1st World Comfort versus 3rd World Suffering

They do use ethanol. They use sugar cane I believe. Where I lived there were acres of sugar can fields as far as the eye can see. To get ready for a crop they burn the land and then use a large amount of fertilizer. Clouds of ash would cover the whole city and you'd be breathing that stuff for weeks. It'll be interesting to see what brazil does with ethanol now that they've discovered huge oil reserves off their coast. My bet is they produce it and turn into another Saudi Arabia..

They have the lowest carbon cycle and most hi-tech production method. moreover, @ USD12000 GDP per capita, they hardly qualify as third world. A lot of people are investing there, even with their currency being higher than usual.

There is a lot of truth in what Ren says, Christianity has done a lot of damage to Africa. Look at a lot of places, like Zimbabwe and Uganda, and people are extremely homophobic as a result of Christian teaching. There is also a lot to say for 'missionaries' who carry a Bible in one hand and a decent meal in the other.

ren wrote: They have the lowest carbon cycle and most hi-tech production method. moreover, @ USD12000 GDP per capita, they hardly qualify as third world. A lot of people are investing there, even with their currency being higher than usual.

I was there 15 years ago.. I understand it may be different now. I think no electricity, no indoor plumbing and houses made out of particle board would qualify as 3rd world, I know it wasn't everybody. There was a few people very well off but practically no middle class. The south east of brazil is almost 1st world for sure. But travel away from where Europeans have had a great influence in their culture and you will find extreme poverty.

Mace Feibel wrote: There is a lot of truth in what Ren says, Christianity has done a lot of damage to Africa. Look at a lot of places, like Zimbabwe and Uganda, and people are extremely homophobic as a result of Christian teaching. There is also a lot to say for 'missionaries' who carry a Bible in one hand and a decent meal in the other.

As a missionary I depended on the brazilians for my sustenance. I ate what they ate. I understand not all Christian missionary's do that. I am just trying to give a perspective of someone that did live in poverty, 3rd world for 2 years. I went to the same doctors, rode the same busses and slept in their houses. I washed my own cloths with my own hands til they would bleed, at first, because of the cement washboard. It was a difficult transition for me for sure. But I came out with an appreciation of technology and comfort as well as an appreciation for those that don't have it.

Try england 40 years ago and eastern europe today. Not everyone had or has indoor plumbing, or a washing machine. Doesn't make it third world. When I was a student, 16, living on my own, I'd wash my clothes at one of these:



i don't recall my hands ever bleeding. In fact, I couldve gone to the laundrette, but it was a bit far and couldn't be bothered as it would take more of my time to wash my clothes there. That was 10 years ago, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't the third world I was in.

So what is 3rd world to you Ren?

Well I mentionned zimbabwe being third world for example.

I see, I'm not sure what would qualify as 3rd or 1st.. I'm sure Zimbabwe has launderettes so since it does, does that mean it doesn't qualify?? Brazil is better off by far, I'd assume. But where I was at the sewer was an open river.. Kind of like NYC does that then make New York 3rd world? All semantics I guess. According to wikipedia the 3 world divisions started during the cold war. With US and allies as 1st. Soviet and allies as 2nd. And "neutral" as 3rd. In that sense both brazil and Zimbabwe would be 3rd world. My experience tells me I'd call brazil 2nd world now but there are pockets of severe poverty like I've never seen. And I've been to Alabama

Think of the classifications more in terms of their economy

There are 3 primary sectors (they can be broken down further) but the main 3 are, the tertiary sector (services), manufacturing sector (secondary sector) and extraction of raw materials (primary)

Tertiary is services such as financial, secondary is building and making stuff and primary is producing the basic components (farming, mining etc)

Britain is quite obviously tertiary for example

China is quite clearly secondary (they make lots of stuff)

Africa is quite clearly (for the most part) primary (mining)

Correspondingly the Uk is first world, China is second world and Africa is third

Of course things get a little confusing with places like Germany (manufactures loads of stuff) but the basic principle is this: how hard is it to do the things that they do

Germany is manufacturing, but they produce some of the most valuable and complex things in the world... (hence first world)

The harder it is to do something, typically the richer the country is and the higher the 'world'(?) it is

Of course this is very much debatable, but that is the rough idea behind it all