Happiness

Quick blurb from Grist, I thought was worth sharing:

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness -- Well, One Out of Three Ain't Bad
The happiest nations are not the high-consuming ones, survey says

A new Happy Planet Index supports the cliché that money can't buy happiness. The New Economics Foundation, a British think tank, looked at 178 countries' consumption levels, life expectancy, and happiness, and concluded that people can live long, happy lives without sucking up large quantities of the planet's resources. In its ranking of happiest nations, the South Pacific island of Vanuatu earned the top slot. Vanuatu, population 209,000, runs its economy mainly on small-scale agriculture and tourism; its GDP has been ranked 207th out of 233. Latin American countries dominate the top 10 happiest nations, with Colombia in second place. Many African and Eastern European nations are near the bottom, with Zimbabwe the official unhappiest nation. The U.S., with the world's second-largest ecological footprint (after oil-rich United Arab Emirates), ranked an unhappy 150th. Report co-author Nic Marks says the report reveals "patterns that show how we might better achieve long and happy lives for all while living within our environmental means."

straight to the source: BBC News, 12 Jul 2006

straight to the source: The Independent, Philip Thornton, 12 Jul 2006

straight to the index: Happy Planet Index


For a more in-depth, and far more boring look at the divergent correlation between GDP growth and well being check out this earlier post on the Threshold Hypothesis... Also, my love and thoughts going out to Zimbabwe and all my friends & 'family' living there... an unfortunate mess. Stay going.