Jul 11
There are currently one billion people around the world who are hungry. With inefficient farming practices, poor distribution, record high food prices, and a global population that’s expected to reach over nine billion by 2050, food security is a huge challenge worldwide. Plain and simple: current methods aren’t working, and changes must be made in …
Jul 11
On Thursday, July 8th, a rather interesting live web chat was conducted by USAID Administrator Raj Shah and actor Kal Penn. The topic of the web chat, “How to Make Change: Youth and International Development,” was especially important for young people who are curious about their role in the world today. Administrator Shah directly answered …
Jul 07
Understanding Your Environmentally Conscious Eating Options A few years ago, I decided to become vegetarian after reading numerous reports on the production of meat and viewing horrific footage of the fishing industry in Japan, which I mentioned last week. For a year, I dedicated myself to avoiding meat and seafood. After a while of living …
Jul 07
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti and left its capital city of Port-au-Prince in complete ruins. More than 200,000 people died, and an even greater number were left homeless. A little over a year later on March 11, 2011, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake (and subsequent tsunami) hit Japan, but there was …
Jul 07
The issue of modern day slavery, particularly as it pertains to the trafficking of individuals for commercial sexual exploitation, has been getting increased attention. With more and more awareness of the severity of the problem, it has become a hot topic that encompasses much controversy. Agencies, advocates and policymakers have been exploring the issue of …
Jul 06
The president of Myanmar (formerly Burma) announced an interesting way to fight poverty and increase economic development in the countryside: a sustainable microfinance system. Microfinance, for those of you that don’t know, is a system in which low-income clients and others who do not have access to banking services are given loans with the assumption …
Jul 05
Ever since the successful cloning of a mammal, Dolly the sheep, cloning has been a hot and controversial topic. In addition to the moral and ethical issues with cloning, most of the recent focus has been on whether it’s safe to use the offspring of cloned animals as a food source. Animals like pigs and …
Jul 04
Since this is a holiday weekend, I thought I would post something a bit more lighthearted: a Youtube video about voluntourism and sustainable travel in Laos. Voluntourism, or volunteer tourism, has gained a lot of popularity in recent years as tourists search for ways to have a unique vacation experience and give back to the …
Jul 04
In September 2000, the United Nations established eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in hopes of improving social and economic conditions in the world’s poorest countries. The MDGs have caused governments around the world to rally together in a global partnership to make significant progress in some of the most challenging areas in the developing world. The …
Jul 01
Yesterday I facilitated a webinar on Culture, Conflict and Violence against Women: A Focus Sex Trafficking. I raised several issues regarding the vast differences experienced by victims of the sex trafficking industry, particularly as it pertains to culture, gender dynamics and power differentials. I recommended that governmental bodies and non-profit agencies reevaluate motives, revise legislation …
