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Did You Know?
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The annual income of
the richest 1% is equal to that of the poorest 57%, and that more
than
45,000
people die
each day from poverty and malnutrition.
38,000 of these are children.
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The debt of poor
countries continues to increase despite paying back their original
borrowing many times over, while millions more die of preventable
diseases.
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The HIV and AIDS
global pandemic afflicts life in all parts of the world, affecting
the poorest where generic drugs are not available.
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More
than 2 billion people,
almost one-third of the world¨s population, are infected with the
microbes that cause tuberculosis. TB kills 5,000 people every day,
nearly 2 million people per year.
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The majority of those
in poverty are women and children and the number of
people living in absolute poverty, on less than one U.S. dollar per
day, continues to increase.
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Resource-driven wars
continue to claim the lives of millions of people.
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Increased temperatures associated with
climate change are melting glaciers faster than expected and putting millions of people
at risk from floods, droughts and lack of drinking water.
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The policy of
unlimited growth among industrialized countries and the drive for
profit of transnational corporations has severely damaged the
environment.
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In 1989, one species
disappeared each day. By 2000 it was one every hour. Today,
some experts believe we may be losing more than 200 species each
day - more than eight per hour and1,000 times the background rate.
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The depletion of fish
stocks, deforestation, soil erosion and threats to fresh water are
among the devastating
consequences of over-consumption.
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In many parts of the
world, high levels of radioactivity threaten health and ecology.
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Life forms and
cultural knowledge are being
patented for
financial gain.
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By the end of the century, half of all
species on Earth may be extinct.
Who will survive the world's dwindling
biodiversity, and why?
Click
here
or on the image for more information.
U.S. incentives for biofuel
production are promoting deforestation in southeast Asia and
the Amazon by
driving up crop prices and displacing energy feedstock
production, say researchers. Click
here or on the image to read more
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