“WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD”

Paul Cummins
Mirror contributing writer

   So, as Louis Armstrong sings, “and I say to myself, what a wonderful world...” Yes, folks, it’s a wonderful world. Why just consider these little pieces of fact:

   • 1.6 billion people are worse off now than they were 15 years ago;
   • One Mexican billionaire is as rich as 17 million Mexicans;
   • Of every 10 poor people, seven are women;
   • 17 million Africans have died since the AIDS epidemic began in the late 1970’s-more than 3.7 million of them children;
   • In Botswana, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Zambia, South Africa and Namibia at least one adult in five is living with HIV;
   • Americans constitute less than 5% of the world’s population, but consume nearly 25% of the world’s energy;
   • Less than 2% of Europe’s forests are left in their original state, untouched or replanted by man;
   • The 200 richest individuals in the world have more assets than the 2 billion poorest;
   • Each day in developing nations, an estimated 250 million children focus on going to work instead of going to school, making goods that profit global corporations.

   Sing it, Louis: “and I say to myself, what a wonderful world.” But let’s continue:
   • For every 100 pounds of product we manufacture in the United States, we create 3,200+ pounds of waste;
   • Between 1900 and 1984 the USA junked 647 million automobiles and trucks;
   • The American auto industry spends $14 billion a year persuading Americans to buy cars;
   • The world’s 200 largest corporations account for 27.5% of global economic activity; they employ 0.8% of the world’s population;

   “And I say to myself...”

   • In 1995, there were 77 homicides with guns in England; there were 13,673 in America;
   • Since 1940, the U.S. has spent (in 1996 dollars) over 5.5 trillion dollars on nuclear weapons;
   • A new 43 story condo in New York is selling suites ranging from 6 million (on the low end) to 15 million each;
   • Each day on planet earth over 5,000 children die of malnutrition and starvation.

   “...what a wonderful world.” 

   Paul Cummins is the President of Crossroads School, a founder of New Roads School, and the Executive Director of the New Visions Foundation.