World's Biggest Problems (and Solutions!)

So you already heard my rant on things that particularly bug me and cause some minor problems. However, it's time to think on a larger scale.  So many things are currently happening in the world that its sometimes hard to just skip by them without noticing. Some may be huge issues while other might be smaller yet still significant. Here is a list of what I think are the biggest problems in the world and some possible solutions to the matter:

1. Food waste.  Food waste, to be clear, is food that has not been eaten or has been thrown away.  The world produces so much food but a large majority is thrown out, especially in well developed countries such as the United States.  How is it that we have so many people starving to death in the world but we have enough food to throw out? Some simple solutions are to only order or prepare the amount of food you are going to eat, only buy the food you know you will use, and for places like restaurants, sell smaller portions of food so half the meal doesn't get thrown out!  Also, food that is not used could be donated to homeless shelters or people who have nothing to eat, they sure need it more than you do.

2. Something that goes along with the previous problem, starvation.  So many people around the world are dying of hunger every day.  This is mostly prominent in lesser developed regions, such as Africa, the Middle East or Southeast Asia. There is enough food produced to feed the starving, but nothing is done.  It gets to a point where you will see thousands of people bone-thin, literally I can see their skin clinging to their bones for dear life. Some solutions are similar to the ones above.  Donate food to those who need it, or donate funds to organizations that help those in need in other countries.  Just verify that those organizations are transparent with how the money is allocated.

3. Human trafficking of women in prostitution.  I know this is a pretty sensitive topic but I do believe it has become a global issue.  Women are taken away from their loved ones against their wills, some violently, into this awful industry that forces them to become sex slaves, as if they were toys to be played with.  The conditions these women live in are fit for animals.  Their "bosses" sell them to different men for money, not caring at all.  There are times when these women are injected with different drugs and eventually develop an involuntary addiction. Those who try to escape and are unsuccessful are beaten or sometimes even shot dead.  Those who are able to escape sometimes suffer severe mental trauma.  The rate has increased in areas like South America, East Asia and Southeast Asia.  Some ways women can prevent putting themselves in these dangerous situations is to never travel alone, especially at night.  Seems pretty obvious but its the most ignored.  If you travel abroad, take this into even more consideration, because you are completely on your own.  Also, don't act foolishly or put yourself in potentially dangerous situations (ex: going home piss drunk with someone you don't know,  walking dangerous street in the late hours).  Some governments have taken action into trying to locate and rescue these traffickers, but prevention is key.

4. Religious intolerance and animosity.  Over the past few years religious intolerance has become more obvious.  World War II was the first major incident involving innocent Jewish people being killed just because of what they believed in.  After 9/11 this growing hatred towards Muslims increased, and now with ISIS and acts of terrorism, the Muslim population is being attacked.  How can you associate a massive population with the acts of a few unrelated people? Solutions are pretty easy: try accepting people for who they are and not what their faith is.  Actions speak louder than words.  Just because someone doesn't believe in the same thing that you do, it doesn't mean they are wrong, they are just different.

5.  Politicians that are bought out and push their own agendas and don't consider the people.  Corruption is on-going, and I am not sure when it will end.  In reference to The U.S. (I don't have a deep understanding of international politics), we see all these potential presidential candidates being funded by these large corporations and are pushing their agendas.  They will do whatever is need to keep their funding, ignoring the problems the people are now facing, such as increased student loans, the conditions of education for children, healthcare that is affordable etc.  The best solution is to not stand around and complain but actually get involved and vote for the change you want to see.  The people can be stronger than one government official.

6. Climate Change and pollution.  As people, we are depleting our natural resources at a dramatic rate, it is almost scary.  The amounts of fossil fuels used is massive, the amount of forests and natural land keeps being torn down and destroyed, and the amount of water that we waste has created a crisis.  Now you see more power plants than you do nature.  Also, all these factories create so much air and water pollution, that we are slowly destroying the planet.  China's air pollution has reached deadly standards, Africa has a serious water crisis, and global warming is causing climate changes that have very significant impacts.  Solutions would be to recycle more, don't waste so much water, lead a more green life.  Corporations are now trying to become more green become a social concern.  A small act can create impact.

7. Poaching/Hunting/Capturing of animals for profit.  Animals today are being hunted, almost to extinction, for money and it can literally be anything.  Africa has the Ivory trade, and thousands of elephants are assassinated purely for their tusks; the West African Rhino went extinct less than 5 years ago due to over hunting .  You also have lions, leopards, cheetahs, tigers being killed for their pelts or teeth.  Japan is under-fire for the hunting of whales and dolphins.  Many animals are killed as a sort of prize to be won.  SeaWorld takes animals out of their natural habitats, only to keep them locked up in small tanks.  Solutions would be to not support these organizations by not paying for their "entertainment" and get involved in local or global organizations and find ways to get involved, I did it in Namibia.  Slowly governments are trying to increase areas for animal protection and have strict laws against poaching.

8. The huge gap of the upper class with the middle and lower class.  Slowly the gap between upper class and middle has become so big it is ridiculous.  As the upper class gains more wealth, the middle class seems to lose ground. This financial gap leads to a social gap.  In reference to the U.S. the upper class loses to lower classes in terms of number of people, but they seem to hold the most power and influence in the country.  The gap has led to social instability because the largest portion of the population, with the most needs, is getting pushed to the side for the needs of the few wealthy.  This gap eventually leads to political unrest among the people.  Only solutions I can really think of for the immediate future, is to become successful middle class citizens in order to gain some strength; sounds cliche but it is true.  Future solutions would require more intervention in income inequality and social policies.

9. Racism.  Judging people by the color of their skin or where they come from is ongoing, and I am not sure where it will end.  It has some similarity to my earlier reference to religious intolerance.  As access to travel has become so accessible, people from one country immigrate to another, and over time their roots change the population structure of a region.  There are people who refuse to accept change.  I've seen many people I care about lose job opportunities because they were Black or Latino.  I and several other friends have been harassed by people for being Latinos.  In Asia, some people refuse to accept anyone that is not Asian.  If we reject people purely on the fact that they are from somewhere else or have a different skin color, we lose the opportunity to grow.  Solutions for the common individual are to look at people based on their character, try to get to know them.  Another cliche, but people are more than a physical attribute.

10. Refugee and immigrant crisis.  People around the world suffer many different situations.  Mexico has increased violence and a serious issue with drug selling, Venezuela is suffering serious political corruption, Syria is in constant danger and political instability, etc.  People decide to move leave their home countries because conditions have become unbearable and even unlivable.  Other countries around the world, instead of helping, their solutions is to reject these people and close off their borders.  In reference to the refugees, by all means, I understand that taking in massive amounts of people may be a little difficult, but many people are suffering and wouldn't be fleeing if they didn't think they were in danger.  As for the immigrant crisis, many people see immigrants and low lives who are mooching off a country.  In reality many immigrants are productive members of society who actually help the economy.  These people have a serious reason for leaving their homes in search of better lives.  A solution for everyday people is to get involved in immigration policies going on in your country. By that I mean: vote and support people in your local and nation government who support positive immigration policies.  As for big solutions,  national leaders have the power in their hands, so having elected officials who can execute plans to solve these problems without harming those refugees and immigrants is crucial.

Well there you have it! Sorry if they are lengthy explanations but some of them are topics I consider very important. If you have any others or maybe differ in opinion, by all means let me know in the comments! Thanks and have a great day! :D