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This article discusses the relationship between the cost of living and quality of life. Mainly, whether a high cost of living offsets the happiness that results from a higher standard of living. The United Arab Emirates was recently ranked among the top 30 happiest countries in the world. It may be a very expensive country to live in however compared to others in the region like Oman, yet the country provides excellent educational opportunities and healthcare. It is important when considering the standard of living to also think about the cost of living in an area, because while one country may provide its residents with a happier lifestyle it may come with a much larger price.

The tax burden on citizens in Quebec has made Quebec one of the poorest provinces in Canada. As there is not a lot of growth within Quebec, the tax burden is increasing and this causes Quebec's standard of living to drop.

This article talks about eradicating extreme poverty, one of the Millennium Development Goals. Unfortunately, 1.2billion people in the world live in extreme poverty, which is unacceptable. McConnell attributes most of this unfortunate predicament to unstable and fragile political governments, where members of society are continually sieged in turmoil. Although one of the Millennium Goals have been achieved early, elimination of extreme hunger, poverty is still a perpetual and prevalent issue that the USAID plans to rigorously tackle.

I found this article interesting, as an american, because it really puts things into perspective. The author writes that the average household in 1988 made just over $51,000 dollars a year in income, while even today, that average has stayed the same. This can mean to things, either the average wages just have not increased with inflation of the last 37 years, or that there are even more people then there were in 1988 who are forced to take lower paying jobs. When looking at it from the outside, it sounds like the standard of living seems to be diminishing, as the so-called "middle class" is evaporating into thin air, as is said in this article.

As a result of refinery troubles in Southern California, gas prices have hit record highs (some parts of L.A. reaching 5 dollars for a gallon of gas). The demand for gas remains constant (people in L.A. have a strange affinity with their cars) however, the demand has dropped around 2.5%. People have been griping about the price increases, but as people cannot live without their cars, they have no choice but to deal with it. The supply is limited and therefore the price increases.

This article talked about the life of Chinese factory workers. Despite the harsh working conditions, the workers don't strike. This reminded me of demand in many different ways. 1) The demand for food will always be high because it is essential to life. The price that these people have to pay is working past the legal hours, living in unfavorable conditions, and working in unsafe factory floors. 2) The high demand for cheap products increases the demand for workers who are willing to work for under the minimum wage. This article taught me the relation between the price of a product and the wage of a worker.

This article discusses how oil is becoming an inelastic good. Although people can arrange their lives to reduce their consumption of oil, quickly there comes a point where it is not possible to purchase a smaller amount of oil. Oil would definitely be considered an essential good.

The article evaluates elasticity in terms of oil supply and demand. it states that there are still untapped oil reserves which are more expensive to obtain and requires more time. As a result, oil is becoming less elastic. it talks of possible ways of reducing oil consumption such as public transport or getting a more fuel efficient vehicle which is unlikely as it is expensive. it also evaluates the the elasticity of supply. it talks off how suppliers need a minimum price/barrel in order to keep a balanced budget so suppliers are reluctant in increasing supply in order to reduced the prices. It provides data over a 10year time period which analyses the oil consumption and supply of oil in terms of different uses and change in costs. It also relates it to the recession stating that job loss has lead to less people commuting decreasing demand and increasing price

Gas prices in California have soared to over $5 a barrel in recent weeks. This causes everyone to feel pain at the pump and try to fill up fewer than they have in the past. However, people cannot live without gas, and thus the gas industry has not suffered.

This website is very interesting on not just a world scale, because most people have already heard of the food problems in the world, but as well on a local scale. Meaning the article talks about how the average human is contributing to this growing problem.

This article does a really good job at capturing the chain effect of changes in the world. An example is how they talk about how water shortage affects food shortages. People tend to overlook how much one disaster can cause many others.

I agree full heartedly with what Landon has said, as well as what you have said Miro, in regards to the chain affect of changes as well as the fact that understanding problems on a local scale is important. I know that we in Indiana have really been hit hard by drought this year, and we have seen first-hand how the lack of rainfall hurts everyone. The chain reaction of sorts begins with the farmers, who had a horrible growing season in Indy this year, and thus they passed on the cost to the consumer. We are having to pay noticeably more for all grown products this year, and it really is a testament to the harsh reality that is the chain affect that Landon mentioned, as well as a wake up call to all of us here that economic problems exist everywhere, and just because we live in a well developed place doesn't mean we are safe from them.

As you all know water is a necessity for us to survive in this planet, but sadly it is available to everyone as freely as it is to some people. According to the United Nations, by the year 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries with absolute water scarcity.

I quite interested in the article because water scarcity is one of the most serious problem around the world. Scarcity is increasing rapidly form day to day and it will destroy the world if it keeps going. So Your explanation of article is short and very clear it is like a brief summary in 2 sentences.

This article talks about an earthquake and the lack of water available.This article essentially talks about how the demand for water was high but the price remained therefore people with more use for the water werent able to get the resource; it; some needed it for baby formula whilst others for cleaning dishes. The writer argues that if the price of the water was raised, as it was scarce, then people with higher priorities wouldn't mind spending the extra money. Economist Eric Cramption then dismisses an argument against price allocating resources; the poor would get poorer. . 

A new report from the Census Bureau shows that despite signs that the economy is improving in the United States, including dropping unemployment and increasing economic growth, the distribution of income in the country remains the same. Gains have been made for the top 5% of earners yet many others remain reliant on government aid. This brings up an important issue regarding what economic growth actually means for the people of a country. Although the economy may be expanding, the standard of living for struggling families may not be improving.