permaculture

[Pacific Edge Permaculture + Media <pacedge@magna.com.au>]

> At 05:36 PM 1/1/02 -0500, Claude  Genest wrote:
>> Have you begun to have the name of Bjorn Lomborg thrown at you in
>> discussions about the environment?

Bjorn Genest received current affairs television coverage on the
ABC(Australian broadcasting Corporation - the national public broadcaster)
when he was here some time ago...  when his book was launched, I think. His
book is available in the shops for around AU$55.
 
>> What do you say in response to "The world is better than ever : people live
>> longer, healthier lives than ever before...." ?

I believe it is UN figures (don't remember from where) that form the basis
of this claim and that they were generalised all over the world and do not
just represent modernist societies.

The figures have been used as evidence that economic growth is the key to
global wellbeing, a notion popularised by the North American academic
economist, Dr Julian Simon, some years ago.

What do you say in response, Claude asks?

Well,  there is probably some truth to it but there are also a great many
people who fail to benefit from economic growth because they are
geographically or socially marginalised, lack the training and education or
other opportunity to participate in the global marketplace and thus gain
access to better medical services.

Countries like India have seen a market growth in affluence among some
sectors of urban society this past decade and this has led to the
observation that conventional paradigms of economic structure - such as
north/ south or first/ second/ third world  - are  becoming outdated.

An affluent or middle class is developing in many 'third world'  countries
as poverty increases in the 'affluent'  nations. The result has been
described as the 'globalisation of poverty'. With poverty comes lower
standards of health and a lower standard of living generally.

Even if the economic growth paradigm is true, proponents of global equity
can point out that those sectors of developing country societies, and those
sectors of poverty in 'affluent' nations, are deserving of development
assistance.

They can also point out hat there is more to social wellbeing than health
care, important though it is to any further development .

...Russ Grayson