Stop Recyling, Eat More Meat, Drive Hummers!

In your face, Mother Earth! Your Global Warming doesn't scare me anymore! Why? Because there are plenty more of where you came from...all over the solar system! They are only a few...hundred light years away...


shoot...


Some serious news: increasing wealth (as measured by GDP) is not leading to improved health outcomes (in infant mortality rates) as many predicted they would (bad news for MDG). Unfortunately, I'm not surprised. Rising GDP's can, and often do, result from increasing wealth in an increasingly concentrated upper class. While gains may be shared by the lowest classes, they are usually minimal, and depend upon proximity to the money-making areas. Long story short: if you are poor but live in a major city in a increasingly developing country, you might see improvements in your total welfare. BUT, if you are poor and live far outside a major city (the large majority do), then you will see little benefit come from increasing growth in your country's GDP. The article talked about India which has seen tremendous gains in GDP over the last decade, but still lags far behind in infant mortality rates. The reason? Less than 1% of the country is employed in the service/IT sector, the main driver of the country's economy. That means 99% have seen little to no welfare gains. There are other factors contributing to infant mortality (racism, classism, cultural practices) but countries with more egalitarian development see similar gains in the social welfare sector.