Explanation of the Challenges
GOAL 1- NO POVERTY
This goal aims to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030. Extreme poverty is defined as people living on less than $1.25/ day. Even though the global rate of poverty has been decreasing since the 1990s, 10% of the world’s population still lives in extreme poverty. These challenges help get you involved in decreasing local poverty. Donating your old items to a shelter or charity store can help support people in your community who need it most. Volunteering your time can also help support people who need it. Volunteering at a homeless shelter or to babysit will also give support to those who need it.
GOAL 2- ZERO HUNGER
This goal takes aim at the prevalence of undernourishment. Nearly 820 million people regularly go to bed hungry. Undernourishment can be the result of climate issues, economic downturns, or man-made conflicts. This goal also supports the development and utilization of sustainable agricultural practices, so that we will be able to feed 2 billion people by 2050. Participating in food sharing in your community is one way that you can help ensure that everyone is nourished. Donating unused food items could profoundly affect someone in your community who routinely goes to bed hungry.
GOAL 3- GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
Ensuring good health and well-being at all ages is a key factor in sustainable development. On a global scale, the UN is helping make strides towards increasing life expectancy, decreasing maternal and child mortality, and decreasing the prevalence of other diseases like AIDS and malaria. On a personal level, these challenges are encouraging you to take a few moments for your own health. Spending time outside, stretching, yoga, cooking a healthy meal, or exercising with a friend are all ways that you can take care of your health.
GOAL 4- QUALITY EDUCATION
Education can be a tool for upward socioeconomic mobility and escaping poverty. Goal 4 is working towards providing quality education regardless of gender, race, socioeconomic status, etc. By learning something new, providing books to local children, or donating a subscription to a science magazine, you’re helping provide quality education for everyone in your community. These small steps can really help contribute to the global goal of a quality education for all.
GOAL 5- GENDER EQUALITY
Gender equality is an integral part of our future as a more sustainable world. Goal 5 is attempting to eliminate gender-based violence and discrimination, ensure access to reproductive healthcare, and ensure that women have equal access to economic resources. Investigating your own gender biases, learning from a non-male role model in your life, learning about women in history, and petitioning for equal wages are all ways that you can help end gender discrimination.
GOAL 6- CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION
Neither our societies nor our bodies can survive without access to clean water. Goal 6 is working towards equitable access to clean water and improving sanitation practices around the world. Trying to conserve water in your home, shortening the time you spend in the shower, making sure you wash your hands before cooking, and using detergents without phosphates can help contribute to clean water access for all.
GOAL 7-AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY
A sustainable future includes the widespread use of affordable and clean energy. Currently, only 17% of all energy consumed comes from renewable energy sources. As of 2018, 789 million people lack access to electricity. These challenges encourage you to learn something about the power the sun can provide us, as well as encouraging you to decrease the overall amount of energy you use by foregoing electronics or using LED lightbulbs. A viable future for our global society is impossible without equitable access to clean, affordable energy.
GOAL 8- DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
Goal 8 takes aim at sustainably growing economies as well as providing decent work to all. The UN has some lofty goals, such as ensuring work for all (even those with disabilities) as well as providing equal pay for all workers. These challenges that ask you to engage in your local economy, investigate the working conditions of your favorite brand, and supporting a positive work environment at your job are all ways that you can personally get involved in helping achieve Goal 8.
GOAL 9- INDUSTRY, INNOVATION, AND INFRASTRUCTURE
The aim of Goal 9 is to build resilient infrastructure and promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization. The UN states that investment in infrastructure and innovation are crucial drivers of economic growth. This includes efficient mass transport, renewable energy sources, and advanced technologies. By choosing an efficient walking route, starting a hotspot map of places with free WiFi, citing areas in your city that are deficient, and thinking of ways to improve your workplace, you are working to enhance industry, innovation, and infrastructure of the future.
GOAL 10- REDUCED INEQUALITY
Goal 10 tasks us with reducing inequality within and among countries. In 2016, 22% of global income was received by the top 1%, compared to 10% of income from the bottom 50 percent. Women spend, on average, twice as much time on unpaid housework as men. Clearly, there is inequality in many areas of our world. By learning more about different types of inequality, watching Moscow’s Little Kyrgyzstan and volunteering at centers that help immigrants adapt to your culture and language, you are helping fight inequality in our world.
GOAL 11- SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES
By 2050, two-thirds of all humanity will live in urban areas. To account for this, we must ensure that our cities are sustainable and well-equipped for the future. Goal 11 tasks humanity with making cities sustainable by creating career opportunities, safe and affordable housing, and building resilient societies and economies. By learning how to conserve energy in your home, working to clean your city’s public spaces, planting trees in green spaces, and working to fix and solve housing problems, you are working locally to help make our world’s cities viable places for the future.
GOAL 12- RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
To have a sustainable future, we must reduce our ecological footprint by producing and consuming are resources in different ways. Goal 12 asks us to responsibly consume and produce Earth’s precious resources, ensuring a more sustainable future. Each year, 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted, and the food sector accounts for 22% of total greenhouse gas emissions. By recycling waste, using reusable plastic sources, reusing your foot covers or masks, and buying food in a no waste manner and not purchasing more than you need, you are working to make sure our future is sustainable.
GOAL 13- CLIMATE ACTION
One of the most pressing issues of our day is the global climate crisis. Sea levels are rising at about 3.3 millimeters/year, the average global temperature has risen 1.9°C since 1880, and ice sheets are melting at a rate of 426 gigatons/year. Although the climate crisis is a frightening issue, there are many ways that we can change our own lives to help. Reducing personal food waste, incorporating more vegetarian and vegan meals into your diet, and beginning a household compost are tangible ways that you can reduce your carbon footprint, ultimately helping to slow the effects of climate change.
GOAL 14- LIFE BELOW WATER
Goal 14 encourages the sustainable use of our aquatic resources. This goal aims to conserve depleted fisheries, minimize the effects of ocean acidification on aquatic life, and encourages partnership with international laws to provide a legal framework in which to protect fisheries. You can get involved by learning more about the ocean, petitioning against dolphin shows, or cleaning up a local waterway.
GOAL 15- LIFE ON LAND
Goal 15 aims to use land ecosystems sustainably, so that we may conserve them for generations to come. The UN aims to integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into regional, national, and global planning in an effort to safeguard these ecosystems. You can get involved by learning more about a foundational land species (trees!), reducing the amount of waste you put into a landfill, or reduce your food waste (to conserve precious resources that have to produce food!).
GOAL 16- PEACE, JUST, AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS
The objective of Goal 16 is to build and promote peaceful and inclusive societies. On a global scale, the UN is advocating for the end of violence against children, developing responsive and transparent institutions, and advocating for non-discrimination policies to be adopted. To get involved, you can creatively represent peace, teach a friend about the Sustainable Development Goals, or encourage the development of inclusive buildings in your town.
GOAL 17- PARTNERSHIPS TO ACHIEVE THE GOALS
As the saying goes, “I just can’t do it alone!”. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are lofty aspirations that will take a lot of work to achieve. Partnerships can increase the viability of each of the 16 other goals. Raising awareness for the different goals can help spread their message and encourages people to participate. Sharing with a friend, recreating a fun dance, or starting a book club are all ways that you can help promote the 17 Sustainable Development Goals!
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