Something to think about

Below is an an excerpt from an article written by Kofi Bentil in the context of a discussion of the Live Earth Concert from a third world point of view. Sometimes it is easy to forget how blessed we are in the developed world. One may find this a useful perspective to consider.

Excerpt follows, view entire article at http://allafrica.com/stories/200707090304.html
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"Britain's former Secretary of State for the Environment, David Miliband, recently said that the rest of the world cannot aspire to the UK's standard of living because: "If the world were to have the same living standards as we have in the UK, then we'd need three planets to support us.

"Presumably Mr Miliband would disagree with Indira Ghandi, who famously said, "poverty is the greatest polluter." Miliband was replaced by Hilary Benn, who as Minister for International Development ran the Department for International Development (DfID). One might have thought that DfID would have supported economic development as a means of escaping from poverty and pollution."

But in its Rough Guide to a Better World it advocates "Development by Dung" and claims that "As poor countries develop, it is essential that they do not follow the same failed patterns of energy use." So it's dung not diesel for Africa--while India and China soar ahead because they are too big, and nuclear-armed, to stop.

Even if we accept that global warming may have a significant effect on our climate, limiting the use of fossil fuels in Africa would be counterproductive. Respiratory infections are the leading cause of childhood deaths on my continent, mainly from inhaling the smoke produced by burning wood and dung in our quaint mud huts.

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Something to contemplate as we strive to improve the environment.