The solstice passed today at 4 in the morning (UTC). For most people, it is ignored or unknown, while for a few it is recognised as the event that gives rise to all the other seasonal holidays at this time of year – Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule, Saturnalia, and the calendar new years like Hogmany and …
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Category:5 Environment
System change, social media and your choices.
COP21 comes to a close as the wind howls and Jaspar’s rugby game is cancelled because so much water fell on the pitch last night. Climate change is great, but it’s not good. I love the warmer weather so here in Ireland it’s almost as warm as Hong Kong in the winter; you can go …
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Numbers That Matter – COP21
Is the scale of marches for change today a significant number? They are certainly the largest individual marches and the largest globally coordinated march, and the first to include a virtual march which allowed people to participate without travelling long distance. They say about 600,000 marched (excluding virtual marchers) around the world. That’s a lot …
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Are you beginning to get it? The what, why and how of system change.
There has been an outpouring of love and solidarity because of the tragic and terrific blood-letting in Paris this weekend. It has been a synchronous focus on thought, feeling and action by millions around the world. That is good. The answers proposed have ranged from black to white, from vengeance to forgiveness. (My preference is …
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You have the power to change the world. Choose!
Words by Charlie Chaplin. Contemporary images. The choice is clear. Have you chosen yet? Or are you still chasing the machine? Choose humanity, while the choice remains … The Great Dictator‘s Speech (1940) I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be an emperor. That’s not my business. I don’t want to rule or conquer …
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CO2 levels exceed safe limit globally. Another sign we’ve broken the biosphere.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) reported that global carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations have reached 400 parts per million – levels that haven’t been seen for about two million years! Isn’t it wonderful that a little monkey can upset nature so violently?! We wield such power! CO2 has risen more than 120 parts …
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Don’t watch “Earthlings”. You can’t handle it.
Three stages of TRUTH: Ridicule. Violent opposition. Acceptance. Earthlings is a docudrama drawing attention to vile, uncivilised behaviour in which we all play a role. It focuses on the torture of animals which modern society condones and from which we distance ourselves, covering five aspects: pets, food, clothing, entertainment, science. Be warned. It is graphic. …
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Sapiens: Thinking, Stories and Ignorance, then choosing to die.
Yuval Harari’s brief history of humankind, weighing in at a meaty 400 pages, is enjoyable, provocative and very worrying. The wide-ranging, scholarly story is easy to read and sensible. I enjoyed the book from beginning to end, though I had to restrain myself from skipping to the last chapter: The End of Homo Sapiens. For …
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Watch out!! Our most advanced species … is advancing!!
KAL for Earth Day
You’re NOT only human …
… you’ve got bits of bug in your DNA, and some of it is missing*. These facts help appreciate the diversity of look and behaviour of humans, but looking deeper, it is the similarities in looks and behaviour, a.k.a. culture, which show that nurture is such a powerful influence on each of us. Research published …
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