#2030 CANNOT COME FAST ENOUGH

[incandescent-creativity]

I can’t believe I never knew the original version of this meme was about NASA. Fuckin relatable.

[skyovereuropeldkde]

Climate and the “Little Green Women and Men”

A comment by Peter Koenig

The Little Green Women and Men (LGWM) are us, humanoids, especially those living in the west, believing we command Mother Earth. Well, no wonder, there is a group among us, who claims to be “God’s Chosen People” – and they act it all the way. So much so, that they and their influence on LGWMs, have almost managed to dominate all the women, men and resources of Mother Earth.

Humanoids, LGWMs, are easily manipulated. They have chosen to be green, because “green” is IN. They are ‘little’, because in the big scheme of things, as compared to Mother Nature, for example, they are diminutive. Very. Yet, they pretend to command the climate. Green parties all over the western world are multiplying fast; almost like the legendary grain on a chessboard. They are called green but they come in all shades, from brown to green to red, and everything in between. In Germany the Greens have become so popular that during the next elections they may catch up to 30 % of the votes.

Question is: What will they do when they come to real power, when they are in Government, confronted with the interests of big business? Will they bend over, cave in – as did the Socialist parties throughout Europe during the last half of the 20th Century? Today, one has to be green to belong.

Who is green, (pretends) fighting for the environment, for the protection of the environment – which is good, per se. But fighting for the environment is not a linear affair, as they, the LGWMs, are made to believe – and many of them believe, as “science” tells them to believe. When they believe, they create a comfort zone for themselves, where guilt disappears. They don’t question anymore. THE authority, called “science”, tells them the “facts” to believe. And if they do, they are almost absolved from guilt.

Almost – because to be really absolved in our western ultra-capitalist world, only money can really absolve you. So, they – or we, collectively, whether we believe in the propaganda or not (fortunately some of us don’t), will be asked to pay – to pay environmental fees and taxes of all kinds and shapes. To be more attractive they may be called ‘climate taxes’ – for using fossil fuel, for buying plastic, for flying in airplanes, for consuming no end – and-so-on. Hardly anybody asks what will be done with this new tax money.

As it cannot stop climate from changing, it will most likely end up in private banks, mostly Wall Street banks, where the billons collected will grow into speculative multi-trillions-dollar bubbles. And we know what eventually happens with bubbles. We all remember the Carbon Funds – which apparently are not dead yet, but will rather be resuscitated in this new fervor to fight climate change.

Stamped by our western Judeo-Christian guilt culture, we truly believe from the bottom of our hearts that paying a climate tax will free us from environmental responsibilities and put us back into our comfort zones. We then comfortably and guiltlessly continue driving our huge gas guzzling, CO2-emitting SUVs. That’s why the corporate manipulators – BIG-BIG money and their media tells us every day, the Climate Armageddon is coming. So, we pay, to postpone it.

It was coming already at the first UN-sponsored Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) of 1992 which was extended to the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, an international treaty that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on scientific consensus that

(1) global warming is occurring and (2) it is extremely likely that human-made CO2 emissions have predominantly caused it. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997, by 192 nations. The Protocol entered into force on 16 February 2005.

But despite all the warnings of Armageddon, nothing has happened. Even if mankind was responsible for the CO2 production that changes climate – mankind, or rather the LGWMs have ignored it. Climate Armageddon is still written all over the walls. But it moves from wall to wall, further into the future, as nobody seems to be interested in preventing it. After Kyoto followed Copenhagen, the next UN-sponsored Climate Change Conference, also called the Copenhagen Summit, in December 2009. Similar discourse, and new targets were set and propagated; billions of dollars were pledged by governments – but few paid-in, mostly because already then it was not quite clear who should administer the funds and who should invest in what and where to stop the climate from changing. Copenhagen also coined the 350-slogan. It stands for 350 ppm (parts per million) of carbon dioxide (CO2) which has been identified as the safe upper limit to avoid a climate tipping point. As of today, there is a climate NGO called 350.org.

In 2019, CO2 is expected to pass the 410-ppm level. 

As per the New Scientist (25 January 2019), Carbon dioxide levels will soar past the 410 ppm milestone in 2019. We will pass yet another unwelcome milestone this year. The average concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is likely to rise by 2.8 parts per million to 411 ppm in 2019 – passing 410 ppm just a few years after first passing the 400 ppm mark.

No stopping of climate change is happening – and Armageddon is moving on. What this climate movement doesn’t seem to understand, or those that manage it do not want the world to know that climate is a complex structure of ever shifting values and natural phenomena; that climate is influenced by many factors which are all inter-related and orders of magnitude more important than what man can ever contribute.

There is the sun with its constantly changing eruptions and radiation emissions, perhaps the most important influence; then the oceans, while they absorb CO2, they also emit CO2 – and most important according to a 30-year NASA study  the oceans themselves change temperatures in natural intervals of roughly ten years, which is called El Niño in the Pacific and the Nrth Atlantic Oscillation in the Atlantic. They are responsible for large-scale weather patterns, also orders of magnitude larger than what man could ever create. In addition, there are the volcanos around the world, many of which are active. A massive eruption of one of them, i.e. Iceland, the Philippines, Italy, Hawaii – may produce a multiple of CO2 levels of what man produces in one year.

And we should also be aware of what is not much talked about, that the US Air Force, the US Navy, the University of Alaska and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), have developed since the sixties a weather control-program that functions with electromagnetic waves emitted in the Ionosphere, altering ionospheric temperatures to create specific weather patterns. The intention is to weaponize the weather so as to control entire regions by weather, floods, droughts, hurricanes… you name it.

Weather warfare has a long history; Earlier technologies were applied during the Vietnam war, when it was capable to prolong and enhance the Monsoon season, so as to make the paths the Vietcong used to transit from the North to the South were made impassable. That is really man-made. The program used to be called HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) and was stationed in Alaska. It has now nominally been dismantled, but continuous more clandestinely to be sophisticated enough, to allow the US to control the world’s weather by 2030, according to the Pentagon.

Talking about military and climate – the wars and conflicts mostly inspired by the US and carried out by the Pentagon, NATO or their mercenary proxies, cause more than half of the man-made CO2 emissions. This is a fact that may never be discussed in these UN-sponsored climate conferences – a strict rule imposed by Washington.

These are just a few climate-influencing elements, the composite of which is much larger than each one acting linearly on its own, because they are all inter-related, they are all acting holistically and dynamically – in other words, not predictably – and with a power orders of magnitude larger than CO2 by itself, let alone man-made CO2 which is but a tiny fraction of all greenhouse gases produced by nature. And these ever-occurring climate changes, are well controlled by nature, as NASA’s Earth Observatory found out by studying the oceans for over 30 years. They are kept in balance by our Mother Earth, no matter how much we would like to influence them.

Notice this: We are today threatened by nuclear war, a nuclear war that could wipe out mankind within a few days – yet we talk and demonstrate for climate change prevention, mand-made CO2 reduction. Public Icon, the Swedish teenager, Greta, and her followers, the Friday for the Future kids and those that call themselves “Extinction Rebellion”, took to the streets in so-called climate strikes by the hundreds of thousands throughout the world.

Seriously, imagine – the use of CO2 producing fossil fuel and an industrial agriculture infesting the atmosphere with greenhouse gases, the engine for 90% of the world’s economy – and let’s not forget the CO2 produced by wars and hostilities around the globe – all of which is also the engine for huge corporate profits! – Does anyone seriously believe that hundreds of thousands, or even millions, demonstrating against climate change – will have an iota of influence on corporate behavior and profit oriented growth policies?

These kids – the LGWMs – are dreaming. Most of them anyway. Some of their leaders are directed by the same corporations they pretend to fight and to demonstrate against. Generally, the LGWM movement doesn’t have a clear agenda, other than talking loosely and abstractly about CO2 reduction. But they don’t really know how to go about it and what this means, what steps need to be taken and by whom, what implications and consequences this would have for our today’s civilization and every-day life, yes, theirs too, the climate kids’ every-day life. Thy have no program of what has to change; they just believe the change has to come from ‘outside’, i.e. the politicians.

No idea either that these same politicians are captured by the same industrial, financial and specifically the war industrial complex and that this highly capitalist money-making machinery also commands the propaganda apparatus on which they drive and thrive.

These climate folks managed to organize a special UN Climate event preceding the 2019 UN General Assembly, during which the most powerful and obnoxious representatives of nations and heads of states, notably of the US of A, talked aggression no end to those countries that do not bend to their orders and do not want to submit their people and natural resources for exploitation and profit of the western elite. In the special firing line are the usual condemned and sanctioned – but almost the only true sovereign countries left on this globe – Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, North Korea – and of course Russia and China.

Instead of seeking peace, the essence of the UN Charter, the UN has become a forum for war declarations and climate change. If ever man wants to make a true contribution to climate change – it can only be done by PEACE, through peaceful cooperation and solidarity among nations across the globe.

The LGWM movement has to wake up to a reality which is not propaganda based and has to do with our behavior, with our entire attitude, with our socioeconomic system – with a turbo-capitalist system that is growth based with ever larger profit margins. The system to survive has to expand every day, every year – it induces extreme consumerism, thrives on fashion trends – and on generation of massive waste, most of which is not biodegradable, but accumulates and – yes, influences our ambiance, living conditions – and eventually being part of a holistic world, also influences the climate.

We are living in a throw-away society, driven by an industrial apparatus that uses obsolescence as a tool for consumerism and growth, to generate more profit, no matter how much more non-renewable resources will have to be sacrificed and wasted – ending up as waste, rotting away, polluting the air we breathe, the soil we use to grow our food and the water – the all-important water, without which no life is possible.

To slow down and eventually stop the rapid decline of our existence on this lovely and generous planet, we ALL have to contribute in solidarity to PEACE. A life in peace is a sine qua non for improving our planets environment – and thereby our sheer living conditions, quality of life – and foremost to bring about more societal equality, less poverty a better distribution of wealth. All of this requires a massive awakening, an awakening towards a consciousness that is immune to egocentricity to fake propaganda – that is 180 degrees opposite to the current selfie-culture.

In the 1950s, I’m old enough to remember, we wrote letters to our friends and relatives, shopped in corner grocery stores, bought beverages in recycled glass bottles, filled our staple food from bulk containers into recycled paper bags, and wrapped fresh vegetables into newspapers (not plastic), went to public phone booths to call our girlfriends, walked, or biked to school, and if at all, our parents had small cars, no SUVs, prepared our sandwiches for school, used the same cloths for years, talked with each other eye-to-eye, enjoyed nature.

Today, nature is the same in the city or the countryside, because we stumble through nature wherever we go watching the little screen of an obsolescence disposable smartphone, with which we chat, smile and also make some phone calls. Then, in the post WWII fifties, our lives were more modest and happier. Then, we consumed less than what Mother Earth could sustainably provide us with. In the 1960s we started exceeded that threshold. Today, we, in the west, use three to four times what nature can give us (Africa about 0.6) – and that for sure will not go on forever.

Perhaps we have to think about jumping forward to a life style of the fifties and that consciously and conscientiously – and we won’t have to worry about 350-ppm CO2 as the limit for sustainable climate, because it will happen naturally and climate change will continue to happen naturally, as it always did for 4 billion years of our planet’s existence – and never bothered us. And most importantly, we have to learn to consciously remind ourselves that we are a solidary peaceful society, and we have to consciously disconnect from MSM, turn off our ears to the ever blaring and lying media propaganda lyrics. Consciousness is our integrity and base for social cohesiveness.

[weareigloo219]

DUBAI SMART CITY AND THE DIGITAL INDUSTRY

It’s amazing how science and technology have come into the picture with a wave of revolution that was unimaginable just a few years ago. The world seemed like it had reached its peak of inventions when the mobile phone was discovered in the past century and later on the computer. Right now as we view into the future, it’s outstanding just picturing all the possibilities that could be brought about by the vast internet of things. There is nowhere better to view this 21st Century revolution than in Dubai.

Dubai Smart City stemmed from His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum who had the vision to transform and fully technologize Dubai by 2021. The vision is well on course even as the city plans to host 25 million visitors worldwide in the Expo 2020 Dubai. The plan is to ensure that by the time the globe realizes the 2030 vision, Dubai will be well ahead and above the rest of the cream. It’s not a competition, however; it’s a developmental vision that every citizen of Dubai should associate her/himself with. Now without further ado, let’s have a look at the Dubai Smart City and all it means to us as a people.

Introducing Dubai Smart City

Take a moment of silence and picture this: you wake up one morning when you’re supposed to travel outside the country, but sadly your daughter has acquired some illness that has her bedridden. You cannot cancel your flight, but you also need to give attention to your child who always comes first to you. So you prepare the both of you, and you decide to take her to the hospital as your wife tags along. At the hospital, you find no lines at all and you are immediately welcomed by the doctor who accesses all her medical files at the touch of a button! Phew, that must have been a relief – at least there are lesser questions by the medical attendant since the medical history almost says it all.

At the hospital, it takes less than 20 minutes for you guys to be served and she’s already smiling as you’re coming out of the hospital; it seems the injection actually worked! All she has to do is finish up with her dosage. You are pleased since you experienced no traffic on your way to the hospital and also absolutely none as you’re headed to the port. Your flight is due in 30 minutes and it takes you just about 15 to reach the airport. As you bid your family farewell and hand over the car keys to your wife, you check your watch and realize you still have 11 minutes.

You leisurely walk into the airport, get searched as you hand over your documents and walk straight into your plane. Jeez, that was fast! No lines at the waiting bay and you still have 4 extra minutes to settle down on your seat as you get acquainted with the change of setting. Alas, it’s departure time!

This is what Dubai Smart City is all about – a comfortable convenience that will save on so much time and money too. Talk about less congested and safer roads, faster service delivery, quicker access to data, improved infrastructure generally and even a seamless end-to-end connectivity among so many more.

The vision here is simple, sophisticated and very much attainable – we seek to make Dubai the happiest city on earth. Well, if you’ve traveled around the world, you might conclude that there are happier places to be, but come on! Which place in this galaxy can you really compare to home? Dubai Smart City seeks to be recognized worldwide as not only benefitting from the deeply invested technological hub but also prove that the systems are workable and benefitting everyone from every sector. This includes the government as well as the general public.

Impact of the Vision

Who is set to benefit most as a result of a technologized Dubai City? Well, the vision broadly classifies the impact of the 2021 Dubai Smart City on three particular areas:

The Customer Impact: The Happiness Agenda was primarily formulated to benefit the Dubai consumer. Everyone will be classified as either a producer or a consumer in the city – the producers also get to purchase services. Since the consumer is the one driving the economy, it’s only fair to implement goals that will transform their lives. So, be it the government, businesses or even private individuals who are in need of services, the impact falls squarely on them.

Social media agency

The Financial Impact: Who said going through a technological revolutionary phase has to be costly? After analyzing the economic costs it would take to achieve ultimate happiness, the 2021 strategy formulated simpler, cost-effective ways to achieve all the goals. This creates a financial benefit the city at large as there will be numerous financial saves while still realizing complex digital innovations which will tantamount to further future expenditure cuts.

Resource & Infrastructure Impact: At what costs to the environment, in general, are we likely to incur as we pursue our digital transformation? Well, again, a course has been chartered that will ensure the city environment is fully supported and sustained as we fully dive into this inevitable digital transformation.

The belief with the visionaries is that all the above three areas mentioned above will be positively impacted even as we harness the technology to realize a digital industry in Dubai.

Assessing the Objectives of Smart Dubai 2021

Dubai smart city web marketing

It might seem impossible to attain a 95% happiness level by 2021 but residents of Dubai are already seeing the vision becoming a reality. It’s important to comprehend exactly what we intend to achieve to reach this level of happiness. Having created objectives for the Dubai Smart City project has made it much easier for individuals and businesses to attach themselves to the vision. It’s also made the government better placed to work towards the end goals.

Living the Smart Way

Some cities in different parts of the world have already come up with strong connected Wi-Fi systems that surround such cities enabling dwellers to be connected to the internet 24/7-365. This, however, fails to beat any logic if such systems are not trusted. The rise in cyber-attacks have continually made people on the edge and more afraid to share their data. This is where Smart Dubai City comes in.

Not only does the project seek to provide all-day-long internet connectivity to users but it also aims at eliminating such threats that would cause panic and mistrust. Not only will mobile phones be connected to the internet but also other devices and systems to enable real-time tracking and updates to thus faster service delivery. Such systems include drainage systems, sewage, energy, water, buildings, waste distribution networks, roads among many more. In the case of impediments arising in a certain location, it would be much easier to track the source as well as offer direct assistance and repairs.

Residents will also be better equipped as they will get a chance to monitor all their resource consumption making it way easier to educate the users and have them lower their consumption. They will do so willingly in a bid to save their city resources, therefore a more conscious consumer in the Dubai Smart City project.

It doesn’t end there: city planning and coordination will be much easier with real-time logistics and statistics. City authorities will have much easier time allocating such resources as land, water, electricity and the likes. A new legislature will be set up to oversee these technologies. Corporate lawyers in Dubai are ready to adapt to these changes.

A technologized Dubai will also mean a more prepared Dubai in times of natural calamities, adverse climate change as well as other man-made disasters. This will, however, call for unified teamwork between residents and authorities.

Globally Competitive Economy

The project has to obviously touch on transforming the financial systems for it to make any economic sense. Simple applications from the digital transformations will have the Dubai’s economy competing favorably with other top world economies. Not only will the government benefit from increased revenues but also from a more participative private sector.

To reach here, the project has foreseen simplified regulations in businesses due to more credible forms of transactions, easily accessible services to the general public which will be supported through accelerators and incubators. Immaculate and reliable digital services will make it much easier for entrepreneurs to embark on different ventures without much hassle. Since this will attract more human personnel into the city, the project also identifies plans on how to train and enhance the skills of both the public and private sectors to empower them in realizing their dreams and aspirations.

Eliminate Digital Benightedness

Logic dictates that we can’t have a Smart Dubai City without first having smart people. Currently, the bigger percentage of Dubai residents is well vast with simple digital processes as a result of the already digitized state of the city. Nonetheless, further digital literacy will be necessary if occupants are to benefit from the rapid technological developments that are taking over the city. For instance, they should be able to book healthcare services online, access educational services such as school registration and payment of fees online among other services.

Once the city dwellers are empowered with such knowledge and know-how, we can only foresee an efficiently, irreproachable and a strong social community aggrandized by digital services. This will result in happier social experiences in the widely culturally diversified Dubai Smart City society.

How About Transport Systems?

Have you been lucky enough to see a self-driven car at this day and age or have you only seen that in movies and cinemas? Now, imagine a system of cars which can self-drive and also communicate with other cars. The communication through sensor technology among other systems will act to prevent accidents from occurring. No more need to put our reliance on the errs of man that have caused hundreds of millions of deaths over the years.

There will also be a lesser congestion on roads as mobility improves which will save on time. The ratio of usage of public transport will also rise in an attempt to eliminate extra cars on the roads. Smart traffic lights, smart tolls as well as smart parking will all contribute to a speedier mobility system allowing people to reach their destinations faster and safer with nothing but joy.

Since the 2021 Smart Dubai City project is making a move towards a digital industry Dubai, we are likely to have more people making lesser travels to attend meetings which can be held online. Video conferencing will have fewer people on the roads which also counts as a time saver and cost-efficient.

A Move to a Smart Environment

Happiness might be completely subjective but one cannot claim to be in a happy state when constantly attacked with sicknesses. In other quarters, people’s standards of living will determine just how happy they are. If such a people are living in a degraded environment, then it doesn’t matter how technologized the place is – happiness is quite unattainable on the larger scale.

The digital transformation is to foresee cleaner resources being employed, lower pollution on the environment as well as lower emissions. Modifications are being applied to modern day buildings to reduce cases of GHG emissions. Emissions of electromagnetic radiations and ambient noise will also be checked through established action plans to ensure safer limits. There is also a move towards an enhanced use of solar energy to boost renewable energy. On top of all that, there are electric and hybrid cars which are currently being tested and perfected to ensure a smarter, eco-friendlier Dubai City.

A Digital Government

Not only will the government take part in constituting these changes but also will be embracing such changes in its course of operation. All government services will be cashless as well as paperless to quash the need to make visits to government offices. Imagine accessing all the services you want at the comfort of your backyard as you chill out with your family! Fun, right?

Citizens are also able to contribute and access all government proceedings online thus enhanced accountability. Through the eSuggest and eComplain sites, they are able to effect changes in their administration on a unified front.

Procurement opportunities will be made available to SMEs online with invoices and payments done digitally. How about that for sleek convenience!

Fast Paced Technologies

dubai new technologies marketing

Now that we understand the objectives behind His Excellency’s vision of a happy Dubai, it’s important to take a look too at how the different technologies are being innovated, invented and applied to lead to a digital industry Dubai. Here, we’ll have a look at how digital marketing in Dubai, social media and other technologies are set to change the present and metamorphose the future.

The journey began in 1999 when the first ICT strategy was announced. Later on, the Dubai Internet City would be launched followed by Dubai e-Government and the rest is present history. At this very minute, Dubai can boast of being the most technologized city in the region with the application of IoT increasing by the day.

Social Media

About 95% of the population has access to social media and it’s even being used as a measure of happiness. Most businesses and advertising are also done online as organizations endeavor to make a breakthrough in the unlimited online market. With the improved Wi-Fi connectivity in the city, one cannot skip the chance of missing out on recent developments online.

Businesses which market themselves properly have a competitive advantage in the online market. It’s also cost-effective to SMEs which don’t have to incur outrageous advertising costs on TVs, radios and the like, which was the case a few years back. Social media marketing Dubai means consumers are also more educated and ready to speak out against shunned brands thus better knowledge on the part of the buyer.

SEO Marketing

Digital marketing Dubai is seeing more and more consumers reaching out to Google for answers. The answers could be searches for products, quick fixes or simply basic information that might be unknown to them. This is where Search Engine Optimization comes in. Business websites are coming up with articles based on frequently searched words as they strive to drive traffic to their sites.

Businesses that do so in the right ways end up generating a considerable flow of online users seeking basic answers to life’s questions. This gives the organization a propitious opportunity to market and sell their product or service and even maintain a loyal set of clients. It also takes your business to the nextlevel as it boosts your brand credibility. Remember people trust Google – make them trust Google t

hrough you.

E-Commerce

Since everyone is buying online, everyone is also making payments online with a general acceptance now as compared to before. A lot of individuals were skeptical about using online forms of payments a few years ago. Currently, trends indicate a move to digital coins which are much safer and require no middlemen. E-commerce is also set to benefit through customization which enables buyers to go deeper in terms of elaborating the details of the product they are in need of. Another technology will develop this trend, 3D printing services in Dubai will a game changer for e-commerce platforms. For instance, a customer buying a shoe will be able to choose the right shoe fit, size, type, and color among other options.

This hefty reliance on online buying options has seen businesses making more sales and even other businesses popping up to offer delivery services. Not only that: customer retention is at a higher level for most businesses that manage to sell it successfully to their esteemed clients. Gargantuan data aggregation and different shopping algorithms have even made it possible for shoppers to receive pinpointed recommendations during their shopping experience. Not only does this increase the business sales, but it also enhances the business ratings in the eyes of the buyer.

Dubai Blockchain Strategy

Blockchain Strategy is probably the biggest invention – not only for Dubai but to the world in general. This would be better explained from the bitcoin point of view. Picture a system of transaction, payments and processes which isn’t in the control of one single person. A system where data uploaded cannot be reversed since it’s in the hand of the ‘system’ in general. A structure which no one person can manipulate the data once uploaded since all of it is decentralized rather than in a single location!

The blockchain technology is already in effect in Dubai Smart City and will soon be ingratiated into every system making fraud a new vocabulary. An example is seen where a writer uploads content online using blockchain technology and doesn’t have to worry about marketing or copyrights since the technology does that for him. Anyone accessing the writer’s data will be charged a small fraction enabling the artist to make a decent living as they continue with their day to day lives. Isn’t that amazing!

The applications of blockchain technology can be seen in every sector since data is created in every sphere. Blockchain will ensure there is no manipulation, duplication or even theft of information and comes in to protect the user’s data. Considering that data is a $300 billion industry, businesses can only embrace the safe technology to be on the impregnable side of things.

Dubai, What Next?

As we reach the end of our discussion, we should give much thought to the impact of a digital industry Dubai. Sure, we can talk about it all day, but are we really ready for all these changes? The Dubai Smart City can only fully be achieved by input from each of us: we all have a role to play to make this dream a reality. Businesses would do well to start implementing some of these methods earlier on in advance. This will call for an overall upgrade of employee skills as well as changing their mentality. Basic forms of artificial intelligence could go a long way to change your brand’s image and have you ranked higher. Since the future is inevitable, we can only walk towards it with self-assurance and a positive mentality.

[crimsonsonnet]

Always

The year is 2037. You turn forty this year. Holograms are now a normal thing, which is pretty cool. And don’t even get me started on the number of Disney remakes.

But something in you heart just doesn’t feel quite full. You have a wonderful life- a great job you don’t mind doing, well-behaved children, and a partner who is equally satisfied with their life.

And yet, there’s a place inside you that won’t sit right.

This dull craving takes you, in your hovering, radiation-safe car, to a less developed part of town, one still at least ten to fifteen years behind where you live now.

Your fifteen year old daughter asks where you are, but you don’t answer. Instead, you gaze around, and take in the small piece of what you grew up with. They never knew life like the seemingly post-modern world outside your new, technologically advanced machine.

Mature eyes, alight with ghosts of the past, search through the signs on stores that run along the eroded, cracked asphalt of years gone by. Until one title catches those intense orbs, and they soften with memories and fondness.

Half Price Books.

You turn into the near empty parking lot. An older model of your hover car- a 2030 Honda Blaize to your 2035 Honda Uranium Z- sits with two cars that still have tires. Gods, you thought they’d all been left to be forgotten, much like this part of town.

Heartbeat quickening, you usher your groaning teenagers into the store. Your eighteen year old son is quick to turn on him music, the small black dots blocking his ear canals giving off the faint sound of techno-dubstep. The thought of such a monstrosity being called ‘popular music’ makes you want to shudder and maybe wretch. But you can’t focus on that right now. You daughter at least has the grace to look around thoughtfully, ever the curious one.

Slowly, you walk around, as if in a dream. You don’t see the wizened clerk behind the counter as he recognizes the look on your face, and gives a small smile to no one in particular. You’re too far gone into the recesses of your mind, to that empty place in your chest that shivers and takes a deep, rejuvenating breath and suddenly demands more.

You find yourself in a section labelled “Teen/Young Adult”. Books of all colors neatly line the shelves, and your eyes devour the titles as your heart begins to replay all sorts of scenes that have been long forgotten and untouched in that vault of memories you keep so well shut.

The awe of first arriving in the Dining Hall of Hogwarts as candles and stars light up the night sky and the idle chatter of excited students fills the Hall. Adrenaline rushes through you as you face Zeus and the other Gods of Olympus with the other demigods flanking you. You can’t help but smell the rain on the dirt and grass as the words, “And so the lion fell in love with the lamb.” echo through you. Dwarves and a single hobbit rush by you, shouting to each other, and a horde of goblins follows in hot pursuit. A golden ring with flaming script engraved into it glimmering on your finger briefly before the next scene takes your breath away with the thrill of sex with both vampire and shifter, the hot musk heavy on your tongue and the ghost of pleasure sending a slight shiver up your spine. You hear the distant noise of a brawl before a pink haired young man lands at your feet. He quickly scrambles to stand and is about to leap back into the fray when he notices you staring at him in wonder. He gives you his signature grin, adjusts the dragonscale scarf around his neck, and dives into the chaos you cannot see, the flames on his body dimming as you find yourself standing in a hospital room, watching Hazel and Augustus laugh together. No, you’re too caught up in this whirlwind of nostalgia, and don’t care how fast the memories are coming back. You don’t see your children watching you with worry etched so deeply into their faces at the sight of you lost in your thoughts and crying rivers, nor do you see the old man who merely holds a finger to his lips when he catches their gazes. Instead, you see Clary as she fights yet another unseen enemy, body glowing with runes. She slowly morphs into a young woman with her hair braided over one shoulder, arrow notched and bow drawn. But before she can let that arrow fly, she’s swallowed by the hundreds of demigod teens as they charge into battle against an ancient foe you remember all too well. A beat later, and a familiar orange-clad ninja with spiky golden hair rushes past in an aura of power, face set with determination. He vanishes, and a large lion slowly pads forward from where he disappeared, two girls and two boys following him with their heads held high.

And amidst the laughs, the adventure, the war cries, the tears, the bravery, the magic, the anger, and the reminiscence, you blink.

Just once.

But it’s enough to take all of it away. You stand in the middle of the area of booked shelves, saltine tears continue to pour from your eyes. You lift your trembling hands and try to wipe them away, but it doesn’t work. They keep coming.

“Are you alright, Mom?” your son inquires, full of concern and caution.

You turn to them, sniffling to try in vain to open your stuffy nose. “Y-yeah… I mean, yes, I’m fine.” you assure them in a shaky voice. You force yourself to take deep breaths, and without thinking grab every book you recall from your teen years. Your heart is now whole in a way you never thought was even empty in the first place. Everything feels… complete.

Setting the stacks of books before the clerk, your face has changed from one of woeful remembrance to one of fierce determination. For what, you could not, and never would be able, to answer.

The old man gives a gentle, knowing smile. He scans them without a word, and after you pay, he goes to hand them to you and asks, “After all this time?”

You don’t hesitate to meet his intelligent blue eyes as you answer strongly, “Always.”

[thessalian]

Thess vs 2020

Happy New Year from the future.

I’ll be honest. I am not feeling it this year. Everyone around me is doing the “2020 WILL BE AWESOME I GUARANTEE IT!” thing and...

Well. I live here. In the Not-So-United-Anymore-Kingdom. With Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, a significant Conservative majority in Parliament, him already playing so fast and loose with the rules that it’s absolutely obscene, no written constitution to actually stop him, and not enough votes to rein him in through Parliamentary action. His manifesto reads like the worst Trumpian nightmare and he’s unlawfully filling even the Lords with yes-men. And we’re leaving the EU at the end of the month. It’s already bad. It’s going to get worse. I cannot truly celebrate the coming decade when it looks like this.

I will always look for the reasons to be cheerful. There are some good things about the upcoming year. Just ... they are small and personal things and right now they’re not “Things Will Get Better” for me. They’re “These Will Keep You Alive When All Seems Hopeless”. Clinical depression is never cured, and I’m going to need those touchstones more than ever if I want to survive to see 2021, never mind 2030.

So here’s to my D&D group. My friends around the world. Here’s to all we’ve survived, all we will continue to survive, and everything that makes survival worth it. Here’s to each and every one of us who try, in our own ways, to bring a little bit of light into a dark place. Take your joys where you can find them, and never let anyone take them away from you.

(Unless your joys involve racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, aphobia, biphobia, ableism, antisemitism, or in fact any kind of bigotry whatsoever. Also, if you’re any of those things - get the hell off my blog. I have enough of that shit all around me and I don’t want it here. Shoo. Shoo.)

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this Vox article, written by David Roberts:

One of the most heated and interesting debates in the energy world today has to do with how far the US can get on carbon-free renewable energy alone.

One faction believes that renewables can supply 100 percent of US energy, with sufficient help from cheap energy storage and savvy management of demand.

Another faction believes that renewables will ultimately fall short and need assistance from nuclear power and natural gas or biomass with carbon capture and storage.

This war is largely being waged behind the scenes in competing academic papers, but it is highly relevant to current events as a whole host of states and cities are passing laws targeting “100 percent clean energy.” Some, like Hawaii, specifically target 100 percent renewables. Some, like Washington state, target 100 percent “clean,” allowing room for non-renewable sources.

Which target is more realistic and prudent? Just how far can renewables get?

At the heart of the debate is the simple fact that the two biggest sources of renewable energy — wind and solar power — are “variable.” They come and go with the weather and time of day. They are not “dispatchable,” which means they cannot be turned on and off, or up and down, according to the grid’s needs. They don’t adjust to the grid; the grid adjusts to them.

That means a grid with lots of renewables needs lots of flexibility, lots of different ways of smoothing and balancing out the fluctuations in wind and solar. When people predict that renewables will fall short of 100 percent, what they are predicting is that we won’t be able to find enough flexibility to accommodate them (at least not fast enough). They will require “firming” by dispatchable, nonrenewable sources.

There are many sources of grid flexibility, but the one that seems to have the most potential and is laden with the highest hopes is energy storage. To a first approximation, the question of whether renewables will be able to get to 100 percent reduces to the question of whether storage will get cheap enough. With cheap-enough storage, we can add a ton of it to the grid and absorb just about any fluctuations.

But how cheap is cheap enough?

That question is the subject of a fascinating new bit of research out of an MIT lab run by researcher Jessika Trancik (I’ve written about Trancik’s work before), just released in the journal Joule.

To spoil the ending: The answer is $20 per kilowatt hour in energy capacity costs. That’s how cheap storage would have to get for renewables to get to 100 percent. That’s around a 90 percent drop from today’s costs. While that is entirely within the realm of the possible, there is wide disagreement over when it might happen; few expect it by 2030.

However, there are twists and turns to this tale, and a happier ending than that summary might indicate. Let’s take a closer look.

[citizensclub]

What is the urgency of spending time and money on Space programs and military equipments while our planet is on the brink of devastation and the life of its inhabitants is at stake

Scientists have been sounding the alarm for decades but the message doesn’t seem to reach most governments who keep subsidizing the oil industry with $billions each year. In Canada, the minister of environment even suggests  that green energy organizations go and  get their own funding in the private sector. Climate change is definetely not a priority for politicians despite all the warning signs of Mother Nature.

IN THE NAME OF PROGRESS AND BECAUSE OF CORPORATE GREED WE HAVE TRANSFORMED OUR INDUSTRIES IN  WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION KILLING MILLIONS OF PEOPLE EACH YEAR AND  CAUSING THE LOSS OF HALF THE GLOBAL WILDLIFE BETWEEN 1970 TO 2010. “WE’RE GRADUALLY DESTROYING OUR PLANET’S ABILITY TO SUPPORT OUR WAY OF LIFE” (CARTER ROBERTS CEO WWF)    Climate  is changing at such an accelerated rate that some wildlife species cannot adapt fast enough and are struggling to survive, it is the case of  polar bears.

 This picture is a message from the youth of  the world to the political class that sounds like a desperate call

It seems that COP 24 in Kawotice, Poland,  like the others before, was only a social gathering where nothing is decided between the 200 nations attending. It’s no surprise, as since the 1rst COP in Berlin in 1995, the level of greenhouse gas (GHG) increased by 55% with 2.7% in 2018 only. For the past 24 years no government took action to reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions except Norway, with a population of 5.3 millions, who recently set some target for 2025.  

It is crystal clear that  powerful lobbys of  the oil industry, defense contractors and the military are in full control of our governments for their own benefit preventing funding to climate change  projects. The world desperately need that money and the manpower to curb global warming responsible for the calamities of nature before we reach a point of no return set at 2030 by the scientific community.

We have to initiate a rapid transition globally before disaster hits us right in the face and stop the ongoing war game between rich countries who are getting ready for a conflict that will never happen.

Of course, there is a solution, the only thing missing is the political willpower. Rich countries are actually using $1.7 Trillion of taxpayers’ money on weapons of mass destruction and fancy toys that eventually will kill those who paid for all that stuff. 

LET’S USE WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE TO SAVE AND CLEAN THIS PLANET.

- The military is trained to fight the enemy whoever it is        This time the enemy is climate change. The military is often called on rescue missions and when disaster strikes. When soldiers will come back from climate change missions it will be on their two feet with no PTSD or in a military casket.

- The defense contractors design and build weapons of mass destruction and fancy equipments to destroy entire cities that will take years to rebuild. From now on they will design and build equipments that will clean all the mess man has done and create a clean environment that will save life.

- If the oil industry was able to eliminate lead in the gasoline, their chemists should be able to introduce an additive that eliminate carbon dioxide emission at the exhaust pipe. For the past 24 years nothing was done to reduce GHG emissions on Earth and its time that those who are part of the problem be also part of the solution.

I am 75 years old and I won’t be there to endure all the mess my generation is leaving to our children and grandchildren. The problem is that the only time  politicians want to hear our voice and support is during an election. From now on , let’s make sure they  hear from all of us every day until  all governments declare war on climate change.

P. Laberge                                                                                                        pierrelaberge066@gmail.com                                                                         514-337-7668                                                                                              CANADA

[acti-veg]

“Veganism is not sustainable.”

This is a point which is primarily raised by those who acknowledge the strength of the moral argument for vegansim, but want to insist that despite the cruelty inherent in animal agriculture industries, it would not be sustainable for the world to go vegan. This assertion is demonstrably false, and a little research into any of the positions of reputable environmental organisations and environmental reports is enough to discount it entirely. 

 The first issue with this argument is that it is critical of a change in our lifestyles on the basis that it would not be sustainable, but ignores the fact that what we are doing now is completely unsustainable. Animal agriculture is responsible for roughly 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions; cows alone produce 150 billion gallons of methane per day, with a global warming potential 86 times that of CO2 on a 20 year time frame. Livestock is also responsible for 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide, which stays in the atmosphere for approximately 150 years. All of this means that even if we cut all other CO2e emissions to zero immediately, we would still exceed our 565 gigatonnes limit by 2030, solely from raising animals for food. That isn’t even accounting for the vast swathes of rainforest cut down to make room for animal feed and grazing land for cattle. This, and the systematic destruction of wild species by farmers, ranchers and animal agriculture corporations contributes towards animal agriculture being one of the biggest contributors to global species extinction.

When people talk about sustainability, they don’t always mean global emissions, but our ability to feed our population with the land and resources that we have. In  terms of land use, a full 1/3 of the planet’s land surface and 2/3 of available agricultural land is used for farming animals. If we look at cows, for example, it takes 12 pounds of grain to make one pound of beef.  Chicken meat production consumes energy in a 4:1 ratio to protein output; beef cattle 54:1, lamb 50:1, pork 17:1, turkey 13:1 and milk 17:1, according to the ecologist’s analysis of U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics. This means that if we took a 2.5 acre piece of farmland the number of people whose food energy needs can be met by this land would be 23 people if producing cabbage, 22 for potatoes, 19 for rice, 17 for corn, 15 for wheat, 2 for chicken, and just 1 for eggs and beef. The USA is a stark example, though the population is approximately 321.1 million, the amount of grain fed to US livestock alone would be enough to feed 840 million people who follow a plant based diet.

As for the sustainability of water use, water consumption ranges from 34-76 trillion gallons annually. Approximately a fifth of that water consumption is from animal agriculture alone. It has been conclusively demonstrated that the water footprint of any animal product is larger than the water footprint of a wisely chosen crop product with equivalent nutritional value. To demonstrate this, 1L of soya milk has a water footprint of about 300 L, whereas the water footprint of 1L of cow’s milk from the same country is more than three times bigger. The water footprint of a 150g soya burger produced in the Netherlands appears to be about 160L, while the water footprint of an average 150-g beef burger is nearly fifteen times bigger. Almond milk is often criticised for how water intensive it is, but even in California, where 90% of the world’s almond’s come from, only 10% of the state’s water use goes to almonds, whereas meat dairy alone account for a massive 47%.

There are of course environmental issues with the growing of crops to feed humans, nevertheless, it is undeniable that the meat-based food system requires more energy, land, and water resources than a vegan diet does. Pointing towards unsustainable crop farming as a way of dissuading people from moving away from the current system and towards plant based diets makes very little sense, since our current system is far worse than the alternative being offered. It is for these reasons and many others that even the UN has urged a global shift towards a meat and dairy-free diet. Far from being unsustainable, it is thought that a global shift away from animal products is essential to curb the worst effects of climate change. 

If the world moved away from animal agriculture, not only would we be able to feed more people with less energy, less crops, less water and less animal suffering; but we could also save approximately 8.1 million humans lives in the process. We could free up energy reserves, increase our food security, re-wild land deforested for animal grazing and create new national parks and protected land. With the money saved from treating the health issues associated with our excessive consumption of animals we could fund urban farming programs, eliminate food deserts and comfortably feed everyone in the process. Taking tax subsidies away from animal products and instead subsidising plant based foods would mean that everyone would have access to cheap, accessible and healthy food, and farmers would be able to make a living from growing crops alone while paying their employees a decent wage. 

Those who claim that a vegan world is unsustainable resort to this argument simply because they can offer no defence of the status quo beyond trying to convince people that things cannot be any other way. But our dependence on animal products is not some law of nature, and our fast-food, factory farm driven food system hasn’t always existed, and doesn’t always have to. A well-fed world doesn’t have to come at the cost of our environment and the lives of trillions of animals, most of us have the option to choose a way of living which is healthier, more sustainable, less resource intensive and far kinder. 

(More resources available at Acti-veg.com)

[ironflowerbluebird]

Sohu: Does Russia really not have a fighter to replace the MiG-31?

Sohu (China): how big is the MiG-31 heavy interceptor? The same hull as the MiG-29, the size is clear at a glance  https://medium.com/@com548510/sohu-does-russia-really-not-have-a-fighter-to-replace-the-mig-31-f961b714a108

Sohu , China

The MiG-31 is an extremely useful Russian weapon against United States air and sea targets. However, the possibility of selling this interceptor in large quantities, on the one hand, depends on whether Russia wants to sell it, and on the other hand, on whether someone wants to buy it.

Design Bureau named after Mikoyan A.I. (now JSC RAC MiG), was an important aircraft manufacturer during the Soviet era and produced a large number of world famous aircraft during the Cold War. We can say that the MiG-29 and MiG-31 are the two most famous fighters of this design bureau.

In particular, the MiG-29 is an excellent multirole fighter, while the MiG-31 is a heavy interceptor fighter. The MiG-31 first took to the air in 1975 with a range of over 3,000 kilometers, a top speed of Mach 2.83 and a maximum takeoff weight of 46.2 tons. The length of the aircraft is 22.69 meters, the wingspan is 13.46 meters, and the height is 6.15 meters.

Unlike the MiG-31, the MiG-29 fighter is a medium-sized fighter with a range of only about 2,000 kilometers. The MiG-29 has a maximum takeoff weight of just over 20 tons, a length of 17.37 meters, a wingspan of 11.4 meters and a height of 4.73 meters. If two fighters are put together, the difference in size will be clear at a glance.

The birth of the MiG-31 is largely due to the size of the territory of the Soviet Union. Due to the vastness of the country during the Soviet era, it needed a long-range, fast interceptor with a large bomb load to protect its borders. The MiG-31 was developed from the MiG-25.

The MiG-31 is currently one of the most widely used fighter aircraft in the Russian military. The current upgraded version of the MiG-31 is equipped with a new D-30F6M engine, digital flight control, multifunctional LCD displays in the cockpit, and other new features. Russia is preparing to take the updated MiG-31 into service until the 2030s. Russia is currently developing a supersonic fighter-interceptor to replace the MiG-31, also known as the MiG-41 or PAK DP (Advanced Long-Range Interceptor Aircraft).

According to current estimates, the PAK DP will have a top speed of Mach 4 to Mach 4.3 and a cruising speed of approximately Mach 3. What weapons the PAK-DP will use in the future is also an interesting question. Viktor Bondarev, then Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, said the MiG-41 would carry R-37 long-range air-to-air missiles “and completely new missiles.” The range of the R-37 air-to-air missile can reach 400 kilometers. In addition, the previous modification of the aircraft — the MiG-31 — can carry R-77 medium-range air-to-air missiles with a range of up to 110 kilometers, and the MiG-31 can usually carry four such missiles. The launching ability of the R-37 in terms of speed and range is determined by the Zaslon-M radar,

Why does Russia like the MiG-31 so much?

Russia has the largest territory in the world. When it comes to military equipment, Russia needs heavy interceptors to patrol its vast borders. Most of the conventional “light” or even medium fighters currently in service with Russia cannot fulfill this mission as they lack the range and speed to intercept. For example, the MiG-29 has a range of only 2,000 kilometers or less, and cannot perform missions to expel and intercept enemy aircraft. And since there is not enough power, he will not be able to quickly gain altitude and carry out the task of intercepting American supersonic bombers, while the MiG-31 is capable of this.

At present, Russia is still under the threat of foreign invasion. American strategic bombers often approach Russia’s borders for transit reconnaissance. In mid-October of this year, American B-1B bombers invaded the Russian naval exercise area, and the Russian army did not hesitate to take the MiG-31 into the air to expel the B-1B. It can be seen that in an emergency, the MiG-31 has an emergency response capability that other fighters cannot match.

The MiG-31 can not only perform its usual tasks effectively, but thanks to its large fuselage, it can also integrate new weapons and provide new combat capabilities. A vivid example of this is the Russian hypersonic missile Kinzhal, custom-made specifically for the MiG-31.

Does Russia really not have a fighter to replace the MiG-31?

With the many design paths for fighter jets and the development of aerial refueling systems, the actual international demand for heavy interceptors such as the MiG-31 is not that high. But Russia is another matter: Russia considers the threat from the United States the most serious, especially from American strategic bombers and surface fleets. Therefore, for Russia, the MiG-31 is not “adding new patterns to the brocade” , but an indispensable part of the fight against the United States.

Despite the fact that the Su-57 and Su-35S have begun to be produced and even entered service in batches in the army, there is still a big gap in the Russian Air Force. Add to that the challenges that Russia faces in the north, south, west and east, and even these new generation multi-role fighters alone cannot cope with them. Russia is increasingly facing growing threats, especially on its northern border, and the MiG-31 is capable of high-intensity cruise flights.

The MiG-31 has its own unique characteristics, and the resulting air superiority is widely recognized by the Russian army. Therefore, although now you can often see that Russia has not only Su-35S, but also Tu-22M3 supersonic bombers, but it is the MiG-31 that is still the “mysterious killer”, lifting which into the air at any moment terrifies the enemy .

Why won’t the US make an interceptor similar to the MiG-31?

When the Soviet Union was building the MiG-31, it faced an unprecedented threat from the United States. In the mid-1970s, there were three huge dangers for the Soviet Union: the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird strategic supersonic reconnaissance aircraft, cruise missiles, and low-flying aircraft. And especially in response to the SR-71, the Soviet army had to keep high-speed interceptor fighters in service. The pressure from the existence of this kind of aircraft for the United States is negligible, so there has never been a strong demand in America for the creation of analogues of the MiG-31.

The United States is much smaller than the Soviet Union and Russia, and the Russian Federation cannot satisfy its air defense needs by relying on conventional fighters alone. In addition, it does not have enough air bases to completely cover its borders with conventional aircraft. The MiG-31 can fly for a long time at Mach 2.3 (cruising speed), which allows only four aircraft to patrol and protect a really vast area from bombers and cruise missiles. The United States, on the other hand, went the opposite way: it built a large number of military air bases and deployed a large number of conventional fighters to completely cover the borders. Why won’t Russia build more air bases? This is also due to the geographical landscape of the country: many places in the north are in the permafrost region and are not suitable for the construction of air bases.

The United States believes that the MiG-31 is not a high performance fighter and its mission is relatively simple. This is not consistent with the concept of the development of American technology, so it is quite natural for the United States not to produce such heavy interceptors.

So why is the MiG-31 not being exported?

The answer to this question should be divided into internal and external causes.

As for internal reasons, for Russia, a supersonic interceptor such as the MiG-31 has a huge impact and even plays a certain strategic role. It is quite possible to designate it as a product not for sale.

At the international level, not all countries are as big as Russia, and their geography and climate are not as complex as hers, so the demand for the purchase of the MiG-31 is not so great.

Thus, the MiG-31 is indeed an extremely useful Russian weapon against United States air and sea targets. However, the possibility of selling this interceptor in large quantities, on the one hand, depends on whether Russia wants to sell it, and on the other hand, on whether someone wants to buy it.

[orbemnews]

Coal Is Set to Roar Back, and So Are Its Climate Risks The pandemic abruptly slowed the global march of coal. But demand for the world’s dirtiest fuel is forecast to soar this year, gravely undermining the chances of staving off the worst effects of global warming. Burning coal is the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions, and, after a pandemic-year retreat, demand for coal is set to rise by 4.5 percent this year, mainly to meet soaring electricity demand, according to data published Tuesday by the International Energy Agency, just two days before a White House-hosted virtual summit aimed at rallying global climate action. “This is a dire warning that the economic recovery from the Covid crisis is currently anything but sustainable for our climate,” Fatih Birol, the head of the agency, said in a statement. Coal is at the crux of critical political decisions that government leaders need to make this year if they are to transition to a green economy. Scientists say greenhouse gas emissions need to be halved by 2030 in order for the world to have a fighting chance at limiting dangerous levels of warming. In short, this a historic juncture for coal. For 150 years, more and more of its sooty deposits have been extracted from under the ground, first to power the economies of Europe and North America, then Asia and Africa. Today, coal is still the largest source of electricity, though its share is steadily shrinking as other sources of power come online, from nuclear to wind. Global spending on coal projects dropped to its lowest level in a decade in 2019. And, over the last 20 years, more coal-fired power plants have been retired or shelved than commissioned. The big holdouts are China, India and parts of Southeast Asia, but, even there, coal’s once-swift growth is nowhere as swift as it was just a few years ago, according to a recent analysis. In some countries where new coal-fired power plants were only recently being built by the gigawatts, plans for new ones have been shelved, as in South Africa, or reconsidered, as in Bangladesh, or facing funding troubles, as in Vietnam. In some countries, like India, existing coal plants are running way below capacity and losing money. In others, like the United States, they are being decommissioned faster than ever. Nonetheless, demand is still strong. “Coal is not dead,” said Melissa C. Lott, research director for the Center for Global Energy Research at Columbia University. “We have made a lot of progress, but we have not made that curve.” Coal is the lightning rod of climate diplomacy this year, as countries scramble to rebuild their economies after the coronavirus pandemic while at the same time, stave off the risks of a warming planet. The Biden administration has leaned on its allies Japan and Korea to stop financing coal use abroad. And it has repeatedly called out China for its soaring coal use. China is by far the largest consumer of coal, and is still building coal-fired power plants at home and abroad. China’s president Xi Jinping took a swipe at that criticism on Monday by pointing to the historical responsibility of Western industrialized nations to do more to slow down warming. The United States accounts for the largest share of emissions in history; China accounts for the largest share of emissions today. “The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities must be upheld,” Mr. Xi said at his own global summit in the city of Boao. ‘Growing opposition against coal’ Since the start of the industrial era, coal has been the main fuel to light up homes, power factories and, in some places, to cook and heat rooms, too. For over a century, Europe and the United States consumed most of the world’s coal. Today, China and India account for two-thirds of coal consumption. Other energy sources have joined the mix as electricity demand has soared: nuclear, wind, and, most recently, hydrogen. Coal made room for new entrants but refused to retreat. Today, several forces are rising against coal. People are clamoring against deadly levels of air pollution, caused by its combustion. Wind and solar energy, once far costlier than coal, are becoming competitive, while some countries are facing a glut of coal-fired plants already built. So, even in countries where coal use is growing, the pace of growth is slowing. In South Africa, after years of lawsuits, plans to build a coal-fired power station in Limpopo Province were canceled last November. In at least three countries, Chinese-funded projects are in trouble or dead. In Kenya, a proposed coal plant has languished for years because of litigation. In Egypt, a planned coal plant is indefinitely postponed. In Bangladesh, Chinese-backed projects are among 15 planned coal plants that the government in Dhaka is reviewing, with an eye to canceling them altogether. Pakistan, saddled by debts, announced a vague moratorium on new coal projects. Vietnam, which is still expanding its coal fleet, scaled back plans for new plants. The Philippines, under pressure from citizens’ groups, hit the pause button on new projects. “Broadly speaking, there’s growing opposition against coal and a lot more scrutiny right now,” said Daine Loh, a Southeast Asia power sector energy specialist at Fitch Solutions, an industry analysis firm. “It’s a trend — moving away from coal. It’s very gradual.” Money is part of the problem. Development banks are shying away from coal. Japan and Korea, two major financiers of coal, have tightened restrictions on new coal projects. Japan is still building coal plants at home, rare among industrialized countries, though Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in October that his country would aspire to draw down its emissions to net-zero by 2050. There are some big exceptions. Indonesia and Australia continue to mine their abundant coal deposits. Perhaps most oddly, Britain, which is hosting the next international climate talks, is opening a new coal mine. And then there are the world’s biggest coal consumers, China and India. China’s economy rebounded in 2020. Government stimulus measures encouraged the production of steel, cement and other industrial products that eat up energy. Coal demand rose. The capacity of China’s fleet of coal-fired power plants grew by a whopping 38 gigawatts in 2020, making up the vast majority of new coal projects worldwide and offsetting nearly the same amount of coal capacity that was retired worldwide. (One gigawatt is enough to power a medium-sized city.) Coal’s future in China is at the center of a robust debate in the country, with prominent policy advisers pressing for a near-moratorium on new coal plants and state-owned companies insisting that China needs to burn more coal for years to come. India’s coal fleet is growing as well, bankrolled by state-owned lenders. There is not much of a signal from the government that it wants to reduce its reliance on coal, even as it seeks to expand solar energy. The government in New Delhi is allowing some of its oldest, most polluting coal plants to remain open, and it is seeking private investors to mine coal. If India’s economy recovers this year, its coal demand is set to rise by 9 percent, according to the I.E.A. But even India’s coal fleet isn’t growing as fast as it was just a few years ago. On paper, India plans to add some 60 gigawatts of coal power capacity by 2026, but given how many existing plants are operating at barely half capacity, it’s unclear how many new ones will ultimately be built. A handful of state politicians have publicly opposed new coal-fired power plants in their states. How much more coal India needs to burn, said Ritu Mathur, an economist at The Energy & Resources Institute in New Delhi, depends on how fast its electricity demand grows — and it could grow very fast if India pushes electric vehicles. “To say we can do away with coal, or that renewables can meet all our demand,” Dr. Mathur said, “is not the story.” ‘The big question is around gas’ What has most quickly come to replace coal in many countries is that other fossil fuel: gas. From Bangladesh to Ghana to El Salvador, billions of dollars, some from public coffers, are being poured into the development of pipelines, terminals and storage tanks, as the number of countries importing liquefied natural gas has doubled in less than four years. Gas now supplies nearly one-fourth of all energy worldwide. Its proponents argue that gas, which is less polluting than coal, should be promoted in energy-hungry countries that cannot afford a rapid scale-up of renewable energy. Its critics say multibillion dollar investments in gas projects risk becoming stranded assets, like coal-fired power plants already are in some countries; they add that methane emissions from the combustion of gas are incompatible with the Paris Agreement goal of slowing down climate change. Gas supplies a growing share of electricity in the United States (35 percent) and Europe (20 percent). The United States, buoyed by the fracking boom, is among the world’s top gas exporters, alongside Qatar, Australia and Russia. American companies are building a gas import terminal and power station in Vietnam. Gas demand is growing sharply in Bangladesh, as the government looks to shift away from coal to meet its galloping energy needs. Ghana this year became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to import liquefied natural gas. And the U.S. Agency for International Development has been promoting gas as a way to electrify homes and businesses across Africa. And there’s the rub for the Biden administration: While it has set out to be a global climate leader, it has not yet explained its policy on advancing gas exports — particularly on the use of public funds to build gas infrastructure abroad. “There’s fairly strong consensus around coal. The big question is around gas,” said Manish Bapna, acting president of the World Resources Institute. “The broader climate community is starting to think about what a gas transition looks like.” Julfikar Ali Manik and Hiroko Tabuchi contributed reporting. Source link Orbem News #Climate #coal #Risks #Roar #Set

[esprit-de-corps-magazine]

ON TARGET: It Is High Time for RCAF To Re-Think The Snowbirds

By Scott Taylor

In the past week the RCAF’s famed Snowbirds air demonstration squadron has found itself in the media spotlight on two separate occasions. The first instance was the release of the final report on the tragic crash that occurred shortly after a takeoff from the Kamloops, BC airport on May 17, 2020.

Amateur video footage shot at the time appeared to indicate a bird strike on one of the CT-114 tutor aircraft’s two air-intakes.

As the Tutor lost power, the pilot, Capt. Richard MacDougall attempted to climb and turn back towards the runway. The aircraft then entered an aerodynamic stall. At a dangerously low level both MacDougall and passenger Capt. Jenn Casey, the Snowbirds public affairs officer ejected, from the stricken plane.

Both parachutes failed to fully deploy, resulting in the tragic death of Casey and severe injuries to MacDougall.

Following the RCAF’s 10-month exhaustive review of all the evidence, we are now told that the bird strike did cause the failure of a compressor. However it was MacDougall’s decision to climb sharply which caused the Tutor to stall.

It is also believed that MacDougall’s shout to Casey to “Pull the handle” rather than the standard cry of “Eject! Eject! Eject!” may have led to the .4-second delay in Casey’s seat exiting the aircraft.

The fact that Casey’s seat briefly went backwards after leaving the plane may have been caused by items stowed between the seat and cockpit. That rearward motion delayed the deployment of the drogue chute, which in turn delayed her main chute from opening.

As a result of the findings the RCAF are recommending the Snowbirds’ aircrew receive additional emergency training in the wake of this deadly tragedy.

Coming fast on the heels of the accident report was the news that the Canadian government will spend $30 million in avionic upgrades in order to keep the Snowbirds’ Tutor jet fleet flying through 2030.

This band-aid solution to keep the iconic Snowbirds performing for another decade simply postpones any decision on purchasing a replacement fleet of aircraft.

For those keeping track, or are old enough to remember, the CT-114 Tutor first entered service with the RCAF in 1963 as a basic training plane for would-be fighter pilots.

They became the mainstay of 431 Air Demonstration Squadron (the Snowbirds) in 1971. The original retirement date for these jets was set for 2010. When that deadline loomed, the RCAF pushed the deadline out to 2020.

Now in the spring of 2021, the plan is to invest $30 million in upgrades and fresh paint in order to squeeze another ten years out of these old airframes.

On the flip side of that is the fact that a full procurement of a replacement aircraft is estimated to be in the ballpark of $1.5 billion.

That is a big sack of cheese no matter how you slice it, for what amounts to an aerial circus act. It is a feel-good demonstration team that showcases the RCAF’s incredible proficiency in acrobatic formation flying.

The problem is that while most casual observers may delight in seeing the hair-raising stunts performed in the sky, many do not associate the little red and white jets as being ‘Airforce’.

The Tutor training planes are unarmed and despite being part of Canada’s defence budget they cannot in any way contribute to the defence of our nation.

By their very nature, acrobatic formation stunt fliers put themselves and their aircraft at great risk.

In their 50 year history the Snowbirds have crashed 28 aircraft in 24 separate incidents that resulted in the death of 7 pilots and two passengers. Dozens of other Snowbird pilots suffered serious injuries as well.

To put this in context, in Canada’s three most recent combat aerial campaigns against armed enemies (Kosovo 1999, Libya 2011, Iraq & Syria 2014-2016) RCAF fighter pilots flew a total of 3002 tactical sorties without suffering so much as a scratch on the paint of their CF-18 Hornets.

For those who would argue that the Snowbirds are a good recruiting tool for the RCAF, the fact is that the Snowbirds present a misleading image of what a modern air force actually does.

Much the same way is the RCMP’s Musical Ride. That is an awe inspiring display of horsemanship but it does not reflect the actual role of our national police force.

As for being a public morale booster, let’s not forget that at the time of her death, Capt. Jenn Casey was on a nationwide Snowbirds tour aimed at boosting the spirits of pandemic weary locked down Canadians.

[citizensclub]

Rich countries are spending $Billions in space programs to reach for the stars and explore the Universe while our own planet is on fire and on the brink of total destruction

Global greenhouse emissions increased 75% between 1970 and 2004, and  55% from the first COP in Berlin in 1995 to COP 24 in Poland last December 2018. World Carbon Dioxide emissions rose 2,7% in 2018, new study show.  We all wonder what is the purpose of the COP (Conference of the Parties) summits if nothing has been done so far to switch from a planning mode to an action mode. Nothing significant has been initiated by any country except for some actions by individuals in the USA and Europe.

The threats posed by climate change constitute a worldwide emergency that requires an emergency response. All the”HOT AIR” of international summits are only designed to give the impression that something is being done. But the upholders of capitalism cannot make any inroads in the struggle against climate change precisely because this system of anarchy that cause it (Ben Curry September 4, 2018) 

 65% of Carbon Dioxide come from industrial activity and transport. According to “The Guardian” Just 100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions study says. A relatively small number of fossil fuel producers and their investors could hold the key to tackling climate change.

If we keep losing ice on Earth as we do now. we can say goodby to human and animal life by 2100.

Newly found documents from the 1980s show that fossil fuel companies, Shell and Exxon, privately predicted the global damage that would be caused by their products. Both companies carried out internal assessments of the carbon dioxide released by fossil fuels, and forecast the planetary consequences of these emissions. In 1982, for exemple, Exxon predicted that about 2060, Carbon Dioxide levels would reach around 560 ppm - double the preindustrial  level - and that this would push the planet’s average temperatures up by about 2 degree C over then-current levels and even more compared to pre-industrial levels. Later that decade, in 1988, an internal report by Shell projected similar effects but also found that Carbon Dioxide could double even earlier, by 2030. Privately, these companies did not dispute the links between their products, global warming, and ecological calamity. On the contrary, their research confirmed the connections. Shell’s assessment foresaw a one-meter sea-level rise, and noted that warming could also fuel disintegration of the West  Antarctica Ice Sheet, resulting in a worldwide rise in sea level of “five to six meters”. That would be enough ti inundate entire low-lying countries ( Benjamin Franta, The Guardian September 19th, 2018) 

For decades experts said that nations could prevent large temperature increase mainly by reducing reliance on fossil fuels and moving to cleaner sources like solar, wind and nuclear power. But at this point nations have delayed so long in cutting their Carbon Dioxide emissions that even a breakneck shift toward clean energy would most likely not be enough. According to a landmark scientific report issued by the United Nations, taking out a big chunk of the Carbon Dioxide already loaded into the atmosphere may be necessary to avoid significant further warming, it is called decarbonization. (Brad Plumer, oct, 24 2018-New York Times) 

It is clear that the oil industry and politicians in place have been sitting together behind closed doors, for decades, to delay the implementation of measures to reverse the trend of global warming and let the oil industry  pile up tons of money at the expense of clean energy.

The State of our Planet is not Good..................

For decades, the world is flooded with information regarding global warming and its consequences on our planet and its population. It is clear that some countries will be more affected than others and when disasters will strike, all those responsible will be long gone. 

LET’S STOP FIGHTING EACH OTHER AND FIGHT OUR COMMON ENEMY - GLOBAL WARMING

We have the money: Total military budget of all countries is over 1,700 $Billions, NATO military budget is 1.4 $Billion, subsidies to the oil industry across the globe is  600 $Billions just to compete against each other. A good chunk of this money could easily go to develop clean energy. If defense contractors can build weapons of mass destruction they can easily built equipments to clean contaminated air, water and soil, a project that is long overdue.

We have the technology: Nuclear power plants, wind and solar energy, electric and hybrid cars, fix all industrial chimneys so they can have 0 emission, decarbonization already  experimented in Switzerland and remove plastic from ocean surface as done in the Pacific.

 As we have the money and the technology, it’s time to create a new world economy to deal exclusively with climate change and start the big clean up operation that our planet needs so desperately.

We have 24 plus international organizations dealing with money, defense, education, agriculture etc..........but none dealing exclusively with our worst enemy posing a real threat to our planet and humanity-Climate Change. 

Unless we initiate a plan of action now, in 2019, we will reach a point of no return sooner than we think. What we really need now is a “WAR ROOM” involving all nations including engineering firms, defense contractors and the military who already have the experience, equipment and staff ready for a fast action on the field. The positive aspect of all this is that soldiers coming home from Climate Change Missions will be with the satisfaction of a job well done, walking on their two feet, with no PTSD and definitely not in a military casket.

Who will be the first, in history, to give the GO AHEAD....... 

P. LABERGE                                                                         CANADA

[outsourcebigdata]

7 Ways RPA Supports Digital Transformation Initiatives

After implementing Robotic Process Automation (RPA), a renowned bank was able to reduce consumer loan-processing time from 30 minutes to just ten minutes and expedite the process of customer verification from a few days to a few seconds. The reason being the technology obviates the need to copy-and-paste customer information from one banking system to another and enables automatic validation of customer data on government websites such as tax payment, DMV, or property-appraisal sites.

Digitization and RPA Made for Each Other

Like the bank, digitization is taking over every corner of the business world. To retain a competitive edge, it’s important for businesses to comply with this new order. However, adopting a single technology to digital transformation is not enough. Businesses need a set of tools to automate a range of activities traditionally assigned to workers. This would help them create a digital workforce across applications and systems.  As Robotic Process Automation makes this possible, adopting RPA as a part of digital transformation strategy has become an imperative.

RPA is the Way Forward

Robotic process automation is one of the technologies that can help companies across all industries to undergo digital transformation. While on the one hand it empowers organizations to tackle operational challenges, such as carrying out large amounts of back-office activities, on the other hand it enables businesses to gain knowledge about their business performance and workflow patterns. Companies can leverage this information build on their digital strategies and transform operations to make it more lean and agile.

How RPA Supports Digital Transformation Initiatives

Increase Customer Experience

Great brands have one secret tool for success – customer experience. And customer experience, as it stands today, is just not about delivering what you promised. It’s more about surprising your customer with extra care and support. With RPA it is possible to increase process speed and efficiency, provide instant response to customers, and handle multiple questions in less time. This makes your customers feel so valued and they turn into a community of advocates for your brand.

The insurance industry stands out as a stellar example. With the help of chat bots, insurance carriers provide instant responses to customer queries and seamlessly handle the ever changing regulatory rules of the industry. Likewise RPA has enabled all-time customer support in the retail industry. From order payments to delivery, bots can send updates to customers to keep them in the loop and their worries at bay.

Digitalize Products and Services

One thing common to industries such as insurance, finance, mortgage, legal, hospitality utilities etc. is high volume, mundane, and time consuming processes. These activities are detrimental to the streamlined operation of business. RPA works to automate these activities. In other words, robotic processes take over these simple tasks like cut-and-paste and data migration, to more complex work like invoicing and automate them end-to-end thus maximizing visibility and productivity. In many environments, RPA assists to redesign the existing process to make it more fast, continuous and highly accurate.

Mortgage loan processing for instance is a time consuming and error prone task primarily because of human intervention. Fetching and compiling data from multiple sources, and comparing data has involved extraordinary levels of manual involvement. RPA based mortgage processing tools enable automated data mining and can transform unstructured data to structured digital data in a matter of seconds. The digitization of this service has led to expedited processes, reduced time and costs and complete accuracy.

Digitally Optimized Operations

To best understand this benefit let’s take a peek into the supply chain industry.  Maintaining effective communication between customers, suppliers, and manufacturers is critical to the smooth running of this industry. However, chaos and confusion caused by delays and obstacles to order fulfilment has always been the bane of this industry. Robotic process management has eliminated all these drawbacks by automating the communication process. As a result errors and duplicity in the process, manual input of purchase order, delay in response to requests and proposals, communication gap with suppliers etc. are a matter of the past. RPA has automated the process of supply and demand planning; vendor selection and procurement; order processing and payments and order traceability.

Like the supply chain industry RPA has helped digitalization across a range of industries such as financial sector with overall improvement in transparency and risk management; healthcare sector with higher throughput and improved quality and consistency; insurance sector with enhanced claims processing and underwriting; mortgage with improved compliance and origination and so on.

Digital Skilling and Upskilling

The advent of digital transformation has significantly amplified the need for a rapid pace of innovation. While the debate over RPA replacing the human workforce will continue for some time to come, the fact that cannot be disputed is that it will create more jobs for people with relevant skill sets. This is because, the technology has triggered the need for up-skilling and re-skilling of the existing workforce in order to stay relevant in a fast changing ecosystem. Employees will drive themselves to imbibe skills to adapt to the demands of RPA, thereby acquiring strong problem solving and analytical skills.

In the days ahead, employees will catch up with technological skills such as design thinking, analytics, robotics, autonomics,) and soft skills such as pattern-recognition, problem solving, intuition and leadership. With the change in learning, employees will be evaluated by quality of outcome than overall output.

IOT and Digitally Connected Products

IoT is a revolutionary concept of connecting a device with a virtual switch to the Internet. A company can leverage this technology to track the real-time movements of customers in a retail store or even to track products within a supply chain. As a platform, Robotic Process Automation has the abilities to help manage all of these capabilities. The collaboration between RPA and IoT can help to improve data management – turn unstructured data to structured data; optimize operations to improve the quality and speed of output; and execute routine tasks without human intervention like responding to unforeseen developments.

The connection between RPA and IoT will grow with time as the two technologies perfectly complement each other – while one connects an object, the other uses the data produced by the object to identify issues. Manufacturers can leverage this combination to decrease asset repair and maintenance costs; improve compliance with regulatory standards; and enhance monitoring of efficiency.

Digital Collaboration

Getting started with RPA can be a daunting task for any business. The only thing that can make businesses conquer the daunt is collaboration. Each business is an expert in its own field, and only partnerships can help them get the right start and scale thereafter. Businesses will collaborate to initiate the transition; set and measure out metrics and goals and analyze the outcomes.

In this new age of digital collaboration, IT and businesses will work closely together than ever before. Similarly, collaboration between employees and customers will reach new heights and foster relationships. Even employees who never previously collaborated will come together to improve productivity together. So many employees will collaborate with BOTs to bring human judgement into the picture.  

Digital Workforce

The ability of RPA to relate to a number of different functions in an organization across industries will lead to the creation of a thriving digital workforce. The fact that RPA software can be used as an effective tool to tackle tasks for purchasing, accounts receivable, compliance, reconciliations, and meeting due diligence requirements or as data scraping bots for sorting, and scooping data from competitor sites, will lead to the creation of an automated and diverse digital work force that will work more efficiently towards meeting goals.

It is estimated that by the end of 2030,  there will be 4 million robots carrying out monotonous office tasks. In other words businesses will adopt RPA as an integral part of their workforce to ensure they face no issues with flexibility and scalability.

Conclusion

While Robotic Process Automation is the future, your first step towards the transition, should be to prepare your business for the changeover. Going for staged transitions, picking the right processes for automation; training and onboarding employees and setting up the right expectations are critical to your business’s transition to RPA. Only when you have these prerequisites rightly aligned, your business can have a smooth transition to the new age necessity.

[socialprotection]

THE CASE FOR UNIVERSAL SOCIAL PROTECTION IS MORE SELF-EVIDENT THAN EVER

Shahra Razavi, 17 May 2020

The idea that societies can be secure by relying on individualised market-based provision for those who can afford it, and porous ‘’safety nets’’ for the poor, has proven to be illusionary.  If the COVID-19 pandemic has sent the world one message, it is that we are only as safe as the most vulnerable among us. If people are unable to access quality health care and quarantine themselves, they face serious health risks and may transmit the virus to others, and if one country cannot contain the virus, others are bound to be (re-)infected. And yet, with the exception of those countries with robust and comprehensive social protection systems, many are struggling to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of all those affected.

After the last global catastrophe – the 2008 financial crisis – the international community unanimously reaffirmed the human right to social security by adopting the ILO Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202). In doing so, countries pledged to guarantee at least a basic level of social security, including access to health care and income security over the life cycle for all, as part of their national social protection systems, and to progressively ensure higher levels of social protection. More than a decade later, as the current crisis makes clear, not nearly enough progress has been made.

However, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis there are glimmers of hope. Both the pandemic and the ensuing economic meltdown have spurred a flurry of government action on social protection. Between 1 February and 12 May 2020, 168 countries and territories announced at least 915 social protection measures in response to the COVID-19 crisis, with a notable number of countries extending coverage of existing programmes, including to workers in the informal economy, and removing various obligations and behavioural conditions to facilitate access. It is still too early to know whether these will be temporary stop-gap measures, or if they will be sustained and integrated into national social protection systems. A lot will depend on the broader macroeconomic context: concerns that austerity may be around corner if not already here cast a dark shadow. However, what is clear is that particularly in a complex, fast moving and unpredictable crisis like COVID-19, universal or categorical approaches are preferable to narrowly targeted ones which leave governments struggling to reach large swathes of the population. The case for universal social protection is further strengthened by the fact that it is a powerful economic and social stabiliser, softening the impact of crises and contributing to a swifter recovery.

In recent weeks, even the World Bank has spoken of the merits of “universal entitlements to health care and income support” and the need to reach the “missing middle”, i.e. those not covered by social insurance or social assistance, while the IMF recognises the logic of universal responses, at least in the short term.  One can only hope that this will herald a move away from the narrow means-tested targeting (and problematic proxy means-tests) strongly advocated in the past.  Targeting methods though have long been criticised for their arbitrariness, exclusion errors and stigmatising effects, not to mention their higher administrative costs. Another desirable outcome would be to avoid cumbersome and punitive behavioural conditionalities often attached to targeted family-oriented cash transfers.  A decade of feminist research demonstrates the detrimental effects conditionalities may have in contexts where quality public services are in short supply and where intersecting forms of discrimination mean that well-intended programme requirements easily slip into coercive and disempowering implementation practices. These concerns together with the exigencies of mitigating the crisis can open the door in many more countries to both universal child benefits (UCBs)[1] and universal social pensions – two core components of a social protection floor.

Take the instructive example of UCBs. These can be potent tools for reducing poverty, as evidenced by existing UCB experience and by country simulations. When compared with benefits for children using narrow targeting, UCBs often perform better in terms of poverty reduction. Moreover, UCBs directly fulfil child rights, better ensure early childhood development needs, and incentivise birth registration by helping to link parents with essential social services. There is also great potential for universal social pensions to reach the more than 80 per cent of older women and men over statutory retirement age in low-income countries who currently do not receive a pension. This is particularly important given the disproportionate threat to the health, rights and socio economic well-being of older persons caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

With UCBs alone, globally, it would be possible to reach two-thirds of all households (because they include children).[2] In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, where social protection coverage tends to be particularly patchy, more than three-quarters of all households include children below the age of 18. Taking into account the age composition of the population living in poverty – 44 per cent of those living in extremely poor households, subsisting on less than $1.9 per day, are children below 15 – UCBs would not only reach many households in general, but many households living in poverty. Universal social pensions, in turn, could reach one-fifth of all households globally, or roughly 15 per cent of households in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The renewed interest in universal approaches is also evident in the lively debates about the promises of a Universal Basic Income (UBI), especially an ‘emergency’ UBI as a crisis response (ECLAC, Standing). Yet, in order to achieve the objective of ensuring a basic level of income security, not any UBI will do. The impact a UBI will have largely depends on its design, including the level of benefit it provides, how it is financed, and how it relates to existing tax and social security systems. UBI proposals are indeed very diverse and guided by different motivations – ranging from interest in its emancipatory potential (i.e. expanding choices and resourcing meaningful autonomy), to concerns about cost-savings or reducing the size of the state. In a context of fiscal belt-tightening, there are justified concerns that UBIs may be promoted to replace contributory social security systems that offer higher levels of protection, undermine workers’ rights and crowd-out public investment in essential services, thereby reinforcing their unchecked privatization.

Unlike a “thin’’ or minimalist understanding of a UBI, the concept of universal social protection is firmly grounded in the international human rights framework and encompasses three key aspects: (1) universal coverage ensuring that everyone is protected; (2) comprehensiveness of protection for the full range of contingencies covered; and (3) the adequacy of benefit levels to support a dignified life. Universal social protection means that everybody is adequately protected against the full range of risks throughout the life course, but this does not require that everybody receives a benefit at every point in time. It also allows for differentiation of needs (ILO 2019). For instance, targeting within universalism means that groups or individuals that require additional or different kinds of support, for example indigenous communities or persons with disabilities, can receive it.  Similarly, UBIs do not differentiate between adults with different needs and responsibilities; yet without sufficient public investment in quality care services, women’s ability to access employment is likely hampered.  

Last but not least, a human-centred recovery requires a ‘jobs-rich’ response, including the creation of millions of much-needed decent jobs in the care sector, now deemed ‘essential’, and the green economy.  Not only does employment have intrinsic rewards given its social dimensions and ramifications, it also generates (through taxes and social contributions) most of the resources needed to finance a comprehensive and universal social protection system. A concern with some variants of UBI is that by de-linking employment from social protection the benefits they offer can be overly thin.

If the pandemic has a silver lining, one hopes that it spurs governments to deliver on their promise to achieve universal social protection by 2030, to expand access to health services, sickness benefits, paid family leave, unemployment protection and other types of social protection benefits. Only then will our societies and economies be able to weather the COVID-19 pandemic – and the other crises to come.

[1]        UCBs are a cash or tax transfer paid to households with children, unconditionally and on a regular basis.

[2] All the figures in this paragraph are preliminary calculations based on UN DESA (2019).

[elevenhoursinfront-blog]

18th November 2017

My alarm went off and I snoozed it for half an hour, of course. I text Steve saying 'LAST DAY LAST DAY LAST DAY'. He had been at work for 3 hours already which was weird. 

I walked to work on the phone to my brother. It only takes me 15 minutes to walk so it was a small catch up but well overdue. We could talk on the phone for hours which is great. Our relationship was your typical brother and sister when we were young. Now, we've got a brilliant relationship and I wouldn't change it for the world. I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't get on with their siblings. I wish I had more.

I heard my phone go ding around 1030. I knew that was going to be Steve saying that he was finished. I was jealous. The first couple of hours went by so slowly at work and it was because I was clock watching. Knowing it's your last shift is awful because you're so excited to finish. 

I was hoping for a quiet shift so I wasn't too stressed but busy enough to pass the time. It was exactly that, thankfully. I was working with Sandy who was so surprised how quiet it was. I was happy. The later it got, the quicker time went. It was the most heart breaking moment when I thought I was finishing at 1300 but it was 1400 instead. I almost died inside but the hours passed by so fast.

We had planned to go to the Waterfront this evening as it was our last night. I wanted to go and enjoy everyone's company and not be stuck in the hostel. Louisa printed posters and stuck them up around the hostel explaining that we were going out and people had to actually shower and get dressed. Believe you and me, it needed to be in writing.

1400 finally came around. I said my goodbyes and Steve was sitting there waiting. We walked to the van with the biggest smiles on our face. Holiday time! East Coast time!

Steve finished his packing whilst I was at work, when he got home. He's so good at washing and packing – I'm so envious.

We got back and ate a sandwich. The first thing I've had all day. I was offered a breakfast wrap which I was so excited about until I saw 10,000 black soggy mushrooms everywhere. I tried flicking them out but it was an army of mushroom, so I had to throw it in the bin. Yuck. 

We both got showered and then I got a start on packing – properly.

I had to unpack what I packed the other day because I forgot about an outfit for tonight and an outfit to travel in tomorrow... Idiot alert. I grabbed the full length mirror from Louisa's room and tried on some bits. Khaki shirt dress it was. A lot more things fit me now, more so when they did in Melbourne and Tas. I've shred my winter coat...

I started packing which turned into a nightmare, as always. Steve stresses at me so much and I shout at him. It's a delightful event which occurs every time I have to live out of a bag. We had so many ruined clothes that had to be left behind because of farm work, which is good for us I guess. Less to carry. I'm sending a box home of clothes that I just cannot part with but I won't be needing for the rest of my journey. I've left it with Louisa to post when we travel through Cardwell again. We've actually left a good 3 cool bags of items and 2 camp chairs in Louisa's room, bless her. There was no point travelling up to Cairns with all our camper van stuff to come back down and start in Cardwell with it.

I heard a knock at the door at 1845. It was Katie asking for the mirror, pretty much ready. I was shocked – what was the time?! I hadn't realised how late it was and I wanted to be ready for 1900... Fat chance now. We both got ready and Steve was out the room by 1900. I was done by 1930 which is record breaking time for me. Glad rags on, I left the room...

Everyone was outside drinking, preparing a game of Ring of Fire. Camile and Pauline said that I looked amazing and that my eye make up was unreal. I was so nervous when they said that, I ended up shaking (which is ridiculous). I haven't done my hair or make up in so long, I truly believed I would've forgotten how to do it.

We played a good few games. Steve and I were sharing a bottle of wine. We got through it pretty quickly but we were both still sober. Louisa came and picked us up at 2030. She works at the Waterfront but the taxi woman didn't answer the phone. They provide free taxi's in Cardwell for business purposes. They'll make money by offering it as they won't have to travel far. It's tiny!

We all turned up, got ourselves a drink and sat down chatting. After awhile, we all went and stood around the bar so we could mingle better. Louisa finished at 2200 which was 2 hours later than she hoped it would be. She was able to make herself a strawberry daiquiri which is worth it. She bought Steve and I so many drinks and we ended up doing Ouzo shots (my favourite).

By 2330, I felt drunk so I stopped drinking. I'm really good with my limits and I hate being too drunk that I feel ill so I just went without. People kept telling me to buy drinks but I didn't want any. The boys were all huddled up around the TV watching the football, of course. Camile came over to me and asked why they are like this. She concluded with 'Never get with an English man because football comes first'. I couldn't have put it better myself!

We all got the taxi back when the bar closed around midnight. Steve and I were in the second taxi and we got into bed straight away and pretty much passed out. Alarm was set for 0700 because we still had a lot to sort out. I was pleased in a way, I wouldn't have to worry about not being tired tomorrow night when we have to be up early for our first trip!

[looselucy]

The year 2093 is fast approaching, and with it we welcome the Golden Anniversary of Mortemosis, the Government crafted disease that unintentionally constructed the sorry state of the world as we know it.

Harry Styles / Dystopian AU / Chapter One

The Article

By 2030, due to mass research and funding, the human race had found the cure to almost every single type of cancer, a disease that used to kill around 7.6million people every single year. Of course, this was originally viewed as a triumph. Two short years later, every single type of cancer was easily cured in the space of a few weeks, involving little to no pain depending on the type, and the world celebrated. We bonded and healed over the victory of modern medicine, enemies became allies, foes became friends. Peace and health became the new norm. Due to this, we as people became accustom to the silver-lining and blind to the cloud, yet our naivety does not abolish the storm. With the cure for cancer being available and easily accessible, and the leaders of our world being able to find common ground, came another issue. Mass overpopulation. We were straining the world in ways we never had before. People were living for longer, and in far greater numbers, and Mother Nature was struggling to provide for her own creation. Wages plummeted whilst prices soared, leaving many unable to afford the most basic things. People began to call the streets their home, and even those lucky enough to have a roof over their heads were struggling to afford the things they needed. Our farms were strained, our work forces were strained, and we couldn’t keep up with our own growth. The most powerful leaders of our world joined together in the hope of finding some kind of answer to an unanswerable question. How do we stop this? How do we fix this? How do we cure our world? The solution they stumbled upon, was to return it to the state it was previously in. There was one thing stopping the past becoming our present once more. A disease. So that’s what they created. In 2043, the Governments of our world emitted an airborne disease, leaving the public blissfully unaware of their plans. The disease was created with one intent. Death. It meant that 25% of new-borns would die during childbirth. It meant that 25% of women across the world, would lose their children mere moments after breathing our precious air. But due to the complications of this disease, the fact it was forged, created through hatred and fear, it backfired. What they were met with instead, was 25% of parents dying during childbirth. Rather than the offspring, it was not just the mothers, but also the fathers that got the impact of the virus just moments after the birth of their child. With these death rates shooting up, new parents across the world dying in exactly the same way, people started asking questions, questions that were not easy to answer. A boost in miscarriages and losing young children could have been explained, some even say overlooked, but when most cases began to involve two parents dying within the first three days, it was clear to all that something was wrong. In 2047, an official spokesperson stepped up and explained the truth of the situation. He explained the worries they had faced, their original plan, and the “unfortunate” mistake that had been made. It is believed Mortemosis was somehow deciphered through blood-type, but even to this day, they refuse to divulge the facts behind the ailment, due to the fact they don’t want the public “living in fear” or refusing to procreate. We were given the bare minimum when it came to information, leaving the world rioting and guessing for three long years. We fought, we cried, we mourned, until we realised that there was literally nothing that could be done. Their apologies would have to suffice, because our new reality was one we couldn’t change. Mortemosis is now merely a part of life, and if you want to start a family, you have to run the risk of dying in the process. Population plummeted, due to the high deaths, and the fact that people were refusing to start families, too worried for their own lives and reluctant to bring children into such a twisted world. Then of course, we move onto one of the most substantial issues when it comes to Mortemosis. Children with no families. It's more common than not that the children who are left without parents are left with no families at all. People refuse to take them in, refuse to accept the responsibility, refuse to raise a child who they believe “took” their loved ones. It can also be linked to the expense. People simply cannot afford to raise a child in this climate. The Government set up a scheme where these children, until the age of thirteen, would have somewhere to live and access to some kind of education, but those establishments couldn’t take the numbers of children that were walking through their doors. Many charities were set up to try and take in those who couldn’t fit into the official scheme, but the truth of the matter is there are children as young as five living on the streets, barely able to walk or construct sentences if they haven’t been given access to the education they deserve. Even those who were lucky enough to fit into the schemes, are stuck for options once they turn thirteen. They are sent out onto the streets with nowhere to turn. We can now say this has been happening for 50 years. The hard truth is how was are totally dehumanized to our fellow human. We are accustomed to seeing children sleeping on the street. We walk past them. We pity them, of course, but we walk past them, because we don’t know what else we can do. “It’s frustrating, if anything.” A man we spoke to about the issue offered. “It’s just not what I want to see when I’m on my way to work. You give some money to one kid so they can go and get themselves some lunch, take two steps and there’s another kid waiting for you to hand over your hard-earned cash. They need to fix it!” Is that who we have become? People so disassociated that we find the life of those children stressful? An inconvenience in our day to day lives? Of course, the Governments say they’re doing everything they can. So-called “Krows” are sent onto our streets to pick up the litter, but when these children go missing and we never see them again, who can really say exactly where it is that the Krows are taking these children? It’s rare to see a child above the age of sixteen still living amongst the filth we have created for them, meaning that they pick these children up in the dark of the night, as not to disturb the public, and we are left feeling relieved that the ten-year-old boy who used to call your backyard his home is now nowhere to be found. Not enough people question the humanity of the Krows, we just accept what happens because it’s convenient for us to ignore children who are desperate for warmth, homes, families, a voice. So my question to you is this. What next? Do we continue to accept this? Do we continue to sidestep bodies on our walk to work? Give ten pounds a month to charities who only look after children for the first few years of their life? Do we continue to see this sickening lack of humanity and convince ourselves that this is normal? Or, can we actually do something to fix this? Can we demand answers, spend years rioting and burning down buildings and fighting for what we know is right? Would it be pointless in the end? Would it be something we were doing just to feel a little better about ourselves? These questions haunt me daily, and I’m sure I’m not alone there. If there’s something we can do to help these children, surely, we should be doing it. But it is an inconvenience, and in a world where everything we want, everything we need, is within our reach, where cancer is cured in a few weeks and our fridges restock themselves with fresh goods, the last thing we want is an inconvenience. So, what next? Gardan Jones – The Daily Lecturer