Earlier this month, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) released The State of the World's Children 2006: Excluded and Invisible, their annual flagship publication concerning children's health and well-being. The full report is available on-line; select photos, maps, graphs, and tables from the publication are available separately. The information covered in this report includes children's health issues such as HIV/AIDS, immunization, and malnutrition, and how countries can further their efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals. EarthTrends reports many of the most prominent statistics from this publication; the relevant variables in the EarthTrends searchable database will be updated shortly.

One of the most frequently utilized gauges of poverty is the percent of people within a country or region that live on less than one dollar ($1) a day [a]. About 1/5 of the Earth's population, or 1.1 billion people, currently live on less than $1 a day [1]. Nine of the ten countries with the largest percent of people in this category are in Africa; Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Gambia, Niger, Zambia, Central African Republic, Nigeria, and Mali have 49% to a staggering 73%, respectively, of their populations living in extreme poverty conditions. Between 1981 and 2001 the percent of total people in Sub-Saharan Africa living on less than $1 a day increased 93%, from 164 million to 316 million [1].

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is the most widely known "greenhouse gas". Over the 20th century, global atmospheric CO2 levels have steadily risen from just below 300 parts per million (ppm) in the early 1900's to current levels of approximately 380ppm. General consensus within the scientific community ascribes this increase to the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas). In 2000, the world emitted some 24 billion metric tons of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels. This means roughly 3.9 metric tons were emitted on a per capita basis worldwide. However, the disparity between the developed world and the developing world is substantial; per capita, people residing in developed countries emitted 11.2 metric tons, nearly 6 times their counterparts in the developing world where the per capita average equaled 1.9 metric tons.

The Poverty Resource is a special section of EarthTrends that, in part, serves as a repository for subnational datasets describing various aspects of human well-being compiled by the World Resources Institute from many sources, including The World Bank and The Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN). This week, we added new country profiles for Vietnam, Brazil, and South Africa. In a

Freedom House released its annual Freedom in the World report on September 30th. This well-respected publication relies on extensive surveys of academics, journalists, and other experts to rate the level of "Political Rights" and "Civil Liberties" available to citizens within 206 countries and territories. The data, along with country profiles, a global map, and a detailed description of the methodology can be found here.

At present, the answer is no. Data on waste are notoriously difficult to find, especially because there are frequently separate statistics dealing with municipal waste, industrial waste, and hazardous waste. In most instances (see exceptions noted below), to find information on this topic you will probably need to look at statistical compilations (if available) for individual countries; these estimates are most likely found on a country's government home page.

This week, representatives from over 150 countries around the world are meeting in Montreal, Canada to discuss the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Following Russia's ratification of the treaty late last year, the Kyoto Protocol entered into force in February 2005 and is now binding for those countries that have signed and ratified it. Most developed nations are parties to the Kyoto Protocol; the United States and Australia are notable exceptions.

Our world is dependent on oil. At present, crude oil accounts for more than one-third of global energy consumption [see EarthTrends' Energy Consumption Table], and demand for oil and other petroleum products is predicted to increase by 40% over the next two decades. The vulnerability of our current system was exposed last month when two major hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico hampered oil production and drove prices to an all-time high worldwide. Governments, businesses, and citizens of many countries have been affected and are searching for answers about the decidedly uncertain future of oil.

"The 2005 World Summit is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the world to come together and take action on grave global threats that reuqiare bold global solutions. It is also a chance to revitalize the United Nations itsef. It is, in short, an opportunity for all humankind"
---Secretary-General Kofi Annan

EarthTrends is proud to announce the release of World Resources 2005: The Wealth of the Poor: Managing Ecosystems to Fight Poverty. This edition of World Resources, WRI's flagship publication, takes an in-depth look at how ecosystem management and sound governance matter greatly to the livelihoods of the poor. The report posits that while traditional models of poverty reduction often include the environment as an afterthought, the goods and services provided by ecosystems are, in fact, key to alleviating rural poverty.

In July, the 'Group of 8' nations met in Scotland for the 31st G8 Summit. This year's summit focused on economic development in Africa and global climate change. Both issues require international concern. Sub-Saharan Africa has lost half of its share in world trade between 1980 and 2002. Africa's economy is further strained by a rampant AIDS epidemic. The average life expectancy in Sub-Saharan Africa has decreased since 1990 to less than 47 years (see Demographics: Life Expectancy on EarthTrends). Climate change has affected agriculture, fisheries, and numerous other industries on a global scale (see the UN's Millennium Assessment report). The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that most of the global warming from the past half century is a direct cause of human activity. The IPCC promotes decreasing emissions through clean energy technology to curb the advance of further climate change (see WRI's feature article Climate Protection in a Disparate World).