jueves, 17 de noviembre de 2011

A Global Solution

We don´t need to be environmental experts to realise that our planet's climate is changing and that we are trashing the Earth. Recycling is something we can do to avoid dumping too much rubbish but, as you may know, that is only the tip of the iceberg. The stuff we throw away accounts only for 10% of the stuff that's being dumped due to the industrial processes necessary to produce it. This means we need to come up with better ways of processing industrial waste. In the following video there's the proposal of a solution that could really make all the difference. That is, IF the big corporations let us. You see, fungi would do our dirty work for free and then, WHO WOULD PROFIT AND SPECULATE WITH IT?
Think about it, and I hope you enjoy it.



The Story of Stuff Project

We watch television, the desire grows inside us to buy something, we go to a mall and buy it -and some other things we hadn't thought about before but we do now. We take everything home and realise we don't have enough space to store so many things, so we throw away something that some time ago we thought we needed, but now we've lost our interest in. In the process, we do not stop for a moment to think about where this stuff comes from or where it goes after we are done with it. That doesn't seem to have anything to do with us or affect us in any significant way, does it? Well, the thing is it is affecting other people a lot, and the results of our way of life might be creeping in on us in the form of climate change or unemployment.

The first step to changing a situation is learning about it and that's what The Story of Stuff Project is all about. Let's understand how our economy works and we'll be able to start changing our consumerist habits, which might be consuming ourselves, our planet and our future as well. If you are interested, follow the link; you'll find very illuminating videos, all of them related to our economy, consumerism, the environment, sustainability and much more...

Choice

Choice is our right. Choice is what we seek.
We want to be free, we want our children to have chances in life -which means the possibility to choose,- so we think of choice as something good...
Or, is it? Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? Is consumerism and the idea of choice actually consuming us and taking up all of our freedom?
I think that is something we should think about.



jueves, 27 de octubre de 2011

Language as a Window into Human Nature

A brilliant insight into the part language plays in defining and maintaining human relationships.


martes, 25 de octubre de 2011

The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination

by J.K. Rowling at the Annual Meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association. Now a classic and one of my favourites. Enjoy!


Harvard magazine

viernes, 14 de octubre de 2011

Ask the wind

Hi there!
It's been a long time and now it seems I'll be writing here again. I'm hopeless at poetry, I admit, but you can blame Emilio Alzueta for making me write (and publish) it. I know it's not good, but it might mean something to those who know me.

Ask the wind

Cold in the winter the North wind blows,
Through highlands and mountains its paths have crossed.
“What news of my darling d’you bring from the North?
For it’s icy and chilly and I miss his warmth”

“It is long since I saw him,
That day the sky broke.
He wandered light-footed
Surfing the squall”

Fresh in the spring the East wind blows,
Through valleys and rivers its paths have crossed.
“What news of my dearest d’you bring from the East?
For it’s temperate and sunny and I long for his kiss”

“It is long since I saw him
Enjoying the light,
He followed his path
Away, to the night”

Hot in the summer the South wind blows,
Through moors and deserts its paths have crossed.
“What news of my sweetheart d’you bring in your bag?
For I’m lonely and gloomy and in need of his laugh”

"It is long since I saw him
Wandering West.
He was flying and beaming
To the end of his quest”

Smooth in the autumn the West wind blows,
Through seas and oceans its paths have crossed.
“What news of my babe do you bear?
For I’m aching, and tired, and I’ve searched everywhere!”

“Past the waves and the clouds away yonder,
Where no shadow or stain can be born,
There’s a land full of colour and sunshine,
And he’s waiting for you at the shore”

Licencia Creative Commons