Blog #8

I found the Global Development and Inequality Chart on page 1145 of Strayer very interesting.  I've always been aware of the differences between Third World and First World countries but seeing it in black and white and so detailed was a shocker. 
One big shocker was the huge difference between the deaths under age 5 per 1000 live births.  In the low income countries it was 120 deaths and in the upper income countries it is only 7.  This just shows how bad the healthcare and prenatal in the low income counties is.  If this improves in the low income countries it would make a big difference to their populations.
Another shocker was the literacy rate.  I was expecting a bigger difference between the low income and higher income countries.  The low income countries had a 66% percent and the higher income had 99%.  While 66% is pretty low I figured it would be even lower.  Especially given the fact that their computer rate is 1.2 per 100 people and the high income countries have 60.4 computers per 100 people.  With the advance in technology the world is experiencing I am surprised the low income countries haven't caught up yet.  But, maybe its a good thing they haven't because their carbon dioxide emissions are 1 metric ton per capita and the high income countries are 13 metric tons per capita.  It is amazing how much we are destroying our environment to succeed and have a convenient life.  I wonder what would happen if we had a simpler life...would we be as advanced as we technology wise.  If people weren't itching to get things done quicker would we have the motivation to keep working so hard to find the next best app...? 
A few ago I went to El Salvador and stayed in a very poor part of the country.  I was able to see how they lived and how different their lives are than mine.  While they didn't have garbage service or running water a lot of the houses (which were shacks) still had satellites.  The men wore dirty, torn clothes but had nice dress shoes.  Just as have our status symbols in the United States (cars, purses, etc..) Third World countries have the same.  If I didn't experience it for myself I wouldn't think shoes and satellite dishes would be theirs!