4 replies to this topic

[wjfox]

Rio+20 interactive: is the world getting better or worse?

Twenty years on from the 1992 Rio Earth summit, review the evidence on a range of factors including population, life expectancy, child mortality, ecological footprint, poverty, hunger, food production, GDP, social change, life satisfaction, battle deaths and biodiversity, then decide for yourself whether the world is getting better or worse.

http://www.guardian....ld-better-worse

[Zeitgeist123]

no doubt about it its getting worst. the widening gap between the rich and the poor just yawned exponentially.

[Alric]

I still think it is getting a lot better. There is obviously downsides too but there are a lot of areas where life is improving greatly for everyone.

[wjfox]

I still think it is getting a lot better. There is obviously downsides too but there are a lot of areas where life is improving greatly for everyone.

But we are "paying" for these lifestyle improvements by using 1.5 Earth's worth of resources (increasing to two Earths by 2030). This is clearly unsustainable.

[Alric]

I would agree with that, and I think we are in big trouble unless newer technology can save our butts. I am optimistic on that as well and I think we will find new energy sources, and find ways to counteract global climate change before we all staff dying off in mass.