Friday 30 December 2016

Climate change

The first step is recognize it


The opinion that the climate change is happening, that we are causing it, that it will bring terrible consequences during the next decades and that we have to do something to prevent it is increasing.

But, as it happens in Alcoholics Anonymous, recognizing the problem is just the first step to solve the problem. 


 Climate Change Summit





During the last years, many summits and agreements about the Climate Change have been proposed, like the famous Kyoto Protocol, where many countries agreed to reduce greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, but these agreements are not very ambitious and important countries like the United States have not ratified them. 

There are other iniciatives, like the Earth Hour, where we are encouraged to turn off our non-essential lights for one hour, that are basically symbolic and quite irrelevant if we want to concern about energy consumption reduction. 




Why aren't we doing anything to prevent the climate change?


Because it is not a priority. Still today, our priorities are earning more money and acquiring more products. If preventing the climate change endangers these priorities, we would stop any important iniciative against the climate change. 

And probably, the climate change will affect seriously our life-style. 

Anyone of us driving our car? Oups, not anymore. 

Taking a flight to the other side of the world to expend our holidays? Just a dream. 

Food of all around the world in the closest supermarket? That was before we had to concern in the future of the Mankind. 


Who will suggest this actions to the population? 

Who will refrain from keeping a confortable life-style to prevent climate change? specially if we can't expect others to do the same. 




And then, what will it happen with the climate change?


As usual, we won't assume the problem until we suffer its terrible consequences, not before. 

Indeed, nowadays our lifes are quite normal. The main problems we are concerned about are those economical, political or personal ones. 

At least it looks like this. During the years 2006-2010 there was a severe drought in the Middle East region. And then, the Arab spring, the Syrian Civil war and the refugees crisis. Was it the fault of the climate change? Maybe, as it is stated that it will bring periods of severe droughts in that regions. 

In the futur, if the climate change threat becomes real, many heavily populated regions will suffer lack of drink water and the production of food can be affected too, and many coastal regions can be flooded. 

As we are not good at managing the decreasing of our life standards, these situation could bring instability, conflicts and huge migrations around. 

In small amounts, maybe this is already happening.



Saturday 3 December 2016

In good company, we wouldn't need so much money

I think that we could be fine just living slightly above the subsistence level, having enough to eat, drink and having a roof that we could call "our place". 

And I think that all that is not really expensive. We wouldn't need to struggle so much to get money as we just to do nowadays, we wouldn't need to ask for loans and we wouldn't need to work so many hours. 


Simple house to live in


But we don't have enough being slightly above the subsistance level. The reason is simple: This level don't ensure us that we will be appreciated by others. 




Our social life depends highly on our purchase power


Our relationships and our plans depend highly on our purchase power, because to join some people you have to imitate their life style, and to make some plans you have to be able to afford their expenses. 

We would like to join these people and these plans and be appreciated for that. but if we don't get the needed money, we can't and we feel bad, rejected. Thats's why we sometimes feel so bad if we don't reach an specific purchase power. 




Our problem is not the purchase power, but our relationships


It looks like the problem is not getting enough money, but the real problem is not being appreciated by people. 

My idea is that, if we could be appreciated regardless of how much money we have, we could be happy with a low purchase power. 

If we could be more carefree about money. we could be happier. We wouldn't have to accept jobs that make us terribly unhappy, we wouldn't have to ask for loans and have debts to give back, and we wouldn't be strugging with workmates and other people for money or job position matters. 

We just have to try to be appreciated regardless our money.