Global village

[Ed Iglehart]

"If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 
people, keeping all the existing human ratios the same, there would be: 
57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and 
south, 8 Africans, 52 would be female, 48 would be male, 70 would be 
non-white, 30 would be white, 70 would be non-Christian, 30 would be 
Christian, 80 would live in substandard housing, 70 would be unable to 
read, 50 would suffer from malnutrition, 1 would be near death, 1 would 
be near birth, 1 (yes, only 1) would be a university graduate, 1 would 
own a computer. 6 people (all from the USA) would posses 59% of the 
world's wealth. These six would be in control of the village."

I haven't checked the accuracy or the date of these ratios, but I wonder 
how closely energy consumption correlates with "wealth". I'm among the 
one percenters on several counts, including middleclass guilt, but I 
don't feel in control of the village....
Salaam/Shalom/Peace
ed

-- 
"...the most striking and immediate effect of the spread of
European settlement beyond the boundaries of Europe itself was
its lethal impact on indigenous peoples and societies." -- Clive Ponting 
(A Green History of the World)

"The widespread belief that clean and abundant
energy is the panacea for social ills is
due to a political fallacy, according to
which equity and energy consumption can be
indefinitely correlated, "
...
"Even if nonpolluting power were feasible and abundant, the use of 
energy on a massive scale acts on society like a drug that is physically 
harmless but psychically enslaving. A community can choose between 
Methadone and ``cold turkey''---between maintaining its addiction to 
alien energy and kicking it in painful cramps---but no society can have 
a population that is hooked on progressively larger numbers of energy 
slaves and whose members are also autonomously active. "
-- Ivan Illich, 1978
http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/Illich02.htm

Never borrow for what you don't need.
Never think you need what you have to borrow for.
-Irish Proverb

Here are the winnners of the M-LAW competition for wackiest warning 
label of the year:
1st prize Do not use for personal hygiene – on a toilet brush

2nd prize This product moves when used – from a child’s scooter

Previous winners have included:
* Remove child before folding – on a baby’s buggy
* Once used rectally, the thermometer should not be used orally - on a 
digital thermometer
* Never remove food or other items from the blades while the product is 
operating - on an electric hand blender
* Harmful if swallowed – on a three-pronged brass fishing lure.
* Do not use this product as a toy, pillow, or flotation device - on a 
bag of air used as a packing material
* Do not use as a ladder – on a 30cm tall CD rack
* Never iron clothes while they are being worn - on a household iron
* Do not use the Silence Feature in emergency situations. It will not 
extinguish a fire - on a smoke detector
* Do not eat toner - on a laser printer cartridge
* And on a pair of cyclist’s shin guards – Shin pads cannot protect any 
part of the body they do not cover.
New Scientist’s Feedback regularly publishes absurd product warnings, 
and other funny real-life tales. For more amusement, visit 
newscientist.com/lastword at:

http://www.ProcessRequest.com/apps/redir.asp?link=XbjdfbdhCJ,ZbccecfgijDJ&oid=UcjjbCB&iclitemid=XbgbbgfbCB&tid=WbijfcbCG