MooPig Solutions Department :: "2008 Copenhagen Consensus"

Review of World's Best Solutions 2008
Retrieved by Pat Darnell | Dec 30, 2012 | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

The Top Ten Solutions to the World's Biggest Problems - Reason.com: "Copenhagen, May 30, 2008 Ronald Bailey — " ... Where in the world can we do the most good? Supplying the micronutrients vitamin A and zinc to 80 percent of the 140 million children who lack them in developing countries is ranked as the highest priority by the expert panel at the Copenhagen Consensus 2008 Conference. The cost is $60 million per year, yielding benefits in health and cognitive development of over $1 billion."

'via Blog this'

The tasks of solving problems requires developing economies of developing countries to play leap frog. For instance, " ... proposals to reduce outdoor air pollution in developing country cities by installing technologies to cut the emissions of particulates from diesel vehicles. Other ... solutions included a tobacco tax, improved stoves to reduce indoor air pollution, and extending microfinance. ... "

The leap frog tactic would allow developing economies to start with 'state-of-the-art' technologies at the beginning of their development, thus leap frog over the existing problematic carbon spewing technologies. China could start building low emission automobiles from the start, and bypass wasteful years of making carbon cannon cars.

Those are lofty installations. In most installations of new technology, the cost is recovered over twenty to ninety years in returns on investing in the welfare of developing countries. In other words, each solution is evaluated on its initial cost, usually in billions, and its return on investment.

" ... In fact, the climate change analysis presented to the panel found that spending $800 billion until 2100 would yield just $685 billion in climate change benefits. (Ronald Bailey | May 30, 2008. HERE) ... "

Whereas, " ... [e]ight leading economists, including five Nobelists, were asked to prioritize 30 different proposed solutions to ten of the world's biggest problems... " this included problems with balanced distribution of the world's remaining resources. (ibid.)

Each solution, or opportunity, posted in the chart above could be historically a reason for war. Epidemics, migrations, trade deficits, regional catastrophe, and starvation all have caused war in our first 12,000 years of recorded history. What makes this era different? [Chart Source LINK]

Also, we still have a thousand year history of boom/bust cycles in economy. It is still going on. Japan has been in a bust cycle now for twenty-five years, although they say it is just a recession. Our USA has ceased being a developing economy, and now is in a twenty year period of "stagflation;" a term used in economics to describe a situation where an inflation rate is high, the economic growth rate slows down, and unemployment remains steadily high. (wiki)

Hopefully the developing economies can 'leap frog' over and past those hurdles we 'developed' economies now wallow in.

___________________________Reference
http://reason.com/archives/2008/05/30/the-top-ten-solutions-to-the-w
http://www.masterresource.org/2009/09/even-the-generals-are-worried-can-you-spell-m-i-s-s-i-o-n-c-r-e-e-p-climate-change-and-national-security-part-1/
http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2008/06/saving-the-world-for-75-billion-the-copenhagen-consensus/