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Beautiful December
Now, when the garden awaits the return of spring
Now, when the silence is deep and blue
Now, when the winter has cast her spell again
Beautiful December, Beautiful December
Here, where the snow is as soft as a woolly lamb
Here, where the nightfall is deep and blue,
Here, where the stars are so bright, you reach for them
Beautiful December, Beautiful December
Child, may you sleep in gentle peace tonight
Dream of songs that rise on silken wings!
When you wake, enchanted by the snowspun light
Sing the songs that came to you in dreams,
Your beautiful December dreams
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Comments
I saw this article that looked interesting: 'New economics' - the way to save the planet? . (click on the title to follow the link).
Here it is stated champions of 'new economics' think governments should support communities to create participatory forms of economic activity that can tackle inequality while also restoring planetary health.
Green parties have been around a while, but seem to be becoming more popular and might be the best way forward.
One thing for sure, we can't go on the way we are doing now. This report European Union nations are living far beyond the Earth's means from WWF and Global Footprint Network says that If everyone consumed at the rate of the average European resident, 2.8 planets would be needed.
The report was published on 8 May and suggests "If everybody in the world had the same ecological footprint as an average EU resident - emitting as much carbon, consuming as much food, timber and fibres, and occupying as much built up space - May 10th would be the date by which humanity would have used as much from nature than our planet can renew in a whole year."
How mediation can help in reversal of global warming.
Here is a beautiful parable in the Indian lore. A man is sitting on the branch of a tree – the wrong end of the branch – and cutting the branch. If he succeeds, he will fail. Right now, the economic engine that we have let loose on this planet is just like that. If it succeeds, we will fail. How absurd does it seem that we should pray for failure? That is where we are right now.
Most people have not understood that life on this planet is not a transaction, it is just an extension of each other. We may have transactions in society, but when it comes to life, it is a mass of life, not one distinctly separate from the other. What you call as my body is just a piece of this earth. Unfortunately, most people do not get it till they are died.
The leadership in the world should meditate once they meditate then only they will be able to connect with themselves with nature.
If you sit in meditation, slowly, after some time you clearly know who you are is not a separate entity. It is one with everything else. If this becomes a living experience in the leadership on the planet, it does not take much to fix this. In spite of all the damage that has happened, it does not take much. In twenty-five years, we can do a significant reversal. Before we fall dead, we can fix it, but it needs top-level support.
But I think nothing can help with the reversal of global warming besides a good time machine.
I was taking a look at the Project Drawdown - how Global warming could be in reverse by 2050, a plan to reverse global warming based on 100 existing and emerging solutions!
>> Five of the 100 solutions to reverse climate change
- Feed red algae to sheep to reduce their methane production
- Retire hydrofluorocarbon air conditioning units and dispose of them safely
- Design walkable cities with wide, well-lit, tree-lined sidewalks and improve mass transport solutions
- Fit commercial buildings with automatically shading glass to keep the heat out
- Adopt a vegetarian diet
I have seen that video on TED Talk what a splendid speech and solution given by the author.
"At a time of heightened fears over the impact of climate change, caused by rising fossil fuel emissions, the matches’ effect on the environment is seen by many as dangerous and inexcusable. And others warn that the problem will get worse next year when the Euro 2020 finals are held in a new transcontinental format that will greatly increase the amount of travel for supporters as their teams move back and forth across Europe."
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/11/anger-carbon-bootprint-english-football-finals-champions-league-europa-league?utm_term=RWRpdG9yaWFsX0d1YXJkaWFuVG9kYXlVS19XZWVrZW5kLTE5MDUxMg==&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUK&CMP=GTUK_email
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/11/matt-hancock-launches-study-into-deadly-poison-of-air-pollution?utm_term=RWRpdG9yaWFsX0d1YXJkaWFuVG9kYXlVS19XZWVrZW5kLTE5MDUxMg==&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUK&CMP=GTUK_email
To say nothing of the vandalism they also endear themselves with towards the match city's citizens.
Just to add insult to injury.
And yes, it really seems like sports events organizations and airline industry have reached a deal to equally share travelling profits.
It's interesting that, when talking about air pollution, we usually refer to pollutants emitted from burning of fossil fuels for transport, heating, energy production and so on.
However, there are also pollutants which just exhale or are formed at ambient temperature and light, without combustion involved.
That's the case with the so-called VOCs: volatile organic compounds and the ozone.
The VOCs are mainly hydocarbons, substances like perfumes added to house cleaners, solvents used in paints but also in cosmetics and toiletries such as nails polish.
These VOCs overall make up the indoors pollution, whose health effects are currentlty being studied, but which are supposed to be somewhat dangerous, at least according to the early findings.
The line between harmlessness and danger is probably drawn according to the concentration of VOCs you are being exposed to and for how long.
Nevertheless the imminent risk persist, especially in case of high concentration exposure; scientists, so far, just advise people to open your windows while going to use such products sources of VOCs, letting fresh air in and stale poisoned air out.
When emitted outdoors, as it's of fuel evaporating from cars' tanks during refuelling, VOCs can react with open air pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxides, forming particulate matters, other than, in hot climate and sunlight, the poisonous gas ozone.
This latter can be very dangerous to all people working or exercising outdoors, especially to older people, children and people already affected by respiratory system's diseases, such as chronic bronchitis and asthma.
The ozone can, in fact, aggravate the symptoms of all these people.
Children are the most affected, because their lungs are still in a development stage and ozone exposure can result particularly detrimental to them, eventually even triggering asthma in previously healthy ones.
Amazingly, I read that the effects of ozone on the airways' lining closely compares to the skin sunburnt ones.
In this news article, the Prime Minister of Nepal is obviously in denial of this poor state of affairs if he can claim Kathmandu “now has become a dust-free city” and that no one uses masks these days." Even if he travels in an air-conditioned car all the time, he is obviously out of touch with reality.
http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2019-05-13/pm-olis-claim-that-kathmandu-is-dust-free-is-far-from-reality.html
I won't say that it always looks as bad as this, but the air is very bitter and after about a week in the city, I am coughing like everyone else around me. I try now to limit any stays to just a few days at a time.
Then they obviously travel on armoured vehicles, equipped with air-conditioning and particulates-proof windows, just in case they had to pass through dirty polluted roads, down from their pristine ivory tower.
I sympathize with Kathmandu's citizens for the hazy air they have to breathe.
Unfortunately particulates are very dangerous and, in the long term, they cause shortness of breath and chronic respiratory diseases as you wrote.
I'm afraid surgical masks can do little to resolve the problem though: they are just a palliative; they can filter out bigger particles, but not the finest ones, a few microns in diameter, which will ineluctably end up depth in the lungs.
I think one most viable countermeasure could be to throw water in the air with hydrants, so that particulates are removed and fall to the ground.
The reduced health care budget might well be worth some water consume I suppose.
I wonder whether The Ass has written anything sarcastic about the Prime Minister's nonsensical release.
The only obstacle lays in oil companies' resistance, together with all minor companies' which make profits within the oil industry, down to the small local petrol station.
As long as there will exist commercial activities which entirely rely on oil extraction, refining, processing, filling for a living, there will be no reasonable hope to convert our existences to the electric clean fuel.
Needless to mention the fact that some countries like Saudi Arabia, rely mainly on oil for their export, I suppose.
That scales up the impact of energy conversion to the millions of people, if I don't go wrong.
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2019/may/22/could-you-give-up-flying-meet-the-no-plane-pioneers
She is really amazing at that age, you should see her TED talk
https://www.ted.com/talks/greta_thunberg_the_disarming_case_to_act_right_now_on_climate?language=en
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jul/22/leonardo-dicaprio-baikal-lake-siberia-instagram-appeals-to-save?utm_term=RWRpdG9yaWFsX0d1YXJkaWFuVG9kYXlVS19XZWVrZGF5cy0xOTA3MjM=&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUK&CMP=GTUK_email
http://news.trust.org/item/20190729063911-ta1l2/
Your experiences are unique don't let them forget.