Dona Meadows writes a thought-provoking bi-weekly column called "The Global Citizen". Here is something she published recently which is an extension of some of the things I have written about regarding globalization, eclecticism and inclusivity.

If the world were a village of 1,000 people, it would include:

• 584 Asians
• 124 Africans
• 95 East and West Europeans
• 84 Latin Americans
• 55 Soviets
• 52 North Americans
• 6 Australians and New Zealanders

In this village of 1,000 there are:

• 329 Christians (187 Catholics, 84 Protestants, 31 Orthodox)
• 178 Moslems
• 167 "non-religious"
• l32 Hindus
• 60 Buddhists
• 45 atheists
• 3 Jews
• 86 all other religions

Communication is difficult in this village:

• 165 people speak Mandarin
• 86 English
• 83 Hindi/Urdu
• 64 Spanish
• 58 Russian
• 37 Arabic

This accounts for only half the population. The other half speak Bengali, Portuguese, Indonesian, Japanese, German, French and 200 other languages.

Consider these numbers:

• One-third (330) of the 1,000 people in the world village are children and only 60 are over the age of 65.
• Just under half of the married women in the village have access to and use modern contraceptives.
• This year 28 babies will be born. Ten people will die, 3 of them for lack of food, 1 from cancer, 2 of the deaths are of babies born within the year. One person is infected with the HIV virus.
• With the 28 births and 10 deaths, the population of the village next year will be 1,018.
• In this 1,000-person community, 200 people receive 75% of the income; another 200 receive only 2% of the income.
• Only 70 people of the 1,000 own an automobile; some of the 70 own more than one automobile.
• About one-third have access to clean, safe drinking water.
• Of the 670 adults in the village, half are illiterate.

If the village has a total annual budget of $1 million ($1,000 per person) it is clearly not distributed evenly. Of the total million:

• $60,000 goes to weapons and warfare
• $53,000 for education
• $44,000 for health care

The village has buried beneath it enough explosive power in nuclear weapons to blow itself to smithereens many times over. These weapons are under the control of just 100 of the people. The other 900 people are watching them with deep anxiety, wondering whether they can learn to get along together; and if they do, whether they might set off the weapons anyway through inattention or technical bungling; and, if they ever decide to dismantle the weapons, where in the world village they would dispose of the radioactive materials of which the weapons are made?

• If the world were a village of 1,000 people
• Take a look at this Video - Shift Happens