20 Powerful Social Issue Ads That Make You Stop And Think

As most of the “developed” world is busy working, earning a living, paying bills, and going to school, repeating the same cycle over and over, our eyes have been turned away from atrocities that plague people around the world and the planet itself. The problem is that we feel helpless to change things, so we don’t even bother to try. Patience – we are in the process of change and hopefully the human race will rid itself of all the experiences that do not resonate. If you see something you know is wrong, don’t turn a blind eye, do something about it. Whether it’s for the planet or for one individual, your actions do matter.

 

Here are some related CE articles on the topic relating to the picture below: 

These Beautiful Drawings Showcase How We Sterotype The Female Gender & Why We Need To Stop

10 Female Revoluionaires You Won’t Hear About In History Class

3oo Years Of Women’s Beautfy Standards In A 3 Minute Video

International Women’s Day: Empowering Women – Empowering Humanity

16 ridiculous vintage posters that warn men about the dangers of women’s rights- How far we’ve come

The movie scene rant that tells the truth about male programming

It finally exists – a women’s magazine with no photoshop

It’s time we retire the statement “a real women.” Isn’t it? 

 

This type of thing is seen with so many products that we use. Here is another sad example:

Chilling cruelty, unspeakable suffering and corporate denial. The real cost of Canada goose jackets.

 

As far as deforestation goes, it is utterly unnecessary. Paper derived from hemp is a much more sustainable option. The list of alternatives is endless, and anybody who thinks this kind of environmental degradation is necessary really hasn’t done their homework. So ask yourself, why are we doing this? We cut down millions upon millions of acres of forest every single year. More than 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest is already gone, 150 acres of it is lost every minute. The Amazon alone is vanishing at a rate of approximately 20 square miles a year. Again, the frustrating thing about it is that it doesn’t have to be this way. 

This is a great one – transparency. Do we really live in a democracy? Or is the politics of North America only in place to engender the illusion of democracy? One thing that cannot be debated is the fact that we live in a world of secrecy. The US government classifies hundreds of millions of pages of documents every single year. 

This became a little more well known when Edward Snowden, Former NSA employee, leaked the very first public disclosure of “black budget programs.” You can read more about that HERE. 

“It is ironic that the U.S. would begin a devastating war, allegedly in search of weapons of mass destruction when the most worrisome developments in this field are occurring in your own backyard.  It is ironic that the U.S. should be fighting monstrously expensive wars allegedly to bring democracy to those countries, when it itself can no longer claim to be called a democracy when trillions, and I mean thousands of billions of dollars have been spent on projects which both congress and the commander in chief no nothing about.” – Paul Hellyer, Former Canadian Defence Minister (source)

 

Just because it’s not happening here, doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Many people across the planet are going through experiences no human being should have to go through, and this is a clear sign that we have a very long way to go. If one of us hurts, we all hurt. These issues cannot be ignored. We don’t often realize what other people are going through, or how much of an issue it is, until we experience something similar ourselves. Imagine if we could look at another human and instantly enter into their consciousness, feeling exactly what they feel – how would that affect us? 

 

This picture was taken by Photographer Chris Jordan, who has shown the world what is known as “The Great Garbage Patch,” an area the size of Queensland, Australia where there is approximately one million tonnes of plastic spread throughout the ocean. Drag a net in any area of this part of the ocean and you will pick up toxic, discarded plastic. You can learn more about that, and see an eye opening video about it HERE 

 

Did you know that at least 10,000 species go extinct every single year? According this ad, a species goes extinct every minute. (source)

Some related CE articles on this topic:

Colbie Caillat got tired of being photoshopped so she did something about it

It’s time to retire the statement “a real woman.” Isn’t it?

 

It’s a sad fact that that 270,000 tonnes of plastic are floating on the surface of the ocean, and millions more are sitting on the ocean floor.  In fact, whales have been showing up dead on beaches around the world for years, with stomachs full of plastic. You can read more about that HERE. Again, you can learn more about the “Great Garbage Patch” HERE. 

It’s funny how we use plastic, when we can manufacture materials made of biodegradable material (like hemp) just as easily.

Here are a couple of other related CE articles (out of many) that we have on our website.

New study finds 88 percent of earth’s ocean surface now polluted with plastic trash

These powerful ads showcase marine animals held at gunpoint. It might make you reconsider your plastic use

 

No words needed for this one. 

Again, there are multiple solutions to this problem, hemp being one of them. 

 

We have better ways of generating energy. Clean, green ways that could have been implemented decades ago. There are also some new technologies that are starting to make some noise. Despite the fact that we have so many energy solutions – from wind, solar, vortex induced vibrations, and over-unity generators, to the countless other clean green ways to generate energy – we refuse to make the shift. 

 

Social media is a great place to create awareness and learn about issues we don’t often consider. If you want to create change, try incorporating action into your daily routine. You can create change in many ways. You can volunteer, create awareness, help somebody in need, or do any number of other things.

In Canada, approximately one million Canadians that were alive at the beginning of 2009 have had a cancer diagnosis in the previous 10 years. Two out of every five Canadians will develop cancer within their life time, and one in every four will die.(source) In the United States, one out of every two men and one out of ever three women will be diagnosed with cancer. 

A host of other things have also been linked to cancer, including the pesticides that are commonly sprayed on our food and in the environment. Each year, an estimated 1 billion pounds of pesticides are applied to U.S. farms, forests, lawns, and golf courses. More than 17,000 pesticide products are currently on the market.  

Scientists have also pointed towards toxic chemicals commonly found in cosmetics, air quality, and a large host of other factors. Today, cancer is not a stroke of bad luck, it’s time to look at our environment and what we are choosing to surround ourselves with. 

 

Again, plastic, as illustrated in a couple of pictures above. 

 

The way we treat animals on this planet is heartbreaking. Don’t go to the circus, don’t go to the zoo, don’t go to marine land if you feel as strongly as we do about this. We are very passionate about animal rights and have several articles on our website relating to this topic. 

It seems as if religion has been used to turn one against the other. It’s no different from patriotism, which many soldiers are bombarded and brainwashed with, or at least a false sense of it. Many believe they are actually fighting for their country, when the evidence points to political agendas and more; there are those on this planet who profit and benefit from a planet in turmoil.

Here is a great speech given by an Iraq veteran:

U.S. soldier uses heart breaking wikileaks video to make his point

 

This is great, not only does it drive home the fact that there are dangerous predators out there on the internet, but it helps us realize the idea of creating an identity using social media – it’s the idea of presenting ourselves as something we are not. A couple of recent article we published elaborates on this point, looking at the things one should never do on social media.

7 things you should never do on social media and what to do instead.

5 things we shouldn’t do on social media