MediaRap

In an effort to uncover the nations that achieve happy lives for their citizens without over-burdening the planet’s resources, Happy Planet chose to measure well-being in terms of long, happy and meaningful lives and what matters to the planet as it relates to our rate of resource consumption. The Index is clear that it “doesn’t reveal the ‘happiest’ country in the world. Rather, it focuses on “the relative efficiency with which nations convert the planet’s natural resources into long and happy lives for their citizens”. Examining life expectancy, life satisfaction and carbon footprint, the Happy Planet Index found Costa Rica, Dominian Republic, and Jamaica held the top three positions on the list.

The report claims that reported high levels of life satisfaction, and “happy life years", helped put Costa Rica at the top of the list. Costa Rica, which is a haven of democracy and peace in turbulent Central America, has taken deliberate steps to reduce its environmental impact. In addition, it has the fifth lowest human poverty index in the developing world.

The report also states that while “the Dominican Republic’s condition is similar to many other countries in the region – a medium score in the Human Development Index, dependence on the USA for trade, relatively high life expectancy given its income levels and, high levels of inequality – unlike many of its neighbors, it manages to achieve a life expectancy of over 70 years with a very small footprint”.

Jamaica presents somewhat of a paradox in that given its economic troubles, high levels of inequality, unemployment and homicide rates, amazingly it has some of the best levels of health among developing countries, a high average life expectancy and a very small ecological footprint. Access to drinkable water - unusual in a country with a GDP per capita one-tenth of that of the United States, the fact that 97% of babies are born with the assistance of skilled health professionals and only 4% are underweight, and the ability to ensure that few people fall in the most extreme poverty bracket (the proportion of people living on under $1.00 US per day is less than in richer countries, such as Costa Rica, Argentina or Turkey) also helped push Jamaica up the list.

Interestingly, but probably not surprisingly, rich developed nations fared poorly. The Netherlands was the highest placed Western nation at number 43. The United Kingdom placed 74, well behind Germany, Italy and France, but ahead of Japan and Ireland. The USA ranked number 114 out of the 143 countries surveyed.

The report also outlines a “Happy Planet Charter”, which calls for an unprecedented collective and global effort to develop a new concept of human progress, encourages an increase in quality of life that doesn’t impact negatively on the earth and a reduction in consumption in the highest-consuming nations.

Happy Planet Index Top Ten Nations

1. Costa Rica

2. Dominian Republic

3. Jamaica

4. Guetamala

5. Vietnam

6. Colombia

7. Cuba

8. El Salvador

9. Brazil

10. Honduras


Go to the Happy Planet Index for more information and to get the report.

A few snippets of information about some popular social networking sites:

• Facebook is all about who you know. The average age of Facebook users is 34 old, and women over 50 years of age is the fastest growing group. In the 6 month period ending July 4th, 2009, Facebook saw 513% growth in 55+ age group.

• Twitter is more about what you know. 64% of Twitter users are age 25-54, but it tends to repel the 18-25 year olds, with only 16% of users being under 25 years of age … Go figure.

• MySpace appeals more to musicians and entertainers, and the average age of users is 29 years of age.

• Black Voices was one of the first social networking sites on the scene.

• The Social Networking Conundrum: How is it that people have hundreds, if not thousands, of friends online, yet at the end of a long day end up going to a bar by themselves to have a beer?

After an investigation that lasted over a year, Canada’s Privacy Commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, rules on how Facebook handles some 12 million (over one-third of the Canada’s population) Canadian users’ private information. This ruling is likely to set global precedent and could possibly benefit Facebook’s 200 million users worldwide, as privacy officials in Europe and Australia have also begun their own investigations.

Rather than go to court, Facebook agreed to work with the privacy department and make some changes. Of major concern was the third-party developer issue. Assistant Privacy Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, stated that "We were alarmed by the lack of adequate safeguards to effectively restrict developers from accessing users' personal information, as well as the information of their online friends". She added that "The notion that some teenager working in a basement halfway around the globe could have access to all of this personal information was unsettling to say the least". The new changes will help prevent applications from accessing personal information of users and their friends without their “express consent”.

The changes include:

• Implementing new controls on the Facebook site to limit the personal information that an estimated one million worldwide developers could access.

• Making it clear to users that there is a difference between ‘deleting’ an account and ‘deactivating’ it.

• The company will permanently delete the personal information of Facebook users who have already deactivated their accounts

Denham said that it will likely take Facebook about a year to make these changes.

Some people take comfort in the thought that there has been ongoing rebuilding of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. However, last week on the 4th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina videographer, Joe Cotten and Allen Kimble takes us back to where the levees broke and on a tour through the one of the most damaged neighborhoods in New Orleans. They shine a light on a topic that have receded to the back of many a minds, and open our eyes to the current conditions of these devastated areas.

Although US President Barack Obama promises to cut through red tape in order to rebuild the levees and floodwalls around New Orleans, and strengthen the barrier islands and wetlands in the region (see article), Allen Kimble states that rebuilding of communities and peoples’ homes have mainly been through the help of volunteers.

A particularly troubling issue that arises in the video is the prospect that people risk losing their homes through the worst kind of gentrification possible. Watch the video below to find out more..