World's Biggest Problems

Here is a list of what I believe to be the world's biggest problems and what we can do to fix it.

1) Being disconnected

With the rise of social media, I think people (especially millennials) are losing essential face-to-face communication skills. We hide behind our tiny glowing screens, which give us the protection necessary to say things that we would never say to someone's face. I think in order to fix this, maybe we can have official social-media-free holidays dedicated to being around families and friends.

2) The Complaining Generation

Sure, you can be pro-gay marriage all you want, but unless you go out there and stand up for your cause rather than just complaining about it on social media, nothing is going to happen. The problem with millennials today is that we are complainers. We definitely see all the problems in the world happening around us, but fail to realize that a Facebook "Like" will not save a child from dying of starvation in a third-world country. I think there needs to be programs specifically targeted for millennials to allow them to reach out from behind their screens and make an actual difference.

3) Apathy towards environmental issues

People seem to completely ignore the fact that our planet is dying. Human-caused environmental disasters are happening all around the world at this very moment, but what does the news cover? They cover the latest appalling words from a politician, or whether leggings should be considered pants or not. People claim to be pro-environment, but then go home and throw away anything and everything that can be recycled. This complacency towards the environment has to stop somewhere. I think there should be a government service that teaches people about the environment and provides incentives for being environmentally-conscious.

4) Homelessness is on the rise

I just spent a semester in Washington, DC for an internship, and the amount of homeless people I saw there was unfathomable. It was so depressing to see that in one of the most powerful nation's in the world, there are so many people living on the streets. I think that there should be homeless shelters with career-training services. They would teach these people about resume building, how to do well in an interview, and how to dress for an interview. Suits and dresses appropriate for interviews could be donated as well. I think this would help tremendously in getting people off of the streets and into a secure job.

5) Defining a large group of people based on the actions of a few

Whether we admit it or not, we all have an ounce of prejudice in us. Especially when it comes to religion, the world tends to assume that the actions of a few extremists define the actions of the entire group of people. For example, because of the actions of ISIS in the Middle East, many Americans assume that all Muslims are this way. I have a friend who lives in Gibraltar that is a Muslim, and you will never meet a more warm-hearted and amazing guy. I believe that if we dedicate an organization to teaching people about different religions or races and the culture behind them, people will become more open-minded about these things.

6) World hunger

All over the world, there are people that are dying of starvation. It is even happening in our own country. I believe that every person on this planet has the right to nourish their bodies with food. It is terrible that so many people go day after day with such little to eat. Something that might help would be that restaurants and other food establishments could donate their leftover food to an organization that then distributes the food to those less fortunate.

7) Uninformed voting

Many people tend to vote along their party lines without understanding the extent of the policies involved. They vote for a Democrat just because they are a Democrat and they vote for a Republican because they are a Republican. If people could open their minds up and see both sides of the issue in detail, we wouldn't have problems with badly-suiting leaders taking command. If thews outlets could focus on policies rather than the mud-slinging, people would be better informed voters.

8) Climate Change

Aside from simply not caring about environmental issues, climate change is on the rise and many people are misinformed about it. There are even people that deny its existence. I think the if governments take action in implementing policies to remedy some of the major factors contributing to climate change, we can effectively work together to slow it down.

9) The growing world population

The world's population is growing at an alarming rate, and there just simply isn't enough room for everyone. Because people are living longer, death rates are slower than birth rates, causing the human population to explode. If governments fund birth control education, it might help decrease this alarming growth.

10) The quest for clean water

With the world's population increasing, the amount of pollution in our water systems is becoming almost too much to handle. This rapidly decreases the amount of clean water available to people all over the world. I think there should be more efforts to create better water filtration systems so that everyone can exercise their right to clean drinking water.