If This World Were a Village of 100 people
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Imagine if you could turn the current world’s population to a community of 100 people and find out how the resources in this world are distributed among them. This forms the basis for the Miniature Earth Project and the video highlights that data. Even if you convert this data into percentage wise, it will show similar numbers instead of people numbers.
The data was originally published on May 29, 1990 under the title “State of the Village Report” written by Donella Meadows, who died in February 2000. The Sustainability Institute, through Donella’s foundation, is now carrying forward her ideas and projects.
The text shown in the video is based on Donella’s but has been modified to include the latest statistical data. The data has been gathered from many publications of UN, PRB and others by The Miniature Earth website.
Here are some data from the video which will make us wonder about the current state of affairs in this world:
- The sex of the population is distributed evenly 50 Women and 50 Men. But that ratio is getting affected by countries like China and India, who prefer more male babies than females and leading to infanticide.
- 47 live in the Urban area, but for agricultural we need more rural areas, which is declining in large numbers. Some are converting food products for biofuels, so we may have problems providing enough food products in the future.
- 9 out of 100 are disabled.
- 33 are Christian faith based, 18 are Muslim, 14 are Hindus, 16 are Atheists, 6 are Buddhists and 13 practice other religions.
- 43 out of 100 live without proper sanitation, which leads to many deaths and 18 have no proper water sanitation
- 14 can’t read and 7 have education of second grade.
- 12 have a computer and only 3 have an Internet Connection.
- Total spending on defense $1.12 Trillion dollars, but spent only $100 billion on development aid.
- If you have a bed, fridge, closet and a roof over your head, you are richer than 75 percent of the world. If you have a bank account you are richer than 35 percent of the population.
- 18 people live on just $1.00 per day and 53 people live on just $2.00 per day (Half the world’s population).
Should we praise our leaders for the above achievements?
Via: Labnol.org.Share it! — Rate it: up down [flag this hub]
Comments
Thanks Angel, we are lucky to use computers and have the basic needs. Hope the disparity between the rich and the poor reduces.
Some have criticized this data, but the different between the actual and real would be slight. All they have to do go visit Africa and see for themselves.
Another GREAT Hub cgull8m!!.
I have read your hubs and they seem to improve week after week, with 435 hubs, I guess practice makes perfect
Thanks MrMarmalade. :)
WEW! Insights galore! We need to change this enormous village of ours. Everyone deserves a share of the good life. No matter how little money I have, compared to those numbers of yours I'm close to the top of the totem pole...I never seem to be as thankful for all I have then what I should be...
Thanks for a great HUB
regards Zsuzsy
Thanks Zsuzy, yes we should be thankful for what we have.
Hello again cgull8m!!
I agree, any disparity in the numbers would be slight and does not deserve criticism!! The numbers are based on percentages!! As you know, it is 100% of the world population reduced to 100 people!!
I am often amused by some of my neighbors who bemoan how hard their life is!!?? "The mortgage payment is so high!!" "Raising kids is so time consuming, expensive, etc." "It take so much time to have each of the cars serviced!!" "How high can gas or the utilities go??" "It took four hours to get my crashed computer fixed!!" "The grocery store didn't have big enough lobster tails!!" "My housekeeper was late again!!" "The gardener/pool cleaner/mechanic/plumber etc. took advantage of me!!
My response has been the same since 1990 when I first read the analysis you sited: "We live in the top one percent OF one percent of affluence in the WORLD!! (And for most of us, it is only for the fact of being born here!!) And you want to complain about how bad it is to have so many luxuries!!??" That usually gets them to thinking!!
If not, I follow with, "How about trading places for just a day with the mother of eight in Darfur who was infected with HIV/AIDS by a cheating husband who has long since died??"
We all may have times when paying the rent/mortgage is difficult, where keeping food on the table is hard, when holding down 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet is a blur and yet, if we are reading this, and we have the time and finances for computers, etc., we still all have sooooooooooooooooooooooo very much to be thankful for!!
Thanks again for the GREAT Hub!! Keep writing!! Keep sharing!! Keep appreciating!! Blessings!! Earth Angel!!
Excellent hub, cgull. It always amazes me when I think of the suffering that goes on in the world and consider how little we do as a society to lend a hand to those who need one. There are some organizations who do wonderful work, and our government helps a little, but it's all like a grain of sand on the beach.
Anothyer great article cgull8m..
Keep em coming;)
Thanks Earth Angel for your great comments deserves to be a hub itself. I think if we visit other countries, then our perspectives will change. We just see the good side and are content, while a majority of the world is suffering.
Thanks William, I agree, the governments should do more, even if they start doing it for their own people first. Sadly they are neglecting others as well as their own.
Hi Mark, thanks. :)
Should we praise our leaders for the above achievements?
Why does everyone look at our leaders, what are YOU doing about it.
Aex, you are right, we should also do something and not expect Government do everything for us like Kennedy said.
working
Earth Angel says:
10 months ago
Another GREAT Hub cgull8m!! I remember when this was first released in 1990!! Breaking down the numbers into a size we can understand certainly makes the world easier to comprehend!! Those of us who live by our computers forget that the vast majority of the world has no access to such luxuries!! A wonderful reminder during this Season of how much we all have to be grateful for!! Again, thank you for sharing!! Blessings on your day!! Earth Angel!!