This is not a book review, just a suggestion to read Steven Pinker's new book "Enlightenment Now, which looks at global trends over the last century or so. I think it's the most interesting and readable non-fiction I've read in many years.
For some people the worst thing about the book may be be that it contains some good news about global trends, though Pinker is careful to point out that this *does not* mean that we should rest on our laurels or stop working towards a better future. Ocean acidification and changing regional rainfall patterns due to global warming will be a huge challenge, as he is quick to point out.
And I don't agree with everything he says, for example he calls for a rapid increase in nuclear energy to reduce carbon emissions. So while I agree with this statement in principle, in practice I don't think it will be cost effective now and especially in the future. But reasonable people can disagree on this issue, though I suspect $/kWh will decide this ultimately.
Although the book is more focused on global perspectives there is lots of data by country, so here is a graph for some parameters just in the US, which illustrates that one can increase GDP, increase population, decrease carbon intensity and reduce pollution all at the same time:
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