SOME GOOD NEWS

By most measures, now seems to be a very good time to be alive, says Pete Geddes, executive Vice President of the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment. [that's some title] Consider:

• The world's per capita inflation-adjusted income rose from $5,400 in 1980 to $8,500 in 2005.
• The World Bank reports that between 1980 and 2000, the share of the world's population living on less than $1 a day fell from 34.8 percent to 19 percent.
• It forecasts that the number of people living on less than $1 a day will continue to fall sharply despite population growth, and account for only 10 percent of the world's population by 2015.

As for the environment, according to Steven Hayward of the American Enterprise Institute:

• Environmental improvement in the United States has been substantial and dramatic almost across the board
• The chief drivers of this improvement are economic growth, constantly increasing resource efficiency and innovation in technology.

Overall, richer societies are healthier, cleaner and more resilient than poor ones, says Geddes. Without exception, the worst cases of environmental pollution occur in poor countries, especially those lacking democratic institutions.

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