem
• 90% of teens who have seen cyber bullying on social media have chose to ignore it
• Only 1 in 10 victims will report their abuse
• Bullying victims are 2 to 9 times more likely to commit suicide than those who haven't been bullied

Cyber bullying has become a serious issue in this day in age and it is crucial that if someone witnesses this occurring that they take some form of action, as it could be the difference between saving someone's life or not.

Hopefully we can all do our part to help quell these serious and very real issues in today's world!

xoxo The EntrepreTraveler