Date: Sun, 1 Mar 1998 17:56:57 -0500 (EST)
From: Gernot Kohler <gernot.kohler@sheridanc.on.ca>
To: wsn@csf.colorado.edu
Subject: comparative environmental stress
....just a small observation on the issue of "green" and "red" (environmental 
sanity and social justice between high-income and low-income countries), 
which is also touched upon in the recent special issue of JWSR....

Whereas we should do our utmost to prevent environmental collapse, it is 
still true that 5% economic growth by the poor countries is creating less 
environmental stress than 5% economic growth by the rich countries. It is 
less stressful for Mother Earth to have the poor grow by 5% than to have 
the rich grow by 5%.

Why would that be? Simple arithmetic.

The GDP of the rich countries is 80% of global GDP (creating 80% of 
global environmental stress). The GDP of the poor countries is 20% of 
global GDP (creating 20% of global environmental stress). 

5% of 80 is 4
5% of 20 is 1

Thus, if the rich countries grow by 5%, that creates 4 times as much 
environmental stress as when the poor countries grow by 5%. As a matter 
of fact, all the poor countries would have to grow by 20% [20% of 20 = 
4], before they destroy Mother Earth's health as much as 5% growth by the 
rich countries does [5% of 80 = 4]. 

In this sense, economic growth by poor countries is creating 
comparatively less environmental stress than economic growth by rich 
countries.

Regards,
--GK