• North America and Western Europe (12% of the world’s population) account for 60% of household consumption globally.

• The one-third of humanity who live in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa account for 3.2% of household consumption.

• Almost 3 billion people worldwide barely survive on less than $2 per day.

• 75% of global fish stocks are now fished at or beyond their sustainable limit.

• The US has more private vehicles on the road than people licensed to drive them.

• Global spending on advertising reached $446 billion in 2002. More than half of this is in the US.

• In 2000, 1.1 billion people did not have reasonable access to safe drinking water.

• Two out of every five people worldwide live without basic sanitation.

• Each year, $18 billion is spent globally on makeup. Menwhile, reproductive health care could be provided for all women if annual spending was increased by $12 billion.

[Source: Worldwatch’s State of the World 2004 report.]

From Green Left Weekly, July 14, 2004.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.

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