Healthy Money Healthy Planet - library.uniteddiversity.coop

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In 2003 The Social Report, a publication from the Ministry of Social Development,
various indicators of wellbeing were mapped to compare 1996 with 2002. Of the
indicators they chose, they found that only voter turnout, obesity and income
inequality appeared to have worsened, while road casualties, educational attainment
and unemployment figures had improved. Most statistics had not altered significantly,
and the authors said: ‘New Zealanders are living longer healthier lives. They are
generally better educated, safer and earn more now than in 1996.’ 44
Millennium Summary
As the millennium turned, the London­based New Economics Foundation gave both
the bad news and the good news on the state of the world:
At the end of the old millennium
• One in three of the world’s workforce was unemployed.
• 1.3 billion people in the world were surviving on less than US$1 a day.
• £350 billion was spent globally on advertising.
• Over three­quarters of the world’s species were in decline or under threat.
• Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were at a 160,000­year high.
• 14 million Britons were living below the poverty line.
At the start of the new millennium
• 5 million workers were supported by fair trade in cocoa, coffee and other goods.
• £2.5 billion of stock market funds were invested ethically.
• One in three UK consumers was guided by values, not price.
• The value of the organic food market – put at £270 million – was set to double by
2001.
• Businesses promoting workers’ participation outperformed the market average.