People can live long, happy lives without consuming large amounts of the Earth's resources, a survey suggests.
The 178-nation "Happy Planet Index" lists the south Pacific island of Vanuatu as the happiest nation on the planet, while the UK is ranked 108th. The index is based on consumption levels, life expectancy and happiness, rather than national economic wealth measurements such as GDP.
The study was compiled by think-tank the New Economics Foundation (Nef).
Size doesn't matter One of the authors, Nef's Nic Marks, said the aim of the index was to show that well-being did not have to be linked to high levels of consumption.
'HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH'
Population: 209,000
GDP/capita: $2,900 (£1,575)
Climate: tropical
Resources: forests, fish
Economy: agriculture, tourism
Environmental issues: deforestation and clean water
Source: CIA Handbook 2006
Country profile of Vanuatu
"It is clear that no single nation listed in the index has got everything right, but it does reveal patterns that show how we might better achieve long and happy lives for all while living within our environmental means," Mr Marks said.
The small island state of Vanuatu is situated in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, and has a population of 209,000. Its economy is built around small-scale agriculture and tourism.
Latin American nations dominate the top 10 places in the index, while African and Eastern European nations fill most of the bottom 10.
Among the world's largest economies, Germany is ranked 81st, Japan 95th, while the US comes in at 150th. Retail therapy will not bring happiness, according to the studyRichard Layard, director of the Well-Being Programme at the London School of Economics' Centre for Economic Performance, said that the index was an interesting way to tackle the issue of modern life's environmental impact.
"It reminds us that it is not good enough to be happy today if we are impoverishing future generations through global warming. "Over the last 50 years, living standards in the West have improved enormously but we have become no happier," Mr Layard told the BBC.
"This shows we should not sacrifice human relationships, which are the main source of happiness, for the sake of economic growth."
Although Vanuatu tops the happiness index, it is ranked 207th out of 233 economies when measured against Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Simon Bullock, economics co-ordinator for Friends of the Earth, which helped compile the data, said the findings showed that happiness did not have to cost the Earth.
"The UK economy hoovers up vast quantities of the world's scarce resources, yet British people are no happier than Colombians, who use far fewer," he said.
"The current crude focus on GDP is outdated, destructive and doesn't deliver a better quality of life."
Nef is calling for the adoption of a "global manifesto for a happier planet" that will list ways nations can live within their environmental limits and increase people's quality of life. The recommendations include: Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger Recognising the contribution of individuals and unpaid work Ensuring economic policies stay within environmental limitsThe index builds on a report that Nef published earlier this year that warned if annual global consumption levels matched the UK's, it would take 3.1 Earths to meet the demand
Friday, July 14, 2006
Technology Bite ....
An article from BBC
Scientists seek to restore sight
A diagram of the retinal prosthesis from the University of GlasgowPioneering work to tackle two common forms of blindness is being undertaken by University of Glasgow scientists.
Dr Keith Mathieson hopes an electronic optical implant will help blind people to regain their vision.
Technology similar to that found in devices like digital cameras could be in use within a decade.
Dr Mathieson said: "By implanting a device into the eye, we hope we will be able to fool the brain into believing the retina is still in working order."
The chip would assist about one million people in the UK with age-related macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa.
'Recognise faces'
Dr Mathieson said: "Advances in microelectronics have allowed us to develop a small device to be implanted on the retina itself. "The device would contain an imaging detector. "If light forms an image on the detector, then the result will be electrical stimulation of the retina in the shape of this image.
"The stimulated cells then send the information via the optic nerve to the brain."
The implant prototype has 100 pixels but the team hope that number will increase significantly as their work progresses.
Dr Mathieson, said: "Around 500 pixels would allow people to walk down the street and recognise faces. "Beyond where we are today it might be possible to make smart chips which have memory in them which would allow action replay and slow motion."
Dr Mathieson, from the University of Glasgow's department of physics, is working on the project with Dr James D Morrison from the neuroscience and biomedical systems department.
Scientists seek to restore sight
A diagram of the retinal prosthesis from the University of GlasgowPioneering work to tackle two common forms of blindness is being undertaken by University of Glasgow scientists.
Dr Keith Mathieson hopes an electronic optical implant will help blind people to regain their vision.
Technology similar to that found in devices like digital cameras could be in use within a decade.
Dr Mathieson said: "By implanting a device into the eye, we hope we will be able to fool the brain into believing the retina is still in working order."
The chip would assist about one million people in the UK with age-related macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa.
'Recognise faces'
Dr Mathieson said: "Advances in microelectronics have allowed us to develop a small device to be implanted on the retina itself. "The device would contain an imaging detector. "If light forms an image on the detector, then the result will be electrical stimulation of the retina in the shape of this image.
"The stimulated cells then send the information via the optic nerve to the brain."
The implant prototype has 100 pixels but the team hope that number will increase significantly as their work progresses.
Dr Mathieson, said: "Around 500 pixels would allow people to walk down the street and recognise faces. "Beyond where we are today it might be possible to make smart chips which have memory in them which would allow action replay and slow motion."
Dr Mathieson, from the University of Glasgow's department of physics, is working on the project with Dr James D Morrison from the neuroscience and biomedical systems department.
India's first war of Independence - 'Sipoy Mutiny'
When did the first mutiny against British rule take place in India?
If you accept the version of most historians and the Indian government, it was in 1857, when Indian soldiers of the British army rebelled against their colonial masters in what was known as the "sepoy mutiny" or the "first war of independence".
In fact so convinced is the Indian government of the date that it is now drawing up elaborate plans to commemorate the 150th anniversary in a grand manner next year.
But not everyone agrees that 1857 is the right date.
Overlooked
The Chief Minister of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, M Karunanidhi, argues that the first mutiny in fact began during the early hours of 10 July 1806.
So convinced is he that he has issued a commemorative postal stamp which depicts the first "sepoy mutiny" as happening in the fort in the town of Vellore, 130km (80 miles) from the state capital Madras.
Tipu Sultan was at the forefront of resistance to British rule That is 51 years before the better-known "sepoy mutiny" of 1857. Mr Karunanidhi's contention has much sympathy in the south of India, where historians and politicians complain that when it comes to recording Indian history, the north of the country often ignores or overlooks events in the south.
One of their greatest grievances is that south India's participation in the Indian independence struggle is neither recognised nor recorded - hence the debate over when the first "sepoy mutiny" took place.
Dress code
According to them, the Vellore revolt was the first organised uprising faced by the British involving Indian soldiers in the British army.
After the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799, the British detained his family members at the fort in Vellore.
Mr Karunanidhi says recognition of the revolt is better late than never
In 1806, the British introduced a dress code for its mostly Indian soldiers which required them to remove caste-marks, earrings and beards.
Instead the soldiers were ordered to wear newly designed turbans with leather embellishments.
Most of the Indian soldiers resented this, and by May 1806, the British authorities in Madras came to know of their simmering resentment. They identified some of those troops expressing dissent and punished them by publicly lashing some and sacking others. But the rebelling soldiers did not relent. Seized control Using the marriage of one of Tipu Sultan's daughters - scheduled on 9 July - as a pretext, they gathered at Vellore fort.
The rebellion began at Vellore fort
According to Madras-based historian S Muthiah, many of the 1,500-strong Indian garrison at the fort took part in the uprising, which began at 0300 the following morning.
More than 100 of the 350 European soldiers on garrison duty were killed, and by mid-morning the rebels had seized control of the fort.
But they made a fatal mistake. The celebrating sepoys failed to close the gates of the fort securely, and later that morning the British and Madras Cavalry - based 20 miles (32km) away in Arcot - charged through them.
A massacre ensued, with more than 350 of the rebels killed and an equal number injured before the British finally recaptured the fort.
The British suspected the Mysore princes of having instigated the rebellion and transferred them to Calcutta.
Chief Minister Karunanidhi says that after 200 years, the move by the Indian postal department to bring out commemorative stamps has at last given "due recognition" to India's "first war of independence".
If you accept the version of most historians and the Indian government, it was in 1857, when Indian soldiers of the British army rebelled against their colonial masters in what was known as the "sepoy mutiny" or the "first war of independence".
In fact so convinced is the Indian government of the date that it is now drawing up elaborate plans to commemorate the 150th anniversary in a grand manner next year.
But not everyone agrees that 1857 is the right date.
Overlooked
The Chief Minister of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, M Karunanidhi, argues that the first mutiny in fact began during the early hours of 10 July 1806.
So convinced is he that he has issued a commemorative postal stamp which depicts the first "sepoy mutiny" as happening in the fort in the town of Vellore, 130km (80 miles) from the state capital Madras.
Tipu Sultan was at the forefront of resistance to British rule That is 51 years before the better-known "sepoy mutiny" of 1857. Mr Karunanidhi's contention has much sympathy in the south of India, where historians and politicians complain that when it comes to recording Indian history, the north of the country often ignores or overlooks events in the south.
One of their greatest grievances is that south India's participation in the Indian independence struggle is neither recognised nor recorded - hence the debate over when the first "sepoy mutiny" took place.
Dress code
According to them, the Vellore revolt was the first organised uprising faced by the British involving Indian soldiers in the British army.
After the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799, the British detained his family members at the fort in Vellore.
Mr Karunanidhi says recognition of the revolt is better late than never
In 1806, the British introduced a dress code for its mostly Indian soldiers which required them to remove caste-marks, earrings and beards.
Instead the soldiers were ordered to wear newly designed turbans with leather embellishments.
Most of the Indian soldiers resented this, and by May 1806, the British authorities in Madras came to know of their simmering resentment. They identified some of those troops expressing dissent and punished them by publicly lashing some and sacking others. But the rebelling soldiers did not relent. Seized control Using the marriage of one of Tipu Sultan's daughters - scheduled on 9 July - as a pretext, they gathered at Vellore fort.
The rebellion began at Vellore fort
According to Madras-based historian S Muthiah, many of the 1,500-strong Indian garrison at the fort took part in the uprising, which began at 0300 the following morning.
More than 100 of the 350 European soldiers on garrison duty were killed, and by mid-morning the rebels had seized control of the fort.
But they made a fatal mistake. The celebrating sepoys failed to close the gates of the fort securely, and later that morning the British and Madras Cavalry - based 20 miles (32km) away in Arcot - charged through them.
A massacre ensued, with more than 350 of the rebels killed and an equal number injured before the British finally recaptured the fort.
The British suspected the Mysore princes of having instigated the rebellion and transferred them to Calcutta.
Chief Minister Karunanidhi says that after 200 years, the move by the Indian postal department to bring out commemorative stamps has at last given "due recognition" to India's "first war of independence".
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