Thievery

Thievery is a worldwide issue; it happens everywhere. Back in the olden times, people who were caught stealing would lose a hand when caught. Nowadays, the punishment is not as harsh. I don't know for sure if this is a fact or not, but it seems to me as though stealing has been occurring more often. Also, I do not know if there is a ratio set up for the gender that steals more often, but it seems all my girl friends steal and my guy friends do not... (Probably just a coincidence)

Shoplifting is a fairly common crime. It's so common, that I can literally go into a store and observe a person doing it. Stealing seems to occur a lot at the Columbia Mall. It's easy to witness someone shoplifting from stores like Hot Topic and Spencers. There are small pieces of merchandise in the back of both stores; easy to slip into a pocket or purse. With so many people stealing, I'm sure it gets rather frustrating for the store owners. 

People probably shoplift so frequently because they're not afraid of the consequences they would have to face; if they were to get caught. Again, take the Columbia Mall for example-- Some stores just kick out shoplifter and give them the "slap on the wrist." In other words, I've heard store owners tell shoplifters to never enter their store again. Can someone remember a single face after seeing so many in one day? Or what if the shoplifter comes back while someone else is working in the store? A good amount of people work in every store at the mall. Is it possibly to be afraid of a mall cop? Security is definitely an issue. Mall cops have little authority, if any. They do have the power to kick you out of the mall, but I do not think they can arrest you. My friends and I were skateboarding in the Columbia mall once, and were approached by a mall cop. He just told us to get out; there were no threats of being arrested or anything. A friend of mine even insulted him.

I suppose the only way to stop stealing is to make the consequences heavier. However, that starts breaking into laws and such. I believe shop owners let the teenagers off with a slap on the wrist due to their age. I do not think adults steal as much as teenagers, and if they did, they would probably receive jail time. That brings me back to how it seems that teenagers are the most common age group for stealing. I suppose it depends on how many items were stolen, when caught, and how expensive the item(s) are.

Causes of stealing vary. A person could have a compulsive disorder, or the person could be poor. Then, more commonly, a person can steal just for the hell of it! I've seen my friend walk into the store and see some piece of clothing she really likes and she'll just throw it into her purse. What if she got caught? Would I have gotten in trouble as well? Guilty by association? Probably not. (Would've acted like I didn't know her) However, back to poor people. A lot of robberies occur due to the fact that the robber lost his job or doesn't have much money. 

Thievery occurs quite a lot, wouldn't you say?

Global Warming

Global Warming is definitely a problem. Some people may believe that everyone has done his or her part in preventing it, but unfortunately, the threat still remains. Global Warming, in my opinion, has to be the biggest possible threat to your planet. Global Warming started with the whole green house issue, but has developed into much more.

Lets start with Antarctica. As everyone knows, Antarctica is known to be harshly cold. When I think of Antarctica, I think of a place where every day is winter. Unfortunately, due to Global Warming, that thought is slowly melting. (And so is Antarctica!) Global Warming is slowly but surely increasing the temperature everywhere. The most noticeable issue due to Global Warming in Antarctica is the fact that the icebergs are melting and the polarbears are drowning... (Who wants that?)

How about that Ozone layer. It should be obvious that our factories and even our vehicles are producing fumes into our air which harm our Ozone layer. This is where people start to argue that the problem has been fixed. We've created hybrid vehicles and even electric ones, yes. However, from what I've seen, those things aren't cheap...
It seems to be less expensive to go out and buy a regular car. I won't lie, I don't have a hybrid vehicle OR an electric one. (Pricey!) We've created ways to fight Global Warming, but they're expensive! So, as of right now, we're still at square one. People will go out and buy a nice regular car for a way cheaper price than a hybrid car. These prices need to be dropped.
As for the factories, I've heard that filters have been made. I must say, I've NEVER seen a filter over a factory. So, I'm guessing, that's another financial issue.

Then there's recycling. Recycling was a great idea, but it seems to me that people are... lazy? How hard is it to throw a piece of plastic into a recycling bin rather than your trash-can which is literally two feet away?
The way I see it is, the common man thinks that his participation in this whole thing is not required because he is just one man. Well, the problem is, there are a lot of of "common men" in the world. If one person thinks like that, then it's okay to assume that many others think the same way. "I don't have to recycle this, I'm just one person. It won't affect anything." WRONG! So many people think like that. It's an issue.

This all goes without mentioning the unfortunate oil spill that took place recently.