peaccenicked
18th February 2002, 20:57
Af-flu-en-za n.
1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from
efforts to keep up with the Joneses.
2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by
dogged pursuit of the American Dream.
3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth
Do You Have It????
1. Which of the following is comparable to the size of a typical
three-car garage?
a. a basketball court
b. a McDonald's restaurant
c. an "RV" (recreational vehicle)
d. the average home in the 1950s.
Answer: d. Many of today's three-car garages occupy 900 square feet,
just about the average size of an entire home in the 1950s. Many
people use the extra garage space to store things they own and seldom
use. Often we hear that Americans have lost ground economically and
have less purchasing power. But Americans are buying more luxurious
items, partly by working more and going deeply into debt. The homes
they live in and the cars they drive today are often bigger and more
technologically advanced than those purchased by their parents.
2. The percentage of Americans calling themselves "very happy"
reached its highest point in what year?
a. 1957
b. 1967
c. 1977
d. 1987
Answer: a. The number of "very happy" people peaked in 1957, and has
remained fairly stable or declined ever since. Even though we consume
twice as much as we did in the 1950s, people were just as happy when
they had less.
3. How much of an average American's lifetime will be spent (on
average) watching television commercials?
a. 6 months
b. 3 months
c. 1 year
d. 1.5 years
Answer: c. In contrast, Americans on average spend only 40 minutes a
week playing with their children, and members of working couples talk
with one another on average only 12 minutes a day.
4. True or false? Americans carry $1 billion in personal debt, not
including real estate and mortgages.
Answer: False. Americans carry $1 trillion in personal debt,
approximately $4,000 for every man, woman and child, not including
real estate and mortgages. On average, Americans save only 4 percent
of their income, in contrast to the Japanese, who save an average of
16 percent.
5. Which activity did more Americans do in 1996?
a. graduate from college
b. declare bankruptcy
Answer: b. In 1996, more than 1 million Americans declared
bankruptcy, three times as many as in 1986. Americans have more than
1 billion credit cards, and less than one-third of credit card
holders pay off their balances each month.
6. In the industrialized world, where is the U.S. ranked in terms of
its income equality between the rich and the poor? (First being the
most income-equal.)
a. 1st
b. 5th
c. 12th
d. 22nd
Answer: d. The income disparity between the rich and the poor is
greatest in the United States.
7. The world's 358 billionaires together possess as much money as the
poorest _____ of the world's population?
a. 15 percent
b. 30 percent
c. 50 percent
d. 10 percent
Answer: c. Nearly 50 percent. The world's 358 billionaires' combined
assets roughly equal the assets of the world's poorest 2.5 billion
people.
8. Since 1950, Americans alone have used more resources than:
a. everyone who ever lived before them
b. the combined Third World populations
c. the Romans at the height of the Roman Empire
d. all of the above
Answer: All of the above. Since 1950, Americans alone have used more
resources than everyone who ever lived before them. Each American
individual uses up 20 tons of basic raw materials annually. Americans
throw away 7 million cars a year, 2 million plastic bottles an hour
and enough aluminum cans annually to make six thousand DC-10
airplanes.
9. Americans' total yearly waste would fill a convoy of garbage
trucks long enough to:
a. wrap around the Earth six times
b. reach half-way to the moon
c. connect the North and South Poles
d. build a bridge between North America and China
Answer: a. and b. Even though Americans comprise only five percent of
the world's population, in 1996 we used nearly a third of its
resources and produced almost half of its hazardous waste. The
average North American consumes five times as much as an average
Mexican, 10 times as much as an average Chinese and 30 times as much
as the average person in India.
10. Which president feared that untamed American capitalism might
create a corrupt civilization?
a. Jimmy Carter
b. Ronald Reagan
c. Theodore Roosevelt
d. Abraham Lincoln
Answer: c. President Theodore Roosevelt feared that allowing American
capitalism to develop unleashed would eventually create a corrupt
civilization. He was a strong proponent of simple living.
11. Which economic indicator counts pollution three times as a sign
of a growing economy?
a. the GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
b. the GPI (Genuine Progress Indicator)
Answer: a. The GDP counts pollution three times: first when it is
made, second when it is cleaned up and third when health-care
professionals treat pollution-related health problems. An
organization called Redefining Progress developed an alternative
economic progress measurement, the GPI (Genuine Progress Indicator).
GPI takes into account 24 aspects of economic life that the standard
GDP (Gross Domestic Product) ignores. The GPI adds value for such
activities as housework and volunteerism, and subtracts for the costs
of such problems as crime, car accidents and family breakdown.
12. Of the Americans who voluntarily cut back their consumption, what
percent said (in 1995) that they are happier as a result?
a. 29 percent
b. 42 percent
c. 67 percent
d. 86 percent
Answer: d. Eighty-six percent of Americans who voluntarily cut back
their consumption feel happier as a result. Only 9 percent said they
were less happy. In 1996, 5 percent of the "baby boom" generation
reported practicing a strong form of voluntary simplicity.
http://www.worldwatch.org/alerts/000115.html
(Edited by peaccenicked at 10:23 pm on Feb. 18, 2002)
1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from
efforts to keep up with the Joneses.
2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by
dogged pursuit of the American Dream.
3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth
Do You Have It????
1. Which of the following is comparable to the size of a typical
three-car garage?
a. a basketball court
b. a McDonald's restaurant
c. an "RV" (recreational vehicle)
d. the average home in the 1950s.
Answer: d. Many of today's three-car garages occupy 900 square feet,
just about the average size of an entire home in the 1950s. Many
people use the extra garage space to store things they own and seldom
use. Often we hear that Americans have lost ground economically and
have less purchasing power. But Americans are buying more luxurious
items, partly by working more and going deeply into debt. The homes
they live in and the cars they drive today are often bigger and more
technologically advanced than those purchased by their parents.
2. The percentage of Americans calling themselves "very happy"
reached its highest point in what year?
a. 1957
b. 1967
c. 1977
d. 1987
Answer: a. The number of "very happy" people peaked in 1957, and has
remained fairly stable or declined ever since. Even though we consume
twice as much as we did in the 1950s, people were just as happy when
they had less.
3. How much of an average American's lifetime will be spent (on
average) watching television commercials?
a. 6 months
b. 3 months
c. 1 year
d. 1.5 years
Answer: c. In contrast, Americans on average spend only 40 minutes a
week playing with their children, and members of working couples talk
with one another on average only 12 minutes a day.
4. True or false? Americans carry $1 billion in personal debt, not
including real estate and mortgages.
Answer: False. Americans carry $1 trillion in personal debt,
approximately $4,000 for every man, woman and child, not including
real estate and mortgages. On average, Americans save only 4 percent
of their income, in contrast to the Japanese, who save an average of
16 percent.
5. Which activity did more Americans do in 1996?
a. graduate from college
b. declare bankruptcy
Answer: b. In 1996, more than 1 million Americans declared
bankruptcy, three times as many as in 1986. Americans have more than
1 billion credit cards, and less than one-third of credit card
holders pay off their balances each month.
6. In the industrialized world, where is the U.S. ranked in terms of
its income equality between the rich and the poor? (First being the
most income-equal.)
a. 1st
b. 5th
c. 12th
d. 22nd
Answer: d. The income disparity between the rich and the poor is
greatest in the United States.
7. The world's 358 billionaires together possess as much money as the
poorest _____ of the world's population?
a. 15 percent
b. 30 percent
c. 50 percent
d. 10 percent
Answer: c. Nearly 50 percent. The world's 358 billionaires' combined
assets roughly equal the assets of the world's poorest 2.5 billion
people.
8. Since 1950, Americans alone have used more resources than:
a. everyone who ever lived before them
b. the combined Third World populations
c. the Romans at the height of the Roman Empire
d. all of the above
Answer: All of the above. Since 1950, Americans alone have used more
resources than everyone who ever lived before them. Each American
individual uses up 20 tons of basic raw materials annually. Americans
throw away 7 million cars a year, 2 million plastic bottles an hour
and enough aluminum cans annually to make six thousand DC-10
airplanes.
9. Americans' total yearly waste would fill a convoy of garbage
trucks long enough to:
a. wrap around the Earth six times
b. reach half-way to the moon
c. connect the North and South Poles
d. build a bridge between North America and China
Answer: a. and b. Even though Americans comprise only five percent of
the world's population, in 1996 we used nearly a third of its
resources and produced almost half of its hazardous waste. The
average North American consumes five times as much as an average
Mexican, 10 times as much as an average Chinese and 30 times as much
as the average person in India.
10. Which president feared that untamed American capitalism might
create a corrupt civilization?
a. Jimmy Carter
b. Ronald Reagan
c. Theodore Roosevelt
d. Abraham Lincoln
Answer: c. President Theodore Roosevelt feared that allowing American
capitalism to develop unleashed would eventually create a corrupt
civilization. He was a strong proponent of simple living.
11. Which economic indicator counts pollution three times as a sign
of a growing economy?
a. the GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
b. the GPI (Genuine Progress Indicator)
Answer: a. The GDP counts pollution three times: first when it is
made, second when it is cleaned up and third when health-care
professionals treat pollution-related health problems. An
organization called Redefining Progress developed an alternative
economic progress measurement, the GPI (Genuine Progress Indicator).
GPI takes into account 24 aspects of economic life that the standard
GDP (Gross Domestic Product) ignores. The GPI adds value for such
activities as housework and volunteerism, and subtracts for the costs
of such problems as crime, car accidents and family breakdown.
12. Of the Americans who voluntarily cut back their consumption, what
percent said (in 1995) that they are happier as a result?
a. 29 percent
b. 42 percent
c. 67 percent
d. 86 percent
Answer: d. Eighty-six percent of Americans who voluntarily cut back
their consumption feel happier as a result. Only 9 percent said they
were less happy. In 1996, 5 percent of the "baby boom" generation
reported practicing a strong form of voluntary simplicity.
http://www.worldwatch.org/alerts/000115.html
(Edited by peaccenicked at 10:23 pm on Feb. 18, 2002)