Project Palm Tree: Your Daily Source of Information!

  Desertification "More than 1.5 billion people are directly dependent on land that is slowly being degraded and around 12 million hectares of land are lost every year to desertification and drought."  "Erosion, desertification, and pollution have become our lot. It is a weird form of suicide, for we are bleeding our planet to death."  -Gerald Durrell Desertification is known as the process by which natural or human causes have reduced the biological productivity of drylands.  This may be due to climate change, deforestation, overgrazing, political instability, poverty, and unsustainable irrigation practices.  An example is climactic changes that result in droughts which can reduce the biological productivity of ecosystems rapidly.  The main causes of desertification can be classified into two categories which are climatic variations and human activities.  Climatic variations include:  Climate change  Drought Moisture loss on a global level...

  Global youth mental health " In 2019, it was estimated that 1 in 7 adolescents experience mental health conditions. This amounts to an estimated 175 million adolescent boys and girls globally, an increase of about 4 million since 2000." The mental well-being of individuals is extremely important as it included our emotional, social, and psychological well-being. Mental health and well-being play a significant role in our daily lives as it plays a role in realizing one's full potential, coping with stress, and impacts an individual's productivity. Regardless of age, positive mental well-being is essential, however, in this article, I would like to focus more on the topic of youth mental health. Some key facts about adolescent mental health, taken from WHO 's website include: One in six people is aged 10-19 years. Mental health conditions account for 16% of the global burden of disease and injury in people aged 10-19 years. Half of all mental health conditions st...

  Basic employment rights " Employees have basic rights to freedom from harassment and discrimination, safe work environments, freedom from retaliation for filing discrimination-related claims, and fair compensation for work." "We need to support new organizing strategies for employees who too often have never had the benefit of collective bargaining, and we have to resist the assault on workers' rights." -Hillary Clinton Employee rights are defined as the rights that an employee has to be treated in a fair morally acceptable or legal way. These are rights that an individual are morally or legally entitled to have or do. In today's economy labour rights are steadily gaining importance due to an unprecedented rise in global trade, global investment, global (multinational) corporations, and global distributions of production. Due to workers and labour standards and being affected by globalisation and international competition, individuals in every sector are i...

  Overpopulation " The world’s population is expected to increase by 2 billion persons in the next 30 years, from 7.7 billion currently to 9.7 billion in 2050 and could peak at nearly 11 billion around 2100." “Overpopulation in various countries had become a serious threat to the health of people and a grave obstacle to any attempt to organise peace on this planet.” -Albert Einstein Overpopulation can be described s the condition where the number of the existing human population exceeds the carrying capacity of the earth. Certain thresholds limits of the population density is exceeded and the environmental resources fail to meet the need and requirements of individual organisms. Overpopulation may lead to environmental deterioration, and impaired quality of life, or a population crash. Causes of overpopulation include: A decline in the death rate Medical advancements due to technology Lack of family planning facilities in developing countries Advancements in fertility treatm...

  Ageing population "Every industry is going to be affected (by the aging population). This creates tremendous opportunities and tremendous challenges." -Pat Conroy " There were 703 million people aged 65 years or over in the world in 2019 and the number of older people is projected to double to 1.5 billion in 2050." Ageing population refers to the change in the age composition of a population such that there is an increase in the proportion of older people.  The average or median age or of the citizens of a country increases due to a longer life expectancy of its citizens of a lower birth rate per year. The provision of healthcare, as well as the improvement in it due to advancements in technology, have lead to a longer life expectancy, leading to a rising ageing population. The increase in the aged population does provide some economic advantages.  Due to older people having higher accumulated savings than younger individuals, a large ageing population can result ...

 Discrimination “Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible.” -Maya Angelou Discrimination is defined as unequal treatment of various groups based on various factors. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that it is “illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex." Discrimination can be faced in any profession, in the workplace, and even in daily locations such as shops, restaurants, transport like buses or trains, and in sports. Discrimantion may take place in various forms such as direct, indirect and intersectional discrimination. The different types of discrimination include: Age, diability, and national,ethinic or immigrant origin discrimination Discrimination due to race, and colour Discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation Example: HIV related stigma and discrimination Discrimination can negatively impact ones health as an individual f...