Oct 15

Half the Sky: Time to Discuss Women

I would like to start off this blog post with a simple statement: I love reading. I can read for hours if I had nothing else to do. Last summer, I was looking to find new books to read.  While looking online, I came across Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide written by Pulitzer-Prize winning journalists, Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Usually, I am not really into non-fiction books, but the book had received positive reviews. After I started reading the book, I just could not stop. Each story made me feel shocked, surprised, hopeful, fortunate and amazed. It really was a thought-provoking book and completely opened up a new perspective for me. I realized that as a woman myself, I do take things such as education and reliable healthcare for granted. The book documents real-life stories of women in developing countries who face sex trafficking, forced prostitution, maternal mortality, gender-based violence and lack of education. Women are the victims of these issues every ninety seconds and almost two-hundred million poor women in developing countries, face these issues on a daily basis. The book proves that even though it is the 21st century, human rights violations are occurring all over the world. Women are disfranchised and are at the bottom of the hierarchy. Women and girls all over the world have the power to change the world, and all they need is just a chance.

Half the Sky was turned into a two part real-life documentary featured on PBS on October 1st and 2nd. This documentary features six American female celebrities: Meg Ryan, Gabrielle Union, Diane Lane, America Ferrera, Eva Mendes, and Olivia Wilde. These celebrities traveled with Kristof to ten countries around the world to meet these courageous women. This documentary also showcases the heroic efforts of the men and women working to improve the society and to stop the oppression of women worldwide. We meet several hard working and inspiring individuals such as Somaly Mam, Urmi Basu, Amie Kandeh, and Edna Adan, and John Wood.

Last week, the Taliban militants in Pakistan shot a young fourteen year old girl named Malala Yousafazai, who is an avid advocate for girls’ education. Another incident in Indonesia, a girl was expelled from school because she had been raped. These are real examples of oppression of women and gender inequality. Interestingly enough, both of these events coincided with the first Day of the Girl on October 11th. We all know that educating a girl has many benefits including decreased infant mortality rate, healthier families and increase in overall economic productivity. Are there any negative consequences of getting a girl educated?

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Oct 10

Peer Helpers and College Suicide

Suicide is the second highest cause of death among college students and the third leading cause of death among young Americans ages 15- 24. Despite the increase in suicide prevention programs across college campuses in the United States, suicide continues to trend upward. A common complaint about college suicide prevention programs is insufficient and overworked health staff. Overburdened and case ridden mental health workers cannot be as effective in preventing or decreasing college suicide rates. In some instances they will not be able to adequately identify suicidal students, focus on individual cases, or do follow-ups. Regardless of the good intentions of staff, students in need of help will fall through the cracks. A prolonged wait list is a deterrent to students seeking mental help. This disincentive can sometimes mean the difference between life and death. Therefore, it is imperative that with these issues we take greater advantage of an underutilized resource: peer helpers.

Peer Helper Programs- www.campussuicidepreventionva.org

University campuses are a rich resource of graduate and undergraduate psychology students. These students have the unique advantage of being able to tackle the issues from a peer perspective and take away some of the “professional jargon. Research shows that peers first seek emotional help from their peers. They will report thoughts of suicidal ideations first to a friend, peer, romantic partner or roommate. Peers interact on a more normal continuous level. Young people clearly have a powerful influence on each other. They are able to convey information and are quickly privy to information in a way that professionals are not able to. Peer helpers will be effective in tapping into issues which impact college students. Therefore, the question becomes: how do we encourage these peer helpers to become participants and become engaged in the problem?

Offer incentives to Peer Helpers

Peer helpers primary role is conveying information about suicide, through focus groups or rallies which, is an important role. However, as it currently stands, peer helpers are underutilized. They can become more actively integrated and utilized in suicide prevention methods by filling a much needed gap Continue reading

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Oct 08

How Pinterest is (Not) Killing Feminism

Maybe you’ve seen it. There’s a piece circulating online with the title “How Pinterest is Killing Feminism”. Avid pinner and fellow feminist myself, all it took was the title to get my attention. My first reaction was anger. Then, I was insulted. How dare they make such an accusation about my beloved pasttime? The article sat unopened on my computer for a whole other day. On several occasions, I would click open the tab, look at the title, and then close it again. It wasn’t until the next night, when I actually decided to sit down and read it over.

Here are the article’s key claims: 

  • Pinterest promotes “thinspo”, and therefore eating disorder behavior. TRUE. “Thinspo” = thinspiration. Translation: those photographs of ridiculously attractive, skinny women used as inspiration for losing weight. The problem with such pictures (besides the obvious fact that they perpetuate very narrowly defined notions of style and beauty) is that they glorify such “thin-ness” as something that is both desirable and attainable for all. They leave you with the dangerous notion that perfection is always just five pounds away.
  • Pinterest’s most popular pins are “diet” recipes. FALSE. It is true – there are a fair share of “diet” recipes, which can be found on Pinterest (clearly evident by the calorie counts and WeightWatcher points in their descriptions). However, are they in the majority? Hardly. Decadent desserts, cheesy chip-n-dips, and creamy pastas dishes are the real winners on Pinterest – getting hundreds of repins and favorites along the way. The stereotype that all women care about are “diet” recipes? It’s simply not true.
  • Pinterest is about trying to achieve the impossible. DEBATABLE.  I’ll admit it. Pinterest is a place for the dreamers. The dream wedding, the dream house, the dream body… it’s all there. What’s also there though? Dreams for gender/racial/sexual equality. Dreams to end intolerance. Dreams about fixing social problems like hunger, homelessness, and unemployment. Pinterest is about trying to achieve the impossible – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
  • Pinterest emphasizes interests like cooking, home decorating, and fashion, which work to perpetuate traditional notions of femininity and materialism. FALSE. Commercialism is alive and well in the United States. I didn’t need Pinterest to tell me that. However, the part about perpetuating retrospective notions of femininity? That part I take offense to. There’s no reason I should be considered any less of a feminist simply because I like baking cookies. Feminism isn’t about telling women what they can and can’t be. It’s not about telling women that they’re not allowed to like fashion, or cooking, or do-it-yourself crafts simply because to do so is “anti-feminist”. Feminism is about rejecting the notion that women always ought to be one way or another.

The truth of the matter is that one in five women over the age of eighteen are on Pinterest. Over 60% of site visitors of Pinterest are women. We should embrace the fact that Pinterest is a female-dominated platform (and a rapidly growing platform at that – over 22 million new users in the last year alone), and harness this power to our fullest advantage. Many organizations that I follow, such as Miss Representation, WAM! Women, Action, and the Media, and NIU Women’s Studies, have already jumped on the bandwagon and currently use Pinterest as a means of transmitting information and spreading awareness on a whole variety of women’s causes. Pinterest allows such organizations the opportunity to reach an audience that they wouldn’t often get to reach. Just this summer, the SISGI Group itself started its own Pinterest as a tool for spreading its message through pins connecting to blog posts, webinars, and conferences, all which work to promote the ideas of feminism to the greater public.

Upon finishing the article, I closed the tab and decided to open a new tab. My new search? Under the key words “women’s rights”, I wanted to see what kind of results the so-called “feminist-killing” Pinterest would bring. The results? Quotes about female empowerment. Statistics outlining gender discrepancies in the workplace. Stories dedicated to the “Half the Sky” movement, which took place last week. Images pinned to boards with titles such as “Make the World A Better Place” and “Power to the people! The fight for equality”. Still think Pinterest is killing feminism? Think again.

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Oct 03

Focusing on Mothers

Mothers play a huge role in every child’s life. A mom is a child’s support system, role model, and caretaker. From birth to first day of school to college graduation, moms are always there from the beginning to the end. Sometimes though, not all mothers in developing countries are fortunate to see their children growing up in front of their eyes. Maternal mortality is still a major issue in low-income countries despite major technological advances. Maternal mortality has a large adverse effect on a family socially, economically, and psychologically. Everyday there are about eight-hundred women that lose their lives everyday while giving birth, which is almost a total of 292,000 lives a year. Almost ninety percent of maternal deaths can be avoided with quality maternal health care. Most of those maternal deaths are women living in developing countries worldwide. Many lives can be saved if quality prenatal and postnatal care was available to all women.

Barriers to Access


Poverty is the number one reason women are unable to get the care they need during pregnancy and childbirth. Health care can be costly for many families living on a small income. Women often are unable to visit a doctor regularly because of familial duties or the clinic is simply too far away. Transportation to and from the clinic may be dangerous for women who live in far rural villages. Also, many countries do not have the resources to provide these women with maternal health services because of the lack of infrastructure and funding available. There are not enough health care workers available to provide women with quality maternal care.

Gender inequality plays a significant barrier for women who want to see seek the care that they need and deserve. In many developing countries, men play a dominant role in the household and make entirely all the decisions especially when it comes to spending. Some cultural and social norms prevent women from leaving their home and to seek care. Women are placed at the bottom of the hierarchy and because of that, their health needs are often neglected.

Why is it important to save mothers?

If the mother dies, her surviving infant will be more at risk of dying within the very first few days of life compared to infants with mothers. Without mothers, her children are less likely to go to school and get educated compared to other kids. Besides education, her children will not be able to get basic preventive health care such as vaccines on time. Overall, there will be less economic productivity in her family and community.

What we can do?
First, we can try to reduce gender inequality by empowering women. It is difficult to drastically reduce gender inequality, however we can try by working with the community to empower these women. Incentives-based programs can be effective. If a husband brings his wife to the clinic for a checkup, he can get a monetary reward. He is more likely to bring his wife to the clinic again for a check-up. Peer mentoring is also very effective tool to inform women about maternal health through social norms and cultural barriers. Second, we can advocate for low cost maternal health care for these women. If the health care cost was overall lower, many more families will be able to afford to seek care. Third, train more health care workers such as midwives in local rural villages. According to a report, adequate midwifery can save 3.6 million lives. It is important to focus on mothers because mothers can make big positive impact whether in the community or in the lives of their children.

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Oct 02

Solitary Confinement: Why Prisoners Need a Voice

Think about your daily routine. How many people do you think you interact with? 10, 20, 30 people? More? It’s probably not something you’ve ever considered. And why would you? Of course you’ll be surrounded by people throughout your day. But what if you weren’t? What if in fact you couldn’t interact with a single person? Couldn’t see them, touch them, hear them? It’s hard to even wrap your brain around I know. But that’s the reality people in solitary confinementface for days, months, even years at a time.They spend 23 hours a day in small prison cell. Large enough for a bed, a sink, a toilet. Maybe a desk or a small window if they’re lucky. But that’s it. They can leave their cell for 1 hour a day to either sit in a separate, larger, and more open cell. Or they can spend that hour in the recreation room. Regardless of the choice, they still can’t interact with or speak to other prisoners. And they can only briefly interact with the prison guards as they change locations. It’s a pretty grim and incredibly difficult existence.

Obviously, not all prisoners are kept in solitary confinement. In theory, it’s only really meant to be used as a punishment or as a means to protect other prisoners. However, use of the practice is arbitrary and corruption runs rampant in the prison system. Guards have the power to throw anyone into solitary if they choose. And they can leave them there for as long as they wish. Yes, there are guidelines surrounding the use of punishment. But at the end of the day guards have an exceptional and almost frightening level of control over prisoners. But beyond implementation issues, the legality of the practice of solitary confinement has recently come under question. Studies have shown that solitary confinement can have lasting psychological damage on prisoners. So much so, that people have begun arguing that the practice possibly constitutes torture or cruel and unusual punishment.

These issues have led to LOTS of protests. Prisoners regularly take part in hunger strikes to protest their treatment. Family members organize in front of prisons and write letters. The ACLU and other human rights groups publish literature surrounding the issues with solitary confinement. They’re all doing their best to spread the word and raise awareness around such an important issue. And needless to say, this amounts to a lot of people pushing for change.

And they really are doing a lot of good work. In fact, just this summer a Senate Judiciary Committee sat down to discuss the issue of solitary confinement. Many of the issues were discussed, people presented alternatives to solitary confinement, and made suggestions for necessary prison reform. The movement to end solitary confinement really seemed like it was finally gaining the necessary political momentum to make a change. However, this hearing happened in June. And here we are in October with no apparent changes. We’ve had lots of talk from the officials capable of implementing alternatives. But we still haven’t seen any sustainable impact on the prison culture. And quite frankly I don’t understand why.

How can officials allow solitary confinement to still be used so pervasively? How can they continuously ignore so many voices? Is it because people don’t think prisoners should have certain rights? Because people don’t care about their well-being? Does Continue reading

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Oct 01

Ebola’s Other Victim: Healthcare Workers

You might have heard about the Ebola outbreak in Uganda, Africa, which started to receive media coverage towards the end of the summer. In one of my previous blog posts, I had written about the about the outbreak itself and its effects. Currently, there is more focus on another Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa. Out of the seventy-two cases reported, there has been a total of thirty-two deaths which includes five health care workers. If this virus spreads, more health care workers will be needed to help control the spread of the virus and to take care of the patients. Patients are not the only victims of a virus. Health care workers have a high risk of getting infected with the Ebola virus while handling patients. Ninety percent of Ebola victims die and there is no treatment or vaccine. According to the officials from the World Health Organization, there is a risk of this outbreak spreading to larger cities in Congo. Almost nine million people live in Congo’s capital city, Kinshasa, because of the urban environment and lack of stable healthcare, the virus can easily spread among the population. If the Ebola virus spreads, more healthcare workers will be the unfortunate victims.

 

Unfortunately, there is a high incidence of health care workers getting infected during any communicable disease outbreak. For example, out of the seventy-two cases in this current outbreak of Ebola, twenty-three cases were of health care workers. These numbers may not seem very large, however these numbers can change if the virus spreads to other cities. The Ebola virus can spread through blood, bodily fluids or from unprotected handling of an infected corpse. Doctors, nurses, community health workers, and other health aides must follow a cautious protocol while taking care of patients by wearing protective gear such as specialized moon suits, and gloves. Unfortunately, mistakes can always happen. Despite wearing protective gear, health care workers may unintentionally come into contact with bodily fluids from the patient. While handling needles, workers can potentially be exposed to the virus by accidentally poking a needle into their glove. The health care workers can potentially spread the virus to other people. Unfortunately, even with the protective gear, health care personnel are still at risk of endangering their own lives.

 Misconceptions can also play a role. Many early symptoms of Ebola also mimic other illnesses such as malaria. People who are infected with Ebola may not know of about the symptoms and may seek care from a health care provider. The health care worker may not realize that the patient been infected with the Ebola virus. Somehow, the health care provider may get infected in between while trying to treat the patient and finding the actual diagnosis.

A health worker from an international organization may have the prior knowledge about the incubation period of the Ebola virus. However, a local health provider may not know about the actual incubation period of the virus and how symptoms are similar to other illnesses.

It is difficult to suggest more cautionary measures for health care providers during an outbreak because there are already so many in place. It is just important to realize health care workers are victims of outbreaks and to make sure that all of the health care providers are on the same page to prevent any mishaps in hospitals that are full of patients. Local health care providers should be informed immediately of any type of outbreaks, more information about the illness, and more importantly, how to help the patient with protection. Prevention is the key sometimes, but it equally important to spread that knowledge. Knowledge can help save lives too.

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Sep 27

The Potential for Awesomeness – 2012 Social Good Summit

The annual Social Good Summit kicked off Saturday September 22 with another amazing line-up of speakers from around the globe. This year the event truly created a global conversation with the event and livestream translated into 7 languages. As the head of an organization that views technology and innovation as a way to move the needle on social issues, this annual event presents an exciting glimpse into the potential for technology and social change. Though the rapid fire agenda can at times leave you longing for an opportunity to ask a question of the brilliant panels or exciting presenters, it is an annual opportunity to hear in one place all that is happening in technology and social good. As Todd Park, the US Chief Technology Officer energetically stated, this event puts a spotlight on the “Potential for Awesomeness” by raising awareness of unique and innovative strategies to tackle some of the most challenging issues of our time.
Todd Park, U.S. Chief Technology Officer, The White House said, "Data by itself is useless. I can't feed my baby daughter data."

 My Key Takeaway

Mobile is still the key technology strategy and organizations, governments and institutions need plans to leverage it.

 

It was central last year  and once again the growth in mobile broadband access and the potential for global impact with mobile, were a central part of the conversation. Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg, Hamoudan Toure, Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union and Lance Ulanoff of Mashable’s discussion on the future of broadband was followed by a roundtable discussion with a small group of bloggers to learn more about the growth and potential for mobile technology. As one of the included members of the group, I asked Mr. Vestberg what he saw as the big change in mobile from last year’s summit. He listed the growth of 200 million to 700 million broadband users and the potential for mobile applications, noting that Ericsson believes that by 2020 there will be 50 billion broadband users. With mobile outpacing desktop users and certain regions of the globe focusing entirely on mobile as a strategy for connection, social change agents need to also keep on top of the advances in this technology.

Sec. General Toure pushed for technology and broadband access to be seen as a human need and as an aspect of wealth creation, particularly in high poverty nations. Mobile banking, for example, grew out of a need in local communities for banking in rural and dispersed areas largely on the African continent. When all countries have equal opportunity to leverage mobile technology, this power has tremendous potential to benefit all citizens. Both Vestberg and Toure discussed the need for countries to have a strong broadband plan. There is potential for this technology to address issues in education, health, and poverty but governments, citizens and the private sector must focus on increasing access to the technology. Toure sees technology as a strong strategy for putting money in people’s hands. He stated that “development plans have largely only included help, assistance and charity. If you try something for 50 years and it doesn’t work for God’s sake try something else. Invest in the private sector in creating change.” Both Vestberg and Toure discussed that the advances in technology were not imagined when the Millennium Development Goals were developed and there is a missed opportunity by not including technology in the strategies now. Ericsson’s strategic investment of incorporating their research, resources, and technology on strategies to increase positive outcomes for social issues is an amazing example of corporate social responsibility. When listening to the goals outlined by Hans Vestberg during this conversation and throughout the summit about the work of Ericsson in creating a positive impact, you instantly see that this is more than just talk for their organization. It is great to see a company that truly understand their role not just in terms of profits but as good corporate citizens.

Quote of the Summit

Data by itself is useless. I can’t feed my daughter data. Data is only useful if you apply it. – Todd Park, CTO of the US

 

Some great ideas and innovations were shared throughout summit related to data and information. Many take Continue reading

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Sep 26

Celebs Gone Good

A few days ago, I was reading the Huffington Post before class, and I saw something so  innovative that I have never seen before. We all the have seen celebrity paparazzi pictures all over the internet or on the television. Usually there are pictures of celebrities dining out, shopping, walking or just doing their regular daily errands. Similarly, Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield were dining in at a local restaurant and as usual paparazzi were surrounding the restaurant. Instead of running away from the paparazzi, they did something entirely different. As they came out, they carried cardboard signs saying:

“We just found out that there are paparazzi outside the restaurant we were eating in. So…why not take this opportunity to bring attention to organizations that need and deserve it? www.wwo.org www.gildasclubnyc.org. Have a great day!”

Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are supporters of Gilda’s Club NYC, which is an organization that creates a supportive community for anyone that is living with cancer and Worldwide Orphan Foundation, which help support orphans around the world through health, education, and other services. Usually, we see celebrities covering their faces to avoid the cameras or running away from the paparazzi into their cars. I was so used to seeing that, that I was kind of shocked seeing Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield taking advantage of that situation in such a positive and innovative way. It shows how passionate they are about their causes. That got me thinking, how much impact do celebrities actually make when it comes to social good? Does commitment and passion make a difference?

Celebrities are a big deal almost everywhere around the world. Teenagers idolize their favorite celebrities and want to support their favorite celebrity to the fullest. Usually, when you go to the supermarket, you see them on magazine covers while waiting at the checkout line. Sometimes, the latest celebrity news is reported right on your yahoo homepage. Some of us probably sercetly visit perezhilton.com or tmz.com to find the juicest gossip about our favorite celebrity during class or at work. We all love to know what they are interested in or what they are up to next. In short, celebrities are connected into our daily lives whether as inspiration or entertainment.

Many celebrities often support a cause that is close to their heart or sometimes they are offered to be part of cause or a campaign. Celebrities are able to use their fame and presence to inspire masses to do the same. In 2009, Daily Beast conducted a study on the effects of celebrities on charities and also included a list of fifty celebrities that make the most impact by their support. Justin Timberlake was ranked at number one, his support to his charity was worth $9.3 million. Madonna was at the number two position worth $5.5 million for her charity, Raising Malawi. However, Paris Hilton’s support to her charity was only worth $538. It was concluded that having a famous person supporting a cause is not enough, commitment and passion is also very important to create a sustainable impact. These statistics may have changed throughout the years, however I think the conclusion would be the same even now.

Celebrities can have positive impact on their charities and causes. They can make even a bigger use of their fame in small ways similar to what Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield did. These celebrities were able to spread more awareness about their causes by using the paparazzi in their own favor. What do you guys think? Should more celebrities use their fame to promote social good every time they are able to?

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Sep 24

Freedom of the Press?

It’s an election year and we all know what that means. Constant media coverage as far as the eye can see. There are political speeches. Media reports about the speeches. Media reports about the media reports. It makes you just want to turn off your television, turn down the volume on your radio, and never open up a newspaper ever again.

Am I being slightly dramatic? Perhaps. However, I know I’m not the only one who feels overwhelmed by the incessant media coverage these days. There’s constant coverage on politics, the economy, the Middle East. All are important issues, which the media should discuss… however, they’re not the only issues that should be discussed. There are so many other underrated news stories that don’t receive any coverage at all simply because “they’re not important enough”. (Translation: They’re not entertaining enough, do not show enough blood and guts, or might possibly be making a claim against one of the corporation’s key advertisers.)

Want to know the truth? The sad truth is that over 55% of Americans don’t trust the mass media to deliver news fully, accurately, or fairly anymore. The majority of the public has come to believe that news stories are often inaccurate, or at least favoring one side the majority of the time. And up to 80% of Americans believe that news organizations are influenced more by the desires of powerful people and organizations than about the desire for presenting hard-hitting, investigative journalism.

As my parents would say, “the news just isn’t the news anymore”. It’s not about telling the truth, or getting to the bottom of the story. The news has essentially become a form of entertainment. At the end of the day, all most news corporations care about are ratings and protecting their own private interests. And that’s a shame because the importance of a news event shouldn’t be determined purely by its “wow” factor. It shouldn’t be determined by a few big-name media executives, who care about setting the public agenda than supporting public interest.  And it certainly shouldn’t be determined by advertising and marketing interests.

The problem? The problem is that we’ve lost the diversity in our news sources. Only six major media giants control 90% of our entire American media. These six media giants have control over all forms of mass media – newspapers, radio stations, television channels, productions studios, even Internet sites. They’ve destroyed, for the most part, the concept of a small town paper or a local radio station. Where have all the independent news sources gone?

The good news is – there still are some independent media news sources left. Not many, and certainly not as many as there used to be, but there still are some independent media options that are holding strong.

Independent media options:

  • PBS: Public Broadcasting Service (pbs.org)
  • NPR: National Public Radio (npr.org)

Independent news sources that don’t accept any advertising, corporate, or government funding:

  • The Real News (therealnews.com)
  • Alter Net (alternet.org)
  • Democracy Now! (democracynow.org) Continue reading
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Sep 19

Neglected Non-communicable Disease

When anyone thinks about major health issues around the world, usually they think of malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and polio. This is true because the majority of the focus in global health is usually on communicable diseases and occasionally on maternal and child health. As everyone is battling the fight to prevent and reduce communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, are slowly yet steadily emerging in developing countries. Almost 80 percent of non-communicable diseases related deaths occur in developing countries. That is a very astonishing number, considering that non-communicable diseases have always been believed to be the diseases of the developed countries. Unfortunately, non-communicable diseases were omitted from the millennium developmental goals in 2000. As a result, non-communicable diseases receive very little attention and funding and only receive 0.9% of health official development assistance.
Why is it so important to not neglect noncommunicable diseases? Here are five good reasons:

1. Non-communicable diseases are related to all eight millennium developmental goals and can thwart successful completion of the goals. For example, if one person from a family is diagnosed with heart disease, expenses of that family are mostly likely to increase. Many families will be forced to reduce expenses and possibly withdraw their children from school. Similarly, uncontrollable asthma can increase absenteeism and will reduce the chances of children actually completing primary education. If children are unable to complete school or receive an education, it limits their economic opportunities in the future. The success of  the eight millennium developmental goals may be undermined because chronic diseases are not taken into account.

2. This reason is pretty simple, climate change. As the earth’s temperature is changing, the environment and weather are also changing. Climate change can have a negative effect on the food supply, which can eventually lead to malnutrition and decrease the amount of healthy food options available. Extreme weather conditions and reduced air quality can have adverse effects on human health. For instance, extreme weather events can increase risk for mental health distress. Reduced air quality can easily have adverse effect on respiratory system. Rates of chronic illness are more likely to increase as the climate changes.

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