Prof. John C. Mutter

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Human Well-being and The State of the Planet Can
the Earth Sciences Help Alleviate Global Poverty?

• Prof. John C. Mutter
• Deputy Director
• The Earth Institute at Columbia University

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Can our science help people like this
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Three part case for the co-dependence of human
well-being and the state of the planet

• Natural disasters preferentially imperil the poor
• Small variations around the norm in poor
  countries can act like disasters in rich
  countries
• There is a global ecology of human well-being

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Disasters and the poorest Does
this have to be?
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Disaster mortality risk from combined
hazards (World Bank Hot Spots Dilley, Chen,
Lerner-Lam et al)
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Income per person, PPP (1998)
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Infant Mortality
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What is the Human Development Index (HDI)?

• A summary composite index that measures a
  country's average achievements in three basic
  aspects of human development
• LONGEVITY -- life expectancy at birth
• KNOWLEDGE -- a combination of the adult literacy
  rate and the combined primary, secondary, and
  tertiary gross enrolment ratio
• STANDARD of LIVING -- GDP per capita (Adjusted
  for Purchasing Power Parity, PPP, in US).
• HDI is a more comprehensive measure of
  deprivation than income.

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Aggregate Natural Disasters Source UNDP 2004
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Three part case for the co-dependence of human
well-being and the state of the planet

• Natural disasters preferentially imperil the poor
• Small variations around the norm in poor
  countries can act like disasters in rich
  countries
• There is a global ecology of human well-being

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Climate variability and Malaria
risk
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Three part case for the co-dependence of human
well-being and the state of the planet

• Natural disasters preferentially imperil the poor
• Small variations around the norm in poor
  countries can act like disasters in rich
  countries
• There is a global ecology of human well-being

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Income per person, PPP (1998)
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Income per person, PPP (1998)
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GDP per capita as a function of
latitude. Poverty has a latitudinal
dependence (J. Sachs)
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Flood vulnerability
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Flood disaster economic losses
Flood disaster mortality
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Cyclone vulnerability
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Earthquake vulnerability
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Drought vulnerability
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Conflict and Drought
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Disaster Mortality risk is a proxy for poverty
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Can our science help people like this
. I hope so.