...especially poverty in developing nations.
Dad sent me this article on a new MTV show in which Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz jet around the world exclaiming about how fabulous the poorest countries are for not taking advantage of the environment. They even ride in SUVs. Oh, the hypocrisy.
It reminds me of the trip my whole family took to the remote Tibetan Autonomous Region of Yunnan, China in 2000 (see photo). We were delighted to hike an entire day into the mystical, unspoiled Himalayan mountain village of Yubeng, where there was almost no electricity, no toilets, not a road or a motorized vehicle. We all found it so charming.
Yet when we asked the locals that night what they'd most like - The Nature Conservancy was working in the region to create ecologically sound ovens that operated off of human and animal waste so that people didn't have to burn wood all day every day to stay warm - they said, "A road." And the water wheel that generated enough juice to operate one machine? It was used to power a TV.
Read "Celebs Ignore Death, Poverty on MTV enviro Series." I don't agree with his exclusive measurement of quality of life in terms of infant mortality and life expectancy rates, but the man has a point...
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