When it comes to the effects of Global warming everyone suffers, particularly the world’s poorest citizens. For greater poverty leads to greater dependence on traditional fossil-fuel based energy use (due to its lower cost and greater availability as compared to newer energy sources), creating a self-perpetuating cycle of indebtedness and fossil-fuel greenhouse-gas producing energy sources.

The Facts About Global Warming (And Its Side Effects)

1. In spite of the best efforts of both government and supranational organisations, the curse of global poverty still affects billions of the world's poorest citizens population, with three-quarters of those living on less than $1 a day situated outside major cities in rural areas .

2. Such high levels of poverty, and the resultant economic necessity of survival, means that 2.5 billion people are already using traditionalm biomass energy in their day-to-day lives. The numbers using this energy source (mainly for cooking) including half the populations of China and India, and over 80% of sub-Saharn African residents.

3. Another unwanted and potentially lethal side-effects of solid fuel use is the pollution it causes, often in poorly-coinstructed dwellings with poor ventilation, which limits the circulation and escape of these toxic gases and results in death. Over 1.5 million people die as a result of this (that's over 4,000 deaths every day), more than are killed by malaria and the same number as those who die from TB.

4. 1.6 billion people — a quarter of humanity — live without electricity.

5. The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the 41 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (567 million people) is less than the wealth of the world’s 7 richest people combined.

6. For every $1 in aid a developing country receives, over $25 is spent on debt repayment.

7. 20% of the population in the developed nations, consume 86% of the world’s goods.

8. A mere 12 percent of the world’s population uses 85 percent of its water, and these 12 percent do not live in the Third World.

9. Outside the home it's a similarly depressing story, as pollution from cars has been proven to increase the risk of children (who live near major freeways) developing serious respiratory and other allergies such as hay fever, eczema, and asthmatic bronchitis by up to 50% (SOURCE: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Medical Care, June 2008). Thsi research contradicts previous studies, which concluded that such illnesses were due to a wide range of socioeconomic factors.

But it;s not just the environmental cost of fossil fuel use which is in question, rather, it's the symptom of what many see as a deeper malaise in the world geo-political landscape. A world where a quarter of people exist with no electricity. A world where the combined wealth of the world's seven wealthiest people exceeds the GDP of the 567 million citizens of the world's 41 most heavily indebted nations. A world where the debt-repayment-to-aid ratio is a staggering 25:1. Finally, and perhaps most pertinently in our environmentally aware world, a world where 12% of the world's population uses 85% of its water.

It's therefore clear that if Global Warming is to be solved, its root causes of poverty (and the numerous secondary events it generates) must be tackled in a coherent, rational manner. Otherwise our future, or what remains of it, will become very bleak indeed...