The (Un)Happy Planet Index

The Happy Planet Index developed by the New Economics Foundation was forwarded to us by Dale Mikkelesen, manager of planning and sustainability at SFU's Univercity. 

nef's new global measure of progress, the 'Happy Planet Index', reveals for the first time that happiness doesn't have to cost the Earth. It shows that people can live long, happy lives without using more than their fair share of the Earth's resources. The new international ranking of the environmental impact and well-being reveals a very different picture of the wealth, and poverty, of nations.

nef's report, 'The Happy Planet Index: An index of human well-being and environmental impact', moves beyond crude ratings of nations according to national income, measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to produce a more accurate picture of the progress of nations based on the amount of the Earth's resources they use, and the length and happiness of people's lives.

The Happy Planet Index (HPI) strips the view of the economy back to its absolute basics: what we put in (resources), and what comes out (human lives of different length and happiness). The resulting Index of the 178 nations for which data is available, reveals that the world as a whole has a long way to go.  In terms of delivering long and meaningful lives within the Earth's environmental limits - all nations could do better.  No country achieves an overall 'high' score on the Index, and no country does well on all three indicators.

Dale says, "If you have not seen or read it, please enjoy... a refreshing perspective sure to invoke some conversation..." You'll need to download the pdf document.