Miniature Earth!

[azande]

If we could turn the population of the earth into a small community of 100 people, keeping the same proportions we have today, it would be something like this:

61 Asians
12 Europeans
14 Americans (from North and South America)
13 Africans
01 Australian (Oceania)

50 women
50 men
10 are homosexuals

33 are Christian (Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox)
18 are Muslims
16 are Hindus
16 are non-religious
06 are Buddhists
11 practice other religions

41 live without basic sanitation
16 live without an improved water source

6 people own 59% of the entire wealth of the community

13 are hungry or malnourished
14 can't read
only 7 are educated at a secondary level
only 8 have a computer
only 4 have an internet connection

1 adult, aged 15-49, has HIV/AIDS.

Of the village's total annual expenditures of just over US$ 3,000,000 per year:
US$ 181,000 is spent on weapons and warfare...
US$ 159,000 is spent on education...
US$ 132,000 is spent on health care.

If you keep your food in a refrigerator
And your clothes in a closet
If you have a roof over your head
And have a bed to sleep in
You are richer than 75% of the entire world population.

If you have a bank account
You're one of the 30 wealthiest people in the world.

25 struggle to live on US$ 1.00 per day or less...
47 struggle to live on US$ 2.00 per day or less.

Work with passion
Love without needing to be loved
Appreciate what you have
And do your best for a better world.

[Mary]

I like this. Can anyone remember the piece that Greenpeace had on its flyers about 15 (or more) years ago, where it equates the history of the planet to a 45 year old man? I found that one pretty profound.

M

[azande]

Originally posted by Mary
I like this. Can anyone remember the piece that Greenpeace had on its flyers about 15 (or more) years ago, where it equates the history of the planet to a 45 year old man? I found that one pretty profound.

M

I don't think I've ever seen it but if someone has it or knows where to find it please post info.

[Mary]

Have emailed Greenpeace to see if they will send me a copy.

M

[Claire]

Originally posted by Mary
I like this. Can anyone remember the piece that Greenpeace had on its flyers about 15 (or more) years ago, where it equates the history of the planet to a 45 year old man? I found that one pretty profound.
M

IS THIS IT???

Think of the planet as a 46 year old ...

The Earth is thought to be around 4,600 million years old, which is very hard to imagine. So, for the moment, let's think of it as someone in middle age - 46 years old.

This person is a late developer. Nothing at all is known about their first seven years, and only sketchy information exists about the next 35 years. It is only at the age of 42 that the Earth began to flower.

Dinosaurs and the great reptiles did not appear until a year ago, when the planet reached 45. Mammals arrived only eight months ago. In the middle of last week, human-like apes evolved into ape-like humans. And just on the weekend the last ice age enveloped the Earth.

Modern humans have been aroundfor just four hours. We discovered agriculture only an hour ago. The industrial revolution began a minute ago.

During those sixty seconds of biological time, humans have made a rubbish tip of paradise. We have cause the extinction of many hundreds of species of animals (many of which had been here longer than us), and ransacked the planet for fuel.

But like a 46 year old, we can bounce back. By changing the way we use resources, we can restore the Earth's health and create a sustainable future for ourselves and all the life that shares our planet.

[Mary]

Yep. Thanks Claire, that was the one I was thinking of. Gets me every time I read it.

M

[Stuart]

I remember a history teacher at school trying to get us to think of the history of the world a in a day. I can't remember all of it, but I know that man arrived on the planet at 11.59 p.m.

[Claire]

Originally posted by Stuart
I remember a history teacher at school trying to get us to think of the history of the world a in a day. I can't remember all of it, but I know that man arrived on the planet at 11.59 p.m.

I remember something similar.
There was a slide show on a reel (!! blimey how times have changed !!) and one of the last shots was the arrival of man during the last few minutes of the clock.

[Claire]

Originally posted by Mary
Yep. Thanks Claire, that was the one I was thinking of. Gets me every time I read it.
M

My pleasure.

[azande]

Originally posted by Claire
My pleasure.

Thanks Claire, really worth reading it.

[Mary]

I've just got that piece from Greenpeace. The final paragraph is slightly different to the one posted and goes as follows:


"We have caused the extinction of many hundreds of species of animals, many of which have been here longer than us, and ransacked the planet for fuel. Now we stand like brutish infants, gloating over the meteoric rise to ascendancy, poised on the brink of the final mass extinction and of effectively destroying this oasis of life in the solar system."

Phew! Now, about those Blackpool results.......

M