The UN’s Human Development Index (HDI) is an international “score card” which ascribes each national measured a single number (or ranking) that is an average of multiple metrics reflecting national policies and societal conditions such as education rate, employment, social security, life expectancy, literacy, gender equality, cultural development, innovation, economic mobility, etc. The HDI rankings
The key to achieving sustainable, global population growth, according to Doctor Hans Rosling in a recent TED Talk, is raising the standard of living of the world’s poor. But, isn’t a higher living standard correlated with increased use of energy and raw materials (the ‘factor 32’ effect) and thus bad for the planet? While the
“To lead decent lives, at least two billion people are in dire need of more consumption, but extending American consumption patterns to even today’s 6.8 billion people is not only unsustainable but likely a biophysical impossibility.” — Paul R. Ehrlich, Stanford University
