Five Things: Clean Energy Future, Moral Superiority, Sustainable Consumption, Smiling, Deep-See Mining
The Sunday Morning starts here.
It’s Sunday Morning again and you’re reading Five Things! Good choice!
In this issue I curated mostly articles that deal with climate change. I simply think it is important to read about what is going on at the moment and find out how we can do our part in the fight against climate change. Obviously, it is not easy to change our businesses around, to change the way we consume food, how we buy clothes, and so on. But we need to understand that the clock is ticking fast and that we need to deploy even more ressources to get faster than the ticking clock.
Oh, and smile at people more. It’s good for you. And have a little chat.
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The Clean Energy Future Is Arriving Faster Than You Think
My wife keeps reminding me that I had not yet shared this article, even though she finds it very much worth a read. So here you go. I do believe that the combination of humans, technology and capitalism can yield to many awesome things, if done right. The if part is still the biggest obstacle at the moment, but this article should give you some hope that more and more people with power might understand that it is pretty good business sense to actually save this planet. (New York Times)
The Inescapable Rise of Moral Superiority
“As cathartic as venting one’s outrage can be in the moment, it’s clear that moral grandstanding accomplishes very little beyond the fleeting satisfaction that it brings. Shaming people doesn’t seem to change their behaviour, and invoking mass shooting victims in an argument about hamburgers doesn’t move the needle on gun control. Social change doesn’t come from posting but from purposeful collective action: organizing, voting, protesting.” - I still remember the heated debates on Usenet back in the days when the interweb was just black and white, and so were the discussions. It didn’t change much all those years, it just became more colorful. I mostly try to stop grandstanding, mostly because I don’t have the time and energy for yet another lengthy online debate that doesn’t lead anywhere. After reading this article, I understand why. (The Walrus)
Sustainable Consumption: How labels impact the way we eat
Do you get the vegan or vegetarian meal option instead of the one without any labels? Or do those labels have a negative effect on you? It’s pretty obvious that we need to cut down or meat consumption to stop climate change as modern day agriculture has turned into one of the largest producers of CO2. Turns out that labels like vegan or vegetarian turn people away from a plant-based option and instead choose the “normal one” with meat in it. So we need to make plant-based the default and normal choice if we want to change people’s behaviour. (MIT Media Lab)
Why a stranger's hello can do more than just brighten your day
That barista who prepares the coffee for you in the morning? Talk to him. The woman in the grocery store who gives you a smile? Smile back. It will make your day better - and theirs probably, too. Also, just think about how nice your day is when you have more positive interchanges with other people! (NPR)
Does The Ocean Floor Hold The Key To The Green Energy Transition?
Deep-see mining. This is not something we discuss at the dinner table a lot. I actually didn’t know how important all those minerals down there could be for batteries and other tech stuff we need to get into cleaner energy in order to stop climate change. And at the same time I am very hesitant to just let some companies exploit the ocean floor and risk destroying yet another delicate ecosystem. (Noema)
That’s it. Have an amazing Sunday!