>KOFI ANNAN'S ASTONISHING FACTS!
>
>[from The New York Times, 9/27/98, p. WK16]
>
>Every year, the United Nations Human Development Report looks
>for a new way to measure the lives of people. Putting aside
>faceless statistics like per capita gross domestic product or
>export-import figures, the report burrows into the facts about
>what children eat, who goes to school, whether there is clean
>water to drink, how women share in the economy, or who doesn't
>get vaccinations against diseases that go on killing even though
>they are preventable. This year, the report takes its first
>look at what people have--from simple toilets to family
>cars--and what proportion of the world's goods and services are
>consumed, comparatively, by the rich and by the poor. The pie
>is huge--the world's consumption bill is $24 trillion a
>year--but some servings are very small indeed. -- Barbara Crossette
>
>THE HAVES The richest fifth of the world's people consumes 86%
>of all goods and services while the poorest fifth consumes just
>1.3%. Indeed, the richest fifth consumes 45% of all meat and
>fish, 58% of all energy used and 84% of all paper, has 74% of
>all telephone lines and owns 87% of all vehicles.
>
>NATURAL RESOURCES Since 1970, the world's forests have declined
>from 4.4 square miles per 1,000 people to 2.8 square miles per
>1,000 people. In addition, a quarter of the world's fish stocks
>have been depleted or are in danger of being depleted and
>another 44% are being fished at their biological limit.
>
>THE GANGES The Ganges River symbolizes purification to Hindus,
>who believe drinking or bathing in its waters will lead to
>salvation. But 29 cities, 70 towns, and countless villages
>deposit about 345 million gallons of raw sewage a day directly
>into the river. Factories add 70 million gallons of industrial
>waste and farmers are responsible for another 6 million tons of
>chemical fertilizer and 9,000 tons of pesticides.
>
>THE ULTRA RICH The three richest people in the world have
>assets that exceed the combined gross domestic product of the 48
>least developed countries.
>
>AFRICA The average African household today consumes 20% less
>than it did 25 years ago.
>
>THE SUPER RICH The world's 225 richest individuals, of whom 60
>are Americans with total assets of $311 billion, have a combined
>wealth of over $1 trillion--equal to the annual income of the
>poorest 47% of the entire world's population.
>
>COSMETICS AND EDUCATION Americans spend $8 billion a year on
>cosmetics--$2 billion more than the estimated annual total
>needed to provide basic education for everyone in the world.
>
>THE HAVE NOTS Of the 4.4 billion people in developing
>countries, nearly three-fifths lack access to safe sewers, a
>third have no access to clean water, a quarter do not have
>adequate housing, and a fifth have no access to modern health
>services of any kind.
>
>MEAT Americans each consume an average of 260 pounds of meat a
>year. In Bangladesh, the average is six and a half pounds.
>
>THE FUTURE By 2050, 8 billion of the world's projected 9.5
>billion people--up from about 6 billion today--will be living in
>developing countries.
>
>SMOKE Of the estimated 2.7 million annual deaths from air
>pollution, 2.2 million are from indoor pollution--including
>smoke from dung and wood burned as fuel, which is more harmful
>than tobacco smoke. 80% of the victims are rural poor
>in developing countries.
>
>WRISTWATCHES AND RADIOS Two-thirds of India's 90 million
>lowest-income households live below the poverty line--but more
>than 50% of these impoverished people own wristwatches, 41% own
>bicycles, 31% own radios and 13% own fans.
>
>TELEPHONE LINES Sweden and the United States have 681 and 626
>telephone lines per 1,000 people, respectively. Afghanistan,
>Cambodia, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have
>one line per 1,000 people.
>
>ICE CREAM AND WATER Europeans spend $11 billion a year on ice
>cream--$2 billion more than the estimated annual total needed to
>provide clean water and safe sewers for the world's population.
>
>AIDS At the end of 1997 over 30 million people were living with
>HIV. With about 16,000 new infections a day--90% in developing
>countries--it is now estimated that more than 40 million people
>will be living with HIV in 2000.
>
>LAND MINES More than 110 million active land mines are
>scattered in 68 countries, with an equal number stockpiled
>around the world. Every month more than 2,000 people are killed
>or maimed by mine explosions.
>
>PET FOOD AND HEALTH Americans and Europeans spend $17 billion a
>year on pet food--$4 billion more than the estimated annual
>additional total needed to provide basic health and nutrition
>for everyone in the world.
>
>$40 BILLION A YEAR It is estimated that the additional cost of
>achieving and maintaining universal access to basic education
>for all, basic health care for all, reproductive health care for
>all women, adequate food for all, and clean water and safe
>sewers for all is roughly $40 billion a year--or less than 4% of
>the combined wealth of the 225 richest people in the world.
>
>
Regards, Ken Merwin
Wisconsin
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