The Miniature Earth

I came across this interesting site that gave me a totally new perspective of our earth (click on image) - when reduced to a population size of 100 people. The Miniature Earth is a webmovie that is based on Dr. Donalla (Dana) Meadows research paper, "State of the Village Report" which was published on May 29, 1990. Dana, the founder of the Sustainability Institute, helped people understand global systems with long delays and complex feedbacks, while also inspiring many to think about individual choices in daily living.

Apparently many researchers and scientists use this method of reducing the Earth's population to a community of only 100 people (while keeping to the same proportions) to highlight a concern or bring attention to a certain matter. The Miniature Earth does this in a powerful way, seeking to bring about understanding among different cultures and encouraging greater dialogue around the world to facilitate key issues arising in our society. Personally, I thought the movie was quite mind-blowing. Not that it was any shocking to me, but I was very fascinated at how numbers, especially when used in a comparative way, can make things so simple yet stark.

Imagine the power of this. Issues relating to environmental awareness and social health can be carried across in a magnified and almost blatant manner. Things that we so often take for granted are now valued and appreciated . There is no lying or masking to some of the injustice that exist in our world. Poverty, wealth distribution, Aids, firearms possession, rural-urban migration, education... these are issues facing us daily and presented in an incredibly bare, plain and honest fashion.

Well, it's one thing to be aware of them. It's another to do SOMETHING about them.

Watch the movie and let it inspire you to be a change agent in our world.

"Think global, act local".

Fishmonger