Found this post on the happy nation index. This new index that surely would make Tattum happy is defined as such:
"The Happy Planet Index (HPI) is an innovative new measure that shows the ecological efficiency with which human well-being is delivered around the world. It is the first ever index to combine environmental impact with well-being to measure the environmental efficiency with which country by country, people live long and happy lives. The results are surprising, even shocking, but there is much to learn from what they show.
The Index doesn'’t reveal the ‘happiest country in the world. It shows the relative efficiency with which nations convert the planet's natural resources into long and happy lives for their citizens. The nations that top the list aren'’t the happiest places in the world, but the nations that score well show that achieving, long, happy lives without over-stretching the planet'’s resources is possible."Madagascar has an index of 46 equal to Holland. The formula is
| HPI = | Life satisfaction x Life expectancy |
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Ecological Footprint |
So what is ecological footprint ?
The ecological footprint measures how much land area is required to sustain a given population at present levels of consumption, technological development and resource efficiency, and is expressed in global-average hectares (gha). The largest component elements of Footprint are the land used to grow food, trees and biofuels, areas of ocean used for fishing, and , most importantly , the land required to support the plant life needed to absorb and sequester CO2 emissions from fossil fuels.
So basically we are not really happier but we do not trash our environment as much as others and might have a shot at lasting longer. Although at the rate at which humans deplete the Earth:"At present, therefore, our Footprint exceeds our biocapacity by 0.4 global hectares per person, or 23 per cent. This means that the planet's living stocks are being depleted faster than nature can regenerate them." it might not matter much how long we live.
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Got it! :D
ReplyDeleteI read about the ecological footprint when writing my post about biogazoil, and I wasn't really surprised that the worst was..guess? US'state!
Very informative post (as usual).Even if we know that there's still a long way till the aim of right and equal happiness, isn't it?
You know what? If I ever decide myself to live in a cold country, it'll be Sweden or another nordic country, where ecology is a real way of life..
I did not dare to read how bad it was over here. A long way to happiness indeed. I like any rankings that put Vanuatu 1st :) and I am definitely with you on the quality of life in the Scandinavian nations or Canada. It's got to have something to do with a bit of humility and perspective beyond immediate profit.
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