A TREND IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

I was listening to a Ted Talk yesterday that outlined four important problems:

ONE OUT OF TWO children in the world live in severe poverty. 
NEARLY ONE BILLION people entered the 21st century unable to read a book.
FOUR HUNDRED MILLION have no access to safe water
TWENTY-NINE THOUSAND children per day die before they reach the age of 5.

Depressing stats, but there is good news.


Since 2000, malaria deaths have been cut by 75%; child mortality rate of kids under 5 is down and the number of people living in poverty declined by these percentages:

43% in 1990      33% in 2000      21% by 2010

Notice a trend in the right direction?

Currently there are more than enough resources to solve these problems - and new technology can provide creative solutions.  However, our society needs to be disciplined enough to direct the resources and technology appropriately. History tells us that we will probably continue to feel bad about the poor in the future, but not bad enough to provide solutions. 

Here's hoping we act on our feelings.