The Unhappy Consuming Lebanese
In 2009, Lebanon was ranked 110th in the world by the Happy Planet Index (HPI), down from 83rd place in 2006. Not only does this mean the Lebanese are less happy, healthy and fulfilled than they were at the end of the Summer 2006 War, it also means we are less ecologically efficient and that we are using more and more natural resources to maintain a lifestyle that is making us less and less happy.
This makes us truly among the saddest people on the planet. We can at least take solace in the fact that people in the US are sadder still.
The HPI is an index of human well-being and environmental impact introduced by the New Economics Foundation (NEF), a British think tank. To be fair, the NEF makes its clear that the HPI is not meant as an indicator of the happiest or saddest country on Earth. But, it is my belief that the well being or lack thereof of our natural environment affects us both physically and psychologically.
The purpose of the index is to measure the level of human happiness that is not derived from material possessions so much but focuses on highly subjective measures of health and happiness.
“The HPI is based on general utilitarian principles — that most people want to live long and fulfilling lives, and the country which is doing the best is the one that allows its citizens to do so, whilst avoiding infringing on the opportunity of future people and people in other countries to do the same,” according to Wikipedia.
The index attempts to determine ‘the production of human well-being per unit of extraction of or imposition upon nature’. It measures the ‘ecological footprint per capita’ and tries to estimate the amount of natural resources needed to sustain a given country’s lifestyle.
“A country with a large per capita ecological footprint uses more than its fair share of resources, both by drawing resources from other countries, but also by causing permanent damage to the planet which will impact future generations…”
“…The HPI is best conceived as a measure of the environmental efficiency of supporting well-being in a given country. Such efficiency could emerge in a country with a medium environmental impact (e.g. Costa Rica) and very high well-being, but it could also emerge in a country with only mediocre well-being, but very low environmental impact (e.g. Vietnam),” also according to Wikipedia.
By that logic, Lebanon’s drop 28 places to 110th place, only four places ahead of the US, means we are getting less ecologically efficient and we are producing less well being and happy-life-years for our people.
This index is an indictment of the culture of consumerism and its false promise of happiness. It exposes the twisted values imposed on us through ‘in-your-face’ advertising by a capitalist system on steroids and a monopolistic banking clique that promotes a warped, and, dare I say, evil agenda.
Thus we try to plug the emptiness in our souls by buying more and more, going into debt deeper and deeper until at our death beds we are face to face with their false prophet, the Lord of Doom, Lucifer himself, the only one who rejoices at Human kind’s fall.
So, escape the fall! Head for Costa Rica, ranked number one on the HPI.
To Learn More Visit:www.happyplanetindex.org
This makes us truly among the saddest people on the planet. We can at least take solace in the fact that people in the US are sadder still.
The HPI is an index of human well-being and environmental impact introduced by the New Economics Foundation (NEF), a British think tank. To be fair, the NEF makes its clear that the HPI is not meant as an indicator of the happiest or saddest country on Earth. But, it is my belief that the well being or lack thereof of our natural environment affects us both physically and psychologically.
The purpose of the index is to measure the level of human happiness that is not derived from material possessions so much but focuses on highly subjective measures of health and happiness.
“The HPI is based on general utilitarian principles — that most people want to live long and fulfilling lives, and the country which is doing the best is the one that allows its citizens to do so, whilst avoiding infringing on the opportunity of future people and people in other countries to do the same,” according to Wikipedia.
The index attempts to determine ‘the production of human well-being per unit of extraction of or imposition upon nature’. It measures the ‘ecological footprint per capita’ and tries to estimate the amount of natural resources needed to sustain a given country’s lifestyle.
“A country with a large per capita ecological footprint uses more than its fair share of resources, both by drawing resources from other countries, but also by causing permanent damage to the planet which will impact future generations…”
“…The HPI is best conceived as a measure of the environmental efficiency of supporting well-being in a given country. Such efficiency could emerge in a country with a medium environmental impact (e.g. Costa Rica) and very high well-being, but it could also emerge in a country with only mediocre well-being, but very low environmental impact (e.g. Vietnam),” also according to Wikipedia.
By that logic, Lebanon’s drop 28 places to 110th place, only four places ahead of the US, means we are getting less ecologically efficient and we are producing less well being and happy-life-years for our people.
This index is an indictment of the culture of consumerism and its false promise of happiness. It exposes the twisted values imposed on us through ‘in-your-face’ advertising by a capitalist system on steroids and a monopolistic banking clique that promotes a warped, and, dare I say, evil agenda.
Thus we try to plug the emptiness in our souls by buying more and more, going into debt deeper and deeper until at our death beds we are face to face with their false prophet, the Lord of Doom, Lucifer himself, the only one who rejoices at Human kind’s fall.
So, escape the fall! Head for Costa Rica, ranked number one on the HPI.
To Learn More Visit:www.happyplanetindex.org
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