The world needs you to take the lead in safeguarding the global environment. I have spent a good part of the past year analysing the state of humankind and preparing a report on the challenges that face us at the dawn of the new millennium. It was an attempt to step back from the press of daily crises and to reflect on the broader, long-term direction in which we are headed. I have, in a sense, submitted a term paper to the world's people. The report finds that we human beings do have much to be grateful for.
Most people today can expect to live longer than their parents.
They are better nourished, they enjoy better health, they are better educated, and on the whole they face more favourable economic prospects. But there is also widespread deprivation and despair. The century just ended was disfigured, time and again, by ruthless conflict. Grinding poverty and striking inequality persist within and among countries even amidst unprecedented wealth. Diseases, old and new, threaten to undo years of progress.