For the 2012 ranking, 151 countries were compared, and the best scoring country for the second time in a row was Costa Rica, followed by Vietnam, Colombia, Belize and El Salvador. The lowest ranking countries in 2012 were Botswana, Chad and Qatar.
The Happy Planet Index (HPI) is an index of human well-being and environmental impact that was introduced by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) in July 2006. The index is designed to challenge well-established indices of countries’ development, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Human Development Index (HDI), which are seen as not taking sustainability into account. In particular, GDP is seen as inappropriate, as the usual ultimate aim of most people is not to be rich, but to be happy and healthy. Furthermore, it is believed that the notion of sustainable development requires a measure of the environmental costs of pursuing those goals.
I have read many articles on the politics and law of the South China Sea, some short and pithy and others long and complex. I now have read what I think of as the best introduction to the issue of conflict, politics and international law in the South China Sea. It is an article titled “Three Disputes and Tree Objectives: China and the South China Sea.” by Peter Dutton, director of the China Maritime Studies Institute at the US Naval War College. Peter has written knowledgeably and well on maritime issues of southeast Asia before. In this article he provides a structure through which he lays out separate strands of the issues and then examines each on its own. While not a short article, I doubt there is a better one from which to gain an understanding of one of the ocean hot spots in which the Law of the Sea Convention plays a critical role in protecting interests of the US and our allies and in providing the mechanisms for avoiding direct maritime conflict. If you want to engage in informed debate on the maritime issues in the South China Sea (SCS), this is a great starting point.
Đọt Chuối Non 