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Every study ranking nations by health or living standards invariably offers Scandinavian social democracies a chance to show their quiet dominance. A new analysis published this week—perhaps the most comprehensive ever—is no different. But what it does reveal are the broad shortcomings of sustainable development efforts, the new shorthand for not killing ourselves or the planet, as well as the specific afflictions of a certain North American country.
Iceland and Sweden share the top slot with Singapore as world leaders when it comes to health goals set by the United Nations, according to a report published in the Lancet . Using the UN's sustainable development goals as guideposts, which measure the obvious (poverty, clean water, education) and less obvious (societal inequality, industry innovation), more than 1,870 researchers in 124 countries compiled data on 33 different indicators of progress toward the UN goals related to health.
The massive study emerged from a decade-long collaboration focused on the worldwide distribution of disease. About a year and a half ago, the researchers involved decided their data might help measure progress on what may be the single most ambitious undertaking humans have ever committed themselves to: survival. In doing so, they came up with some disturbing findings, including that the country with the biggest economy (not to mention, if we're talking about health, multibillion-dollar health-food and fitness industries) ranks No. 28 overall, between Japan and Estonia.
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The voluminous work that went into the paper may make measuring the UN goals on health seem even more daunting: The researchers were able so far to evaluate just 70 percent of the health-related indicators called for by the UN.
It may not be pretty, but "we have no chance of success if we can't agree on what's critical," said Linda Fried, dean of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by jelizondo on Sunday September 25 2016, @02:28AM
We're on the same boat, man. May or may not live much longer but I wish shit wasn't going so bad as it is now... The U.S. has the resources (both human and otherwise) to be a great nation, a lighthouse of freedom and liberty, but all has been captured by the military-industrial that president Eisenhower [msu.edu] warned us about in in 1961.
You see, I'm on my way out but I made the mistake of having children, now hostages to an Orwellian future.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Sunday September 25 2016, @03:19AM
Did we save the game back then so we can try over?
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 4, Interesting) by jelizondo on Sunday September 25 2016, @04:24AM
I did! I did!
But the freaking 8" floppy drive crapped out upon installing Win 10 build 1607 (anniversary update)!
We are DOOMED
I wish, really wish we could rewind and not elect Bush (43), which in mind is where the slide down began...
And now, remember: Jesus saves but Buddha does incremental backups!
Cheers
(Score: 2) by drussell on Sunday September 25 2016, @05:26AM
I have several working Shugart SA801 and 851 drives here...
I'd be glad to send you one if you'd be willing to do a full restore of that backup!!!
;-)
(Score: 1) by jelizondo on Sunday September 25 2016, @05:58AM
Believe or not, I do have some old 8" floppies around with important information (or so it I thought at the time), like Star Trek for the TRS-80!
And no freaking 8" drive!
Why do I keep them? Well, I'm a packrat. I have a huge (about 40 lbs) 10 meg hard drive from an HP minicomputer, several different tapes, floppies (8", 5¼ and 3½), all sorts of shit which I resist throwing to the garbage... Might be used for something (I don't know what) in the future.
God, I am old... and getting older...
Sniff ;-)